Was Oklahoma State's 2024 Season as Bad as it Seemed?

Oklahoma State was among the worst in the country last season, but it had opportunities to turn things around.

In 2024, OSU entered the season as one of the most intriguing teams in the Big 12. After winning 10 games a year earlier, the Cowboys were among the strongest contenders to win the conference and earn a College Football Playoff berth.

Of course, after beginning the year with a 3-0 nonconference slate, the Cowboys lost every conference game and had the most disappointing season of the Mike Gundy era. In going 3-9, OSU snapped 18-year streaks of bowl appearances and winning seasons.

While the season has since been disregarded as a lost cause where OSU was never close to accomplishing anything, that isn’t entirely true. Sure, the Cowboys would have needed the outcome of three games to change, and with so many injuries, it would have been difficult to overcome those challenges.

In 2024, OSU had five losses that were entirely out of reach, but had four where a few plays could have swung the game in the other direction. Of the four “close” games, OSU’s loss to Utah was borderline out of reach, with OSU seemingly needing a miracle to make the 19-point comeback in the final quarter before losing by three.

Still, there were two games that truly defined just how bad the 2024 season would be for OSU. After losing three straight games, OSU had its first bye week. Coming out of the bye, it had a chance to upset then-undefeated BYU and faced Baylor a week later.

OSU lost to BYU on a long touchdown in the final minute before falling to Baylor by 10, but gave up the sealing touchdown with over three minutes left. If the Cowboys had managed a couple of stops in those situations, there was certainly a possibility for them to enter the final four games at 5-3.

OSU was blown out by Arizona State and TCU over the next couple of games but lost a one-possession shootout with Texas Tech on Senior Day. While the season didn’t go as planned, the Cowboys were much closer to six wins than it may have appeared, which should give fans some level of confidence if they can pull out some tight wins next season.