Entering the 2011-2012 season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys appeared on paper to be one of the Big 12′s best teams.
Few expected Mike Gundy’s team to in fact be one of the country’s best teams.
With the combination of an explosive offense and solid defense, the Cowboys are undefeated halfway through the season, and with the wacky Big 12 continuing to surprise every weekend, are in the driver’s seat to take home the conference championship, and perhaps make their first appearance in the BCS National Championship game.
Oklahoma State faces two tough tests over the course of their remaining four games, one of which comes with a contest against the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan next Saturday. Bill Snyder’s team will be looking to prove that they were not an early-season fluke after being easily dispatched by the Oklahoma Sooners yesterday afternoon and will give the Cowboys all they can handle.
Assuming Oklahoma State emerges with the win next Saturday, the only true test remaining will be in the traditional Bedlam game on Saturday, December 3rd against the Oklahoma Sooners. By early December, Mike Gundy and his staff will know for sure just how important this game will be.
All of the pieces could begin to fall into place next weekend for Oklahoma State following the SEC matchup-of-the-year between the No. 1 LSU Tigers and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide. The winner of this game all-but-secures a spot in the BCS Championship game, in lieu of the outcome of the 2011 SEC Championship game to take place on the same day as Bedlam.
If Oklahoma State runs the table, it is almost a certainty they will compete for the school’s first National Championship– the question is whom they will play.
An undefeated SEC team is the no-brainer to fill the second slot. If either LSU or Alabama remains undefeated following next Saturday’s contest, they will matchup against the Cowboys on January 9th in New Orleans.
If, for some reason, both LSU and Alabama finish the season with one loss each, and Boise State remains undefeated, the Broncos could play for their first National Championship. The controversy will be certain to be substantial given this scenario whether an undefeated Boise team deserves to jump two one-loss SEC teams given the relative strength of schedule for each team.
Either way, Oklahoma State is certainly in the driver’s seat. Now is the time for a program that has often been on the cusp of national supremacy, but whom has never actually controlled its opportunity to bring home a title.
Can they control this pressure, and finish the regular season undefeated?
There are several obstacles still remaining, but with the extreme talent the Cowboys enjoy at the most important positions, it is a strong possibility.
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