Oklahoma Sooners

PLANO, Texas -- Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops joked about the controversy he faced this offseason -- for comments about the SEC and not paying players more than a stipend -- before he sat down with me and a few reporters Wednesday night. One Sooners staffer jokingly asked if Stoops could just stay out of the news.

"Heck, I said, 'Frankly, I don't know half the time until two days later that there's even a storm,'" Stoops said. "I'm like, 'Geez, what happened with that?'"

Why has Stoops caught so much criticism with his comments in recent months?

"Come on, you know why. This time of year? You guys gotta have something to write about, talk about. It's just this time of year. Everybody blows up whatever they can," he said. "I don't care, to be honest with you. I could care less. It has no effect. It just fills up readers and feeds what everybody wants out there. It's all fluff."

Still, Stoops provided a bit more "fluff" in a nearly 30-minute session before taking the podium at an Oklahoma caravan event.

• Stoops was adamant earlier in the offseason that he didn't want media on the College Football Playoff selection committee, but spent several minutes talking about the inherent bias that any committee member may bring to the process. Will there be a pro-SEC bias? "Well, if they have eight guys from Atlanta voting on it, that'll be a problem," he said. "Does everybody have bias or not? Does everybody have to answer to somebody, whether it's the area you're reporting or whether it's the people in your area and the paycheck you're getting or whatever?"
• As for the idea of the likes of Roger Staubach or Condoleezza Rice taking part in the committee? Both have fewer direct allegiances to college football, but Stoops isn't exactly buying them as members. "I've got total respect for both of them, but how many games are they watching? I don't know," Stoops said. "If I'm Condoleezza Rice, I'm probably not watching a lot of them. I've got more important issues. If I'm Roger Staubach, probably the same thing. I've got business ventures I'm watching. Everybody wants to act like that's an easy answer. There's bias everywhere." He also said he's not sure old coaches will be signing up for the job of picking the four teams to play for the national title. "I don't know that if I was an old coach, that I'd want to be on it. What do I need that for?" he said with a laugh. "That's tough goin'. I don't know how they'll [pick the committee]."
• Stoops made it clear that strength of schedule should play a big role in selection, but also argued that in the BCS era, that's not the case. "A year ago if we don't play Notre Dame and we play Little Sisters of the Poor, we're in a BCS bowl instead of Northern Illinois ahead of us," he said.
• Stoops isn't advocating an eight-team playoff, but noted that as you got further down the rankings, the complaints of teams left out ought to be quieter, and people will care less about those arguments. "I think it's a good step, where we're at. We needed to start somewhere. We started at four. We'll see how four goes. I'm not convinced we needed to start at eight."
• Sooners linebacker Corey Nelson, a Dallas native, accompanied Stoops to the event, and dropped an intriguing nugget when asked by an attendee to spill something about his coach that few knew. After a few wins, Stoops has been known to dance in the locker room -- and Nelson seemed impressed. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has earned some notoriety for his postgame dances, some film of which has escaped, but I'm intrigued to know how much video of Stoops might garner on the black market. "He'll break it down for us," Nelson said.
• Stoops also talked about his time helping with tornado relief in Moore, Okla., just north of Norman and not far from his home. Stoops said he and his wife have both been out helping clear out houses. "I work and I don't want any recognition. I didn't tell anyone I was there. I was there an hour and nobody knew who I was, chunkin' stuff out of a house and just helping a lady, and she appreciated it." The homeowner eventually discovered her high-profile help and got a big hug from Stoops. "The house was cleaned out and we had a good moment and that was enough for me."

PLANO, Texas -- Bob Stoops says he's never been in a position in which he's restricted where a transferring player would go.

That said, he supports those who do. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy restricted outgoing quarterback Wes Lunt from transferring to 37 schools, including all teams from the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12.

Stoops was emphatic when asked about the talk surrounding Gundy's controversial decision.

"I support every coach and I support Mike Gundy in every way if they have their issues because all situations are different. I mean that sincerely. Mike’s doing the right thing in his case," Stoops said at an Oklahoma caravan event on Wednesday night. "A guy says, 'I’m coming to you' and you get a running back, and then all of a sudden you don’t have a running back. He leaves. That doesn’t leave your program in a great spot, right? So, I’m totally in agreement."

Stoops cited a case last year when he let Brandon Williams, the nation's No. 35 overall recruit, transfer to Texas A&M.

"I haven’t done it, but I support every coach who does," he said.

Stoops said he'd read a little bit about Gundy's situation with Lunt, but made it clear that he never wanted to be sided against any coach on the transfer issue. Asked directly if he ever would support a player's choice to transfer, Stoops said, "No, not really."

"It isn’t right that they can just do what they want to do," Stoops said. "It isn’t good. I don’t believe in it."

Stoops argued that players sign letters of intent with schools and not coaches, so even a coaching change shouldn't make it OK for players to leave. He acknowledged that tampering does happen with players, and if players were allowed to transfer without sitting out a year, that illegal act would be encouraged.

"Nobody made them sign with me. I didn’t force them to, it was what they wanted to do. And because we’re limited in what we’re allowed per scholarship, it’s the right thing to have consequences, otherwise you’d have kids changing their mind every year. It’s not right," he said.

Stoops also said he supported the advent of four-year scholarships, rather than the one-year model currently employed by the NCAA. It allows some coaches to simply remove players at the end of their scholarship agreement and give that scholarship to a different player. Stoops said he would never do that and doesn't support those who do.

Our series on coaches marches on today. Today, we're looking more at the coaching jobs themselves, and less about the men who currently reside within them.

Who has the Big 12's best? It all factors in history, facilities, recruiting base, fan base etc. What are the best jobs in the league? Here's how I'd rank them.

1. Texas: Ready-made recruiting base. The Longhorns are the flagship program in a state full of talented kids who (most of them, anyway) would die for an offer to wear the burnt orange. They've got a big fan base and college sports' biggest budget. What more could you ask for? Oh, a crazy awesome city surrounding your campus? Texas has that, too; this is arguably the best job in the nation.

2. Oklahoma: The Sooners are a national power with a huge fan base and lots of money. Being just under three hours up the road from Dallas pays off in recruiting, too. Winning isn't automatic here (ask John Blake), but it's a lot easier than at most places. The gap between these two and the rest of the league? Enormous.

3. Oklahoma State: Ain't nothin' wrong with a sugar daddy. T. Boone Pickens has helped elevate this program off the field and Mike Gundy turned it into a big winner on the field. OSU's facilities are impeccable, and its proximity to Texas allows it to reel in some top talent from the state.

4. West Virginia: This is the only team on our list that truly has an entire state behind the program. That pays off, even if it's a small one like West Virginia. Being a historic winner helps, too. Big 12 membership will pay off in facility upgrades soon, too.

5. Texas Tech: Tech's facilities are nice and the Red Raiders often get first dibs on the declining-but-still-underrated talent in West Texas. Winning big is possible, and the rowdy fan base provides a nice home-field advantage. Look out for that wind and lack of an indoor facility, though. Lubbock has a reputation as a small town, but it's actually one of the league's biggest with a population of well over 200,000. It's not the prettiest city, but there's more there than most think.

6. Baylor: Waco's proximity to the metroplex makes it a nice draw for recruits, and though the city isn't a huge draw, the campus is nice and the facilities are strong. A small fan base is the biggest negative. It's never fun for coaches or players to play home games in atmospheres that feel like neutral-site games. It happens too often at Baylor.

7. TCU: TCU has the same problem as the Bears, and we'll see if Big 12 membership fixes its home field getting flooded by opposing fans in Texas. Being located in the DFW metroplex is huge, and the facilities are in the process of a major upgrade that will be done soon. Gary Patterson winning for a decade gives this job a big upgrade for the next guy, too.

8. Kansas State: Bill Snyder did the impossible and turned K-State into a power (albeit briefly), but no one else seems to be able to win in Manhattan. It's a tiny town in central Kansas, and unless you're arguably the greatest coach in the history of the game, nobody else has been able to consistently win there. The fan support is outstanding and way underrated, but taking the job has to give any coach pause, even if Snyder's done everything he can to make the program a winner for the next guy.

9. Kansas: An apathetic fan base that seems more interested in basketball is the biggest problem with the KU job. It's the only school in the Big 12 that prefers the roundball. Mark Mangino proved you could win big there, but even he had trouble winning consistently. The stadium is quiet and underwhelming, but its proximity to Kansas City offers some nice payoff in recruiting -- if you can beat out Mizzou.

10. Iowa State: Iowa State holds the distinction of being the only truly "little brother" program in its own state, and that lands it at the bottom of our list. ISU is way north in the Big 12, and in a state that has little football talent. Best of luck convincing top Texas talents to sign up for Iowa winters. Feign offense at the "little brother" tag, but Iowa has 11 conference titles, 22 consensus All-Americans and a Heisman Trophy. Iowa State has two titles, three All-Americans and no Heisman. It's not close. Iowa's also won 14 bowl games, compared to three for ISU. That said, Paul Rhoads is doing an unbelievable job in Ames. So did Dan McCarney.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Mike Gundy remembers what happened the last time Oklahoma State shook up the Bedlam rivalry.

Gundy was an assistant on Les Miles' staff back in 2001 when the Cowboys knocked off the defending national champion Sooners on their home field as four-touchdown underdogs. In 2002, Miles did it again, beating the No. 4 Sooners in Stillwater, 38-28. The Sooners' noisy neighbors to the north woke them up to a rivalry that would turn one-sided again very soon.

"The first two years I was here with Les and we beat them, they didn’t really consider us a factor. I obviously don’t have any proof of that, but I’m sure when they looked at their schedule, they were looking more at Texas and Nebraska and people like that. ... I don’t think their players every really paid much attention to us," Gundy said. "It’s been so one-sided here for the last 100 years, or however long; it's been a bigger factor for the fans than it was the players.

"That changed in 2003 up through now. They, in my opinion, were very aware of that game. Last year is only going to add to that."

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops? Well, he strongly disagrees with that assessment.

"Everyone calls it a rivalry for all these years, now you’re saying it’s now become one? I don’t understand that. When wasn’t it a rivalry?" he said. "Like I didn’t need to last year? What year didn’t I need to win it?"

Valid points from Stoops, but the facts support Gundy's assumption. After the 2002 loss, the Sooners won next eight Bedlams battles. Only three of the eight wins were by single digits, even though a rising Oklahoma State program was ranked in five of the eight meetings.

Just like 2001 and 2002, Gundy says the Cowboys' emphatic 2011 win "throws fuel on the fire" of Bedlam, a Big 12 rivalry gaining fast on Red River as the Big 12's most nationally relevant game.

Last season, the balance of power in the state shifted. When receiver Isaiah Anderson goes home to Wichita Falls, Texas, he sees more orange than ever before. It's on car bumpers, the fronts of shirts and emblazoned across hats.

With a 44-10 Cowboys romp in Boone Pickens Stadium capped by a field storming, Oklahoma State announced its arrival.

"Oklahoma’s not the only team in Oklahoma anymore. They can’t call it the Sooner State," Anderson said.

This was no fluke win. It was no blip of an upset that put a late-season blemish on Oklahoma's record. This was two in-state rivals playing for everything, and Oklahoma State walked away as 34-point victors.

"I said it then: If not now, then when? When is that gonna happen?" offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. "We got them here, everything’s on the line, we’ve had a bye week, we’re playing good football. We’re healthy. They weren’t."

The Sooners had taken home seven Big 12 titles since 2000, and even with injuries to leading receiver Ryan Broyles and running back Dominique Whaley, they had positioned themselves for an eighth. Oklahoma State said, "No. This one's ours."

Oklahoma State had won games, sure. It had won bunches of them -- 29 in the past three seasons, including a school-record 11 in 2010. What it hadn't won? The big one.

"The bully is the bully until you beat up the bully," Monken said. "You can’t say you’ve arrived until you actually win it."

Fans mobbed players to celebrate as they ripped down the goalposts.

Middle-aged alums hopped the field's 8-foot wall and hugged players such as Justin Gilbert, who said he couldn't take a step without someone thanking him and his teammates.

In one night, Oklahoma State ended eight years of frustration.

"Hopefully, now in our players' minds and our fans’ minds, we’re not the whipping boy anymore," offensive lineman Jonathan Rush said. "We can play. It’s not like we have a curse that we’ll never win that game. Now we can believe. It’s doable."

It also booked its first trip to the BCS and, most importantly, won its first outright conference title.

"If we beat Iowa State and lost to OU, it’s not the same," Monken said, referencing a double-overtime loss to the Cyclones that cost OSU a shot at the national title but didn't deter its Big 12 title hopes. "Yeah, we might have gone on and played in the Sugar Bowl, but it wouldn’t have been the same because you didn’t win the league. You didn’t win the title. You can’t say, 'Hey, we’re conference champs.' And you did it against OU, who, let’s face it, has had the upper hand for years."

The Sooners had the upper hand on more than just Oklahoma State. OU and Texas combined to win 10 of the 15 Big 12 titles before last season. No one except the Sooners and Longhorns had won the former Big 12 South since Texas A&M in 1998.

Then, all of a sudden, the Big 12's Red River dominance came to an end.

"I think what that’s done is kind of broke the ice a little bit," Gundy said. "The people that follow football in this part of the country, I think they enjoyed watching Oklahoma State win this league, because of the dominance the other two schools have had."

It's no longer impossible to surpass Oklahoma and Texas. The road to the Big 12 title was easier in the former Big 12 North, but when the Big 12 eliminated divisions in 2011 after being trimmed to just 10 teams, concern arose that no one would be able to outperform OU or Texas over the course of a 12-game season.

A Big 12 North team could upset a team from the South in the Big 12 title game. Kansas State proved that with a mammoth upset in 2003. Colorado upset Texas in 2001. But outplay the Red River rivals for an entire season? Good luck with that.

A year later, Oklahoma State proved it can be done, and can be done emphatically. The Cowboys finished two games ahead of the Sooners after the Bedlam beatdown for state supremacy.

"Winning a BCS game in some way has changed all of their lives," Gundy said. "They just don’t know it. It certainly changed mine and the people that coach here and work in their organization. It did theirs, too. They just don’t know it yet."

NORMAN, Okla. -- Texas coach Mack Brown was the first Big 12 coach to speak out against some of college football's latest rule changes, but Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy joined him in expressing concerns this week during interviews with ESPN.com.

Stoops' biggest concern was the potential for players to be penalized for continuing to play if their helmet is knocked off during the course of a play.

"It doesn’t make sense," he said. "It’s not anybody’s instinct to stop. I don’t think that’s very fair or very realistic."

Stoops and Brown both brought in officials this offseason to explain the rule change. For example, pass rushers can continue to rush the pocket without a helmet if they're engaged with an offensive lineman, but if a passer escapes the pocket or steps up to run, players must stop. If not, they can be flagged for 15-yard penalties.

"I’m not for that. Any rule that gives the officials or makes the officials have judgment calls is a bad rule because it’s not fair to them either," Gundy said. "Judgment calls make it difficult, and so you always want to take judgment calls out of their hands."

Additionally, players must sit out a play if their helmet comes off, which Brown noted could pose problems late in games. If a helmet comes off and the player's team doesn't have a timeout saved in a game's final minutes, there will be a 10-second run-off.

"They might need to look at that a little bit more," Stoops said.

The nightmare scenario? Being forced to run a game-deciding play with a top talent on the sidelines because a helmet came off.

"You can’t have a game changed because a helmet came off a key player," Gundy said. "That’s not a good thing."

The intent of the rule is to get players, some of whom have grown lazy in correctly buckling helmets, to take safety seriously and wear helmets correctly, which could also prevent concussions.

The question: Will the good intent outweigh controversial side effects?

"They’re trying to get them to tighten up their helmets, which is a good rule," Gundy said. "But those kinds of things have to be taken into consideration."

Additionally, players may call for a fair catch on onside kicks this year if the ball bounces high in the air after just one bounce. If it bounces twice, it's a live ball on an onside kick as it had been previously.

Stoops says he's "fine" with that rule, and Gundy sounded less concerned about the rule change than Brown.

"I am not a big fan of the onside kick. I hold my breath whenever you do it or you’re against it, because three kids, three players on both teams are going to get blown up every time. You’re just sitting ducks. You’re standing there looking in the air and a guy’s blowing you up. If that were my kid, I wouldn’t be real fired up about that," Gundy said. "I know it’s part of football and this and that, but there’s a lot of things that go on in history of life that we change when we think it’s better."

The result for Gundy's Cowboys? He may abandon the onside kick altogether with the new rules.

"Basically that means you have to squib the ball, and if you squib the ball, your percentages go down considerably," he said. "I agree with Mack, it’s not even worth it. Why run in there and blow everybody up for a play that was probably less than 10 percent chance to get, now it’s less than three percent?"

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The proud Pokes finally did the deed.

The goalposts came down, and the Oklahoma State flags went up.

Red state? Blue state? For the first time since 2002, Oklahoma is an orange state.

The impact of Saturday's dominant 44-10 Oklahoma State win over Oklahoma was far-reaching. After voters from coast to coast slot LSU No. 1, they'll have to decide on No. 2: Alabama or Oklahoma State?

But on this night, the Cowboys had a chance to enjoy the simpler pleasures, too.

All that politicking and SEC mudslinging will last less than 24 hours.

This win on Saturday night? It'll last a whole year and bleed everywhere -- from coffee shops to elementary schools across Oklahoma.

Coach Mike Gundy says he's immune from the ever-present smack talk. But everybody else?

"I know it affects the players," Gundy said. "And coaches' families, their kids. I've got three kids that go to school, and all the coaches have kids. They want to win. That's what their dads do. That's just a fact. Whether you like it or not, there's legitimate reasons for us to win, so when they go in those restaurants, they don't have to listen to, 'Hey, y'all made it all the way to No. 2 in the country, but you still didn't beat OU.'"

They played this Bedlam rivalry for the 106th time on Saturday night. This was only the 17th time that Oklahoma State fans left with their heads held high.

"It's one thing to hear it around the rest of the state, but when you go home and you have to hear people talk to you about it, it makes it worse," said receiver Justin Blackmon, who hails from the heart of Sooner country. His hometown of Ardmore, Okla., is only about 80 miles south of Norman.

"I know they won't be able to talk," Blackmon said.

The simple truth: Wins like these are more special for the folks in orange. They don't see them quite as often, but that number is growing.

For a year, they'll relish the first outright conference title in school history and the first since they shared a conference crown in 1976.

Gundy called it the most gratifying football moment of his career, overtaking the first time he beat Texas in 2010.

"Nothing compares," said the career Cowboy, who has spent 21 years as a player, assistant and now head coach at Oklahoma State.

This one was special.

"We've earned their respect over the last four, five, six years, so it's different," Gundy said. "There were a number of years we didn't even have their respect. They respected us, and that helps, but still, you've gotta beat 'em. Otherwise it's always, OSU has got to this level or that level, but they've never beat OU."

And Gundy, in a fashion that turned the second half into a party atmosphere instead of a tense one, became the first coach since that coaching savant down in the Bayou, Les Miles, to knock off Oklahoma as the Cowboy-in-chief.

The Cowboys didn't beat Oklahoma. They beat the heck out of Oklahoma. The offensive line: "Phew, dominant," quarterback Brandon Weeden said with a shake of his head.

Weeden had enough time in the pocket for most of the night to craft each of his linemen a handwritten thank-you note to hand out in the postgame locker room, where Gundy obliged his team with another one of his patented dance sessions.

"I had no choice," he said. "I'm a YouTube sensation. There's no telling what'll be on there next."

That was only after a well-deserved Gatorade shower.

"God, that was cold," Gundy said.

Yeah, Oklahoma fans felt the same way.

Oklahoma State running backs Jeremy Smith and Joseph Randle -- who combined ran 22 times for 178 yards and four touchdowns -- found holes from the offensive line wide enough that if the two were Siamese twins, their numbers might not have been much different.

The last time Oklahoma State took the field, Iowa State fans stormed it. Saturday night, it was the Cowboys' turn, all before slapping on orange shirts and white hats declaring them "Big 12 Champions."

Fans braved the nine-foot drop from the stands to the field at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Weeden stopped and posed for an endless string of photos. Players celebrated among the mob.

"I had my helmet on, and I got slapped in the head so many times, I might have a concussion," Weeden joked.

He stopped and shook Pickens' hand after. Those hundreds of millions of dollars that Pickens handed over to the school he loves so much? BCS National Championship Game appearance or not, it's paying off.

Oklahoma State, for the first time, is the Big 12 champion.

"To see [the players] enjoy that, that's a huge thrill for me, because there's so much that goes into this," Gundy said. "I just want them to be able to enjoy it."

They will. And so will the rest of the Oklahoma State family.

Oklahoma State 41, Oklahoma 35
Thanks to the passing of Landry Jones and the running of Blake Bell, the Sooners go toe-to-toe with the Pokes early. But after withstanding a couple of quick OU scoring strikes to open the third quarter, Brandon Weeden's offense pulls away in the fourth to give the Cowboys their first outright conference title in 63 years.

Pick to click: Frank Alexander does everything he can to keep the Sooners in the game, with two sacks and three tackles for loss. OU loses, but Alexander goes on to capture Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.
- Jake Trotter

Oklahoma State 38, Oklahoma 35
The Cowboys finally get over the hump thanks to a late turnover by the Sooners which ends a potential game-winning drive. The weather has a impact on OSU as they struggle to make big plays through the air but still make enough plays to pull out the victory. OU leans on its running game to put up points but three turnovers prove costly.

Pick to click: Freshman Brandon Williams flashes the potential that has had Sooners fans drooling all season with one long touchdown run as he secures the first 100-yard game of his OU career.
- Brandon Chatmon

Oklahoma State 31, Oklahoma 22
Weather is going to play a big role in this one as freezing rain that could turn into snow is being expected. In a battle of the running games, it is OSU's Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith that get the best of OU's Roy Finch and Brandon Williams in helping the Cowboys earn a Big 12 championship and their first BCS bowl appearance.

Pick to click: The secondary has heard for the last two weeks about how the "sharks" moniker needs to go away. The group responds with an inspired game. Led by Jamell Fleming, OU's secondary will cause at least two turnovers.
- Bob Przybylo

It's easy to see Saturday's Bedlam as 60 minutes that could have meant so, so much more.

For Oklahoma State, 60 minutes in Ames, Iowa, all but assured it wouldn't. LSU and Georgia will play an essentially meaningless SEC title game Saturday night. Win or lose, the currently undefeated Tigers will almost certainly play a one-loss team for the national championship.

Perhaps it will be Oklahoma State. It's much more likely to be Alabama, which is idle this weekend.

For the Oklahoma State-inclined, it's easy to look at Saturday's game against Oklahoma and see what it isn't. The dream of a national semifinal in which the Cowboys' BCS title opportunity comes explicitly at the cost of the Sooners is likely gone. Neither team will likely meet LSU to play for all the crawdads down on the bayou.

Oklahoma State should see Saturday's game for what it is: a chance to make some very meaningful history.

Six teams have won a Big 12 title. Oklahoma State can win its first Saturday, denying the Sooners a share in the process.

Doing so would mean beating rival Oklahoma for the first time since 2002. So, maybe coach Mike Gundy refuses to politick for his team this week, but that only means he grasps what this week means, rather than what it doesn't.

"We're in a situation that we have a chance to win a football game and win a conference championship for the first time in the history of the school," Gundy said, "and I just feel like that's more important than politicking for a spot in second place or wherever it would be in the BCS."

A win also would give Oklahoma State its 11th of the season with a chance for a school-record 12th in a BCS bowl, one more place Oklahoma State has never been.

For all of Oklahoma State's recent success, this season is an example of how things work in college football. Only one team has ever won the national title without first playing in a BCS game. Never mind that Oklahoma is the only team to do it.

What hurt OSU fans most about the gut-punch at Iowa State? This felt like "The Year" for every Pistol Pete disciple. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon will be cashing NFL checks this time next year, an event sure enough that Blackmon, a junior, will take part in senior day festivities Saturday.

And maybe it is The Year. But there's plenty of reason to believe it's "A Year That Didn't Quite Work Out." Oklahoma has had plenty of those.

Weeden was a walk-on who spent a handful of years playing baseball. Blackmon was a three-star recruit. Both are special. But Oklahoma State is recruiting better than ever.

"We’ve got a lot of great guys in this program that are really young. We haven’t ever had kids like this around here," Gundy told me after a dramatic win over Kansas State this year. "I see a lot of things changing. It’s just different than it ever has been."

Why couldn't Oklahoma State recruit another Weeden and Blackmon? Oklahoma does it every season. Lose Sam Bradford? Enter Landry Jones. Ryan Broyles shatters records. Kenny Stills breaks Broyles' freshman records.

Oklahoma State lost a first-round pick at receiver and a record-breaking receiver after the nine-win 2009 season, along with four offensive linemen. Nobody gave the Cowboys a chance. They won 11 games. Gundy credits his culture within the program. Underclassmen know what's expected of them when it's their time.

The Cowboys are closer to Oklahoma than ever before. This season and the last, the Cowboys have been the better team entering the game, although Oklahoma knocked off the Cowboys to win the Big 12 South last season.

Oklahoma State might not hang with Oklahoma's near-perennial top-10 classes, but the Cowboys have consistently reeled in top-25 classes in recent years.

A win Saturday would continue a streak that only the coaching elite can claim: Oklahoma State will have won as many or more games as the previous season during all seven of Gundy's seasons.

In 2010, the big step was winning a share of the Big 12 South. This year, it could be winning the Big 12.

So maybe this isn't the year Oklahoma State wins the national title.

But it might be the next step.

Oklahoma prepared for Texas Tech all week as four-touchdown favorites while its rival up north, Oklahoma State, listened to critics place it on upset alert all week heading into a road matchup against Missouri.

The Sooners, you might have heard by now, lost. Oklahoma State won by three touchdowns.

Oklahoma decided to limit its media access following the loss to just one post-practice opportunity instead of the usual three. The move is reminiscent of late last season when the Sooners closed their season with two mammoth road games against Baylor and Oklahoma State and trimmed media access to a few select players.

Did Oklahoma let the confidence of others outside the locker room get in its head? Who knows? But Texas coach Mack Brown, not speaking specifically about the Sooners, says it wouldn't be the first time that's happened to a team.

Brown's wife, Sally, likes to tell him she knows nothing about football, but she's learned at least one thing over the years.

"She says about the time someone says, 'That absolutely cannot happen,' is when it happens," Brown told reporters during the weekly Big 12 coaches teleconference. "Kids sit around all week and listen to the fans. They listen to the media, and when people are talking about the other team not having a chance to win -- or you start talking about a game down the road instead of the one that week -- it is a very, very dangerous thing. That's why coaches get so paranoid about games each week. All of us have been in one of those, and when you've been in one, that's enough. That'll keep your attention for the rest of them."

Oklahoma experienced that disappointment on Saturday. Oklahoma State didn't, but Mike Gundy knows a similar performance from his team could produce a similar result.

"You try to do everything you can as a coach to stress the importance of trying to play at a high level every week," Gundy said. "The example that I've used is that we're in March Madness from Sept. 1 in college football. There are not many opportunities to slip and continue to have a chance to be there at the end of the season."

Oklahoma State is one of just eight remaining undefeated teams left, including two in the Big 12. It's the highest-ranked Big 12 team, five spots above fellow undefeated Kansas State, which hosts Oklahoma this week. The challenge ahead of the Cowboys is clear: avoid the fate Oklahoma fell victim to against Texas Tech.

"We think as a coaching staff that the greatest challenge we have now is to get them to play at a high level 12 weeks in a row," Gundy said.