Oklahoma State a 'Coin Flip' to Make Bowl Game in 2025

Oklahoma State is looking to bounce back in 2025, but not everyone is convinced it can make it happen.

Last season, the Cowboys were among the worst teams in all of college football. Going 3-9 and ranking among the worst in the country in many stats, OSU had easily the worst season of the Mike Gundy era.

After that disaster, OSU spent the offseason doing everything it can to ensure that won’t happen again. The Cowboys hired Doug Meacham and Todd Grantham to be their new coordinators, also bringing in a plethora of new coaches alongside them.

Add in big roster changes through the transfer portal, and the Cowboys could be a top candidate to turn things around in a big way next season. However, there are still plenty of folks around the country not buying what the Cowboys are selling.

In a recent article, CBS Sports put each Power Four team to miss a bowl game last season into a tier regarding their chances of making a bowl game in 2025. OSU earned a spot in the “Flip a Coin” tier, which is the third of five tiers.

“The only continuity within the Oklahoma State program is 21st-year coach Mike Gundy, who conducted a roster and staff purge after last season's 3-9 (0-9 Big 12) disaster,” David Cobb wrote. “The Cowboys have never missed a bowl in consecutive seasons under Gundy, and they'll have to sweat in order to keep that streak alive. There is not a proven quarterback, and the nonconference slate features a death march to Oregon. If anyone else were on the sideline, Oklahoma State would be in the ‘longshots’ category. But Gundy has made a career of surpassing expectations.”

While there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the direction of OSU, the one thing that keeps pulling people back into the Cowboys and their hopes of turning things around is their coach. With Gundy at the helm, OSU has plenty of seasons to point to as examples of why it should never be counted out.

Throughout his tenure, the Cowboys have been overlooked dramatically many times. Although OSU has been unable to find its way into the College Football Playoff and has only one Big 12 title in his time in Stillwater, Gundy’s teams always seem to perform best when they are overlooked.