Tulsa World: Cowboys are 180 degrees from '05

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Cowboys are 180 degrees from '05
OSU goes from a loss at Baylor three years ago to national relevance in '08.

OSU's Zac Robinson, shown celebrating a win over Missouri on Oct. 11, led the Cowboys to a 9-3 record this season. STEPHEN HOLMAN/Tulsa World

By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Published: 12/28/2008 2:27 AM
Last Modified: 12/28/2008 3:29 AM

Keep up with the Cowboys in San Diego.

If there was an absolute worst performance of Mike Gundy's head-coaching era at Oklahoma State, it might have occurred during his first season on the job — at Baylor on Nov. 19, 2005.

The Cowboys were beaten 44-34, but the final score does not reflect the full scope of their incompetence.

By the 4:25 mark of the second period, OSU trailed 38-0. By game's end, the Cowboys had committed eight turnovers, along with a penalty that wiped out what would have been a 95-yard kickoff-return touchdown.

Only 34 games later, before their date at Texas this season, the Cowboys had ascended to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

OSU finished the 2008 regular season 9-3 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play. The losses were dealt by teams that, at the time, were ranked No. 1 (Texas), No. 2 (Texas Tech) and No. 3 (Oklahoma).

On Tuesday, No. 13 OSU will attempt to reach the 10-win mark for the fourth time in school history. In the Holiday Bowl at San Diego, the Cowboys are matched with No. 15th Oregon. The Ducks also are 9-3 and finished second in the Pac-10.

One prominent reason for OSU's success this season was offensive continuity. In every game, Zac Robinson started at quarterback, Kendall Hunter started at running back and Dez Bryant

started at wide receiver. There had not been such stability in any previous Gundy-era season.

In 2005, their first season in the spread attack installed by then-offensive coordinator Larry Fedora, the Cowboys used three quarterbacks (Donovan Woods, Bobby Reid and Al Pena). In 2006, Reid was the starter, but Zac Robinson got occasional playing time. After two games in 2007, Robinson supplanted Reid as the starter.

"We went through more quarterbacks than Sonic goes through cups," Cowboy co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer said. "You want to get a trigger guy and stick with him. Zac came in and did a fantastic job.

"Once we solidified that position, you've got your trigger man, you've got your leader, and the locker room settles down."

The Holiday Bowl will be Robinson's 24th consecutive start.

"I was redshirting in 2005, but I remember it very well," said Robinson, now a junior who is on course to shatter Gundy's school record for career total offense. "The bottom line was that we just didn't have enough playmakers at wide receiver and running back. And then we were learning a new system, and that was tough.

"A big part of our turnaround was just getting the right personnel in here."

The 2006 and 2007 OSU teams were driven by running back Dantrell Savage and wide receiver Adarius Bowman. This season, the most productive Cowboys are sophomores — Hunter was an All-Big 12 selection after leading the league in rushing with 1,518 yards, and Bryant was a consensus All-American with 74 catches for 1,313 yards and 18 touchdowns, along with a 17.9-yard average on punt returns and two additional TDs. Also, senior tight end Brandon Pettigrew (36 receptions) was a finalist for the John Mackey Award.

"(In 2005), if you look at the players who were touching the ball — they were great guys and gave us their all, but they couldn't perform like the guys we have touching the ball now," Gundy said. "That makes a big difference."

Other factors in the Cowboy climb from dismal in 2005 (a 1-7 record in the Big 12) to nationally relevant in 2008:

The work of strength coach Rob Glass. Throughout his four years at OSU, the Cowboys have not been dogged by nagging injuries. "In every game, we're in better shape than our opponent in the fourth quarter," junior linebacker Andre Sexton says.

The offensive line. Tackles Russell Okung and Brady Bond, guards Steve Denning and Andrew Lewis, and center David Washington enter the Holiday Bowl with a combined total of 149 career starts.

The Fedora-Gundy offense. Fedora departed after the 2007 regular season to become the head man at Southern Miss, but he left behind a prolific offense at Oklahoma State.

This season, with Gundy responsible for the play-calling, the Cowboys (41.6-point scoring average, 489.2 yards per game) have achieved the second-best offensive output in school history.

The 1988 Cowboys — with Gundy at quarterback and Heisman Trophy-winning Barry Sanders at tailback — closed their season with a 62-14 demolition of Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl. That OSU team finished with averages of 47.5 points and 515.2 yards.

Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer

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