The Big 12 Football Preseason Poll as voted upon by media was released on Thursday afternoon, and surprise, surprise: the Oklahoma Sooners were nearly unanimously chosen to win their 7th consecutive Big 12 Championship. Four outliers went with Iowa State, and I get it, we all want to be special, but really? This is the moment these guys picked? Come on…
Texas unsurprisingly was picked to finish 3rd after finishing in the top 3 in Big 12 play in the last 3 years, and then came in the Oklahoma State Cowboys at 4th. The Cowboys finished 4th in the Big 12 the last 2 seasons, and they haven’t finished better than that since 2017 when they finished 3rd.
The last few seasons have been somewhat disappointing for Cowboy fans, depending upon which ones you ask, and while Oklahoma State football hasn’t exactly underperformed, they haven’t been a pleasant surprise either. The most recent win total predictions from Vegas have Oklahoma State at 7.5 wins, which is right on par with where they have been lately. Simply put, that’s just not going to cut it.
It’s hard to gauge the exact heat of head coach Mike Gundy’s seat as he heads into his 16th season in Stillwater. 14 straight bowl games is just under half of Oklahoma State’s total appearances (29) in , and after a 4-7 season to start his head coaching tenure, the Cowboys haven’t had a losing season since, and have accomplished much. Now that he’s established Stillwater as a college football town, a mere 8-5 or 7-6 season is not enough.
I have a hard time picturing Mike Gundy ever getting fired, and I’ve been on both sides of that argument, more recently in favor of seeing him let go. Above all, as a Cowboy fan, I want to see America’s brightest orange find another level of success on the gridiron, and if that’s with Gundy at the helm, I’m more than fine with it. However, if Oklahoma State finishes 4th in the Big 12 yet again, it might be time for new Oklahoma State Athletic Director Chad Weiberg to make a change.