Can Mike Gundy save the Cowboys?
Published: 9/25/2009 8:13 AM
Last Modified: 9/25/2009 8:13 AM
You have one dollar, and you can bet it on either of two sides:
* That Oklahoma State recovers completely from its current condition of lethargy, returns to a high level of performance and contends for the Big 12 title.
* Or that this season becomes a complete train wreck. Perhaps a 6-6 record – or worse.
On which side do you lay that dollar?
That's the beauty of college football. It's a 50-50 proposition. Or, perhaps, there might be something in the middle: occasional brilliance, occasional ineptitude.
A complete recovery will require great coaching by Mike Gundy, and that's what was expected when OSU officials bumped his salary so dramatically (from last year's $1,053,000 to this year's $1.8 million).
Can Gundy save the Cowboys? This is the greatest challenge he has faced as a coach.
Ultimately, will Tuesday, Sept. 8 be recorded as having been the pinnacle of the 2009 Oklahoma State football season?
Cowboy fans surely remember Sept. 8. Three days removed from one of the more important victories in school history – the 24-10 conquest of Georgia, a win that boosted the Cowboys from No. 9 to No. 5 in the AP poll – OSU officials were informed that Dez Bryant would be pictured on that week's Sports Illustrated cover. It would be OSU's second Sports Illustrated cover in less than a month. On Sept. 8, the Cowboys were viewed as a hot national commodity.
On Sept. 12, the party ended. OSU was outplayed and outscored by Houston. Yes, the Cougars benefited from lucky bounces, but the Cowboys blew a third-quarter opportunity to take control. It has been suggested that the Houston game was a fluke. No, it wasn't. Houston had 512 total yards. That's no fluke.
Last week, the Cowboys beat Rice, but it was a ragged, unimpressive win. And in no previous Gundy-era season have injuries been such a prominent factor. Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter, Bryant, Orie Lemon, Lucien Antoine, Markelle Martin, Jermiah Price – all have been injured to some extent.
OSU's problems are well-documented. The defense was a sieve against Houston and uninspired against Rice. The usually potent Cowboy ground game has been a huge dud so far. Compared to the standards he established while becoming OSU's career total-offense leader, Robinson hasn't been himself.
After Saturday's Grambling State game, the Cowboy coaches have two weeks to get it all fixed. The Big 12 schedule, starting with the Oct. 10 trip to Texas A&M, is extremely challenging. If the Cowboys aren't substantially better than they were against Houston and Rice of Conference USA, how many Big 12 wins can they register? Two? Maybe three?
If Mike Gundy was good enough to take OSU to a No. 5 ranking, is he good enough to save the Cowboys from a potentially disastrous season? If OSU suddenly produces 40-point, 500-yard performances and achieves a 4-0 October run (which would include a Halloween home victory over Texas), then that $1.8 million will have been money well-spent.
-- Bill Haisten
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
