Oklahoma State Football: 2017 season preview, predictions

Find out if the 2017 Oklahoma State football team has what it takes to make the Big 12 Championship Game in the first year it returns.

In the record books, it will say the Oklahoma State Cowboys of 2015 and 2016 both went 10-3. However, in the minds and on the fingers of last year’s team there is a different story. After thumping Colorado in the Alamo Bowl, the team got rings commemorating their 11-2 season.

The discrepancy arose in the second game of the year when the Cowboys played Central Michigan at home. An officiating error and a crazy play on an untimed down that never should have happened led to a 30-27 upset loss. Mike Gundy said he counted that as a win all year and proved it with the ring. While they got robbed by classic terrible college officiating, this is obviously an insane person move, but one of the internet’s favorite coaches continued to entertain.

While minor bowl rings with a fraudulent record on them are fun, Oklahoma State has its sights set much higher. Mike Gundy gave Cowboys fans their first Big 12 Championship in 2011, the first year without an actual championship game. They got their first win against Oklahoma since Les Miles was the coach in 2002. Oklahoma State just missed out on the BCS Championship Game.

The next five years, Gundy’s team’s went 1-4 against Oklahoma. The Sooners beat them the last two years when Bedlam worked as a stand-in for the Big 12 Championship Game.

Now after a six-year hiatus, the Big 12 Championship Game is back, and Oklahoma State is geared up for a run. Gundy has one of the best offenses in the country and a few key pieces back on defense.

Will it be enough to supplant their biggest rival?