STILLWATER — In hindsight, it would seem that any consternation Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy had about opening the 2013 season against Mississippi State in Houston was unfounded.
OSU played well. OSU won. OSU is 1-0. OSU’s fan base is happy. OSU’s billion-dollar booster club is happy.
Looking back on it now, it all seems like a good idea.
“For you,” Gundy said on Monday.
“No. I want to play here. I want to get 60-some-thousand people in this stadium, I want it to be full, I want to bring recruits in and I want people to come in on Friday nights and I want the restaurants to be full and the atmosphere and 35,000 tailgaters here and I want people to see it on TV. That’s what I believe in. I don’t disagree with anybody. You asked me what I believe.”
Gundy agrees that he learned more about his team playing a rugged team in an unfamiliar setting. He said as much before the game, and reiterated that stance now that the Cowboys dispatched MSU 21-3.
But Gundy also asserts that his stance isn’t necessarily based winning or losing. It’s not about whether he can find another Savannah State instead of playing a big-boy club from the Southeastern Conference.
“I guess at some point we kind of have to get over this as a group,” he said, seemingly tired of the topic that drove a wedge between him and his administrators and benefactors.
“I believe in playing in Boone Pickens Stadium,” he said. “We built a beautiful stadium, there’s 60,000 people here, the atmosphere, the environment, the college town, the Friday afternoons. I just think it’s better. I think it’s better for Oklahoma State football and the university in general. That’s just my opinion.
“You say, ‘Well, you just want to bring a team in here and beat up on ‘em,’ that’s not necessarily true. I just think playing at home is a much better situation for Oklahoma State football. That’s just my opinion. Am I glad we won the game? Yes. Am I glad we won playing an SEC team? Yes — now. But I still would rather play at home, in this facility, and sell and market Oklahoma State University.”
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