Did Unrealistic Expectations Doom Oklahoma State's 2024 Season?

Oklahoma State was one of the nation’s most disappointing teams last season, but it might have had unrealistic expectations.

The Cowboys entered last season as one of the top teams in the country and were expected to be playing in meaningful games in November and beyond. However, the Cowboys were seemingly out of the Big 12 title race by the time October arrived and failed to live up to their lofty preseason expectations.

Although OSU wasn’t technically expected to make the Big 12 Championship, finishing third in the conference preseason poll, it had games against the top two teams to begin conference play, with both seen as potential swing games for the Big 12 title picture. After OSU dropped both of its big conference battles, its expectations for the season also dropped dramatically.

While OSU was still seen as a fringe top 25 team that could compete against most of the Big 12, it failed to even meet those expectations. Of course, by that point, the Cowboys seemed to be pressing to avoid full-on disappointment and could never find a groove after Big 12 play began.

Of course, that disappointment might have come from expectations being far too high to begin with. While the thought behind OSU’s high hopes came from bringing back most of the roster from a 10-win season in 2023, the Cowboys might have simply had an overachieving season.

Considering Ollie Gordon II had to consistently put up Barry Sanders-like numbers for the Cowboys to narrowly earn wins over teams that were in the middle of the pack in the Big 12, the signs were always there that OSU might not be able to repeat its success a year later.

As the Cowboys have revamped their roster for 2025, there is a case to be made that OSU should have higher expectations for this season than 2024. No, that doesn’t mean the Cowboys should be expected to compete for a Big 12 title next season.

Rather, it means that OSU wasn’t appropriately rated last season, when it should have been seen as a mid-tier Big 12 squad. Meanwhile, the Cowboys could be an eight-win team next season if things go according to plan. Of course, that number could fluctuate drastically in this era of college football.

Ultimately, expectations and preseason predictions are useless in the era of change, but there is still something to be said for the Cowboys as they head into year 21 under Mike Gundy.