Oklahoma State Cowboys Football Tickets - Games - Buy Oklahoma State Cowboys Football Tickets

The fortunes of the Cowboys turned around in the final game of 2001. OSU was just 3-7 and facing #4 Okla when they pulled the stunning upset costing OU a Big 12 South Title and a shot at the Rose Bowl. That gave them confidence heading into '02 and they responded with their first winning season (8-5) S/77 and they once again upset #3 Okla with a 506-333 yard edge. They had 51 returning lettermen in '03 along with their big 3 offensive players in QB Fields, RB Bell and WR Woods and were #24 in the preseason poll, the first time they were ranked S/'85. They opened the season 7-1 before finishing a solid 9-4. In'04 they had to replace the big 3 but RB Vernand Morency rushed for 1,474 yards and the Cowboys recorded their 3rd straight winning year after having just 1 in the previous 12. They blew a 35-14 lead vs Texas and despite a 5-0 start, finished just 7-5 benefitting from +16 in turnovers. Last year, despite a weak non-conf schedule, I mentioned the possibility of a losing season. The team installed new synthetic turf and while they opened up 3-0 vs the non-conf slate, they trailed Mont St 10-8 at half, had just 292 yards vs Fla All and were outFD'd by Ark St 16-12. Colorado dealt OSU their first home shutout loss in 14 years (34-0). They were pounded by A&M 62-23 with the 694 yards by the Aggies, the 2nd most allowed in OSU history. They stunningly led Texas 28-9 in the 20 but were throttled in the 2H two years in a row. Their young D stunningly held TT to 338 yards as they pulled a huge upset at home but were not competitive in the final two as they trailed Baylor 38-0 and were outgained by OU 560-139. The Cowboys finished in last place in the Big 12 South for the first time. Gundy is a no-nonsense coach (which I like) who kicked 8 off the team last year which should bode well for the future. OSU was -15 in turnovers (see pg 312). They tie for the top of the B12 South with the most returning starters (14). They had just 5 starters back on offense last year and were incorporating their new passing schemes and only avg'd 20.2 ppg. Now with 9 starters back and in the 2nd year of the offense, they should be much improved. The defense had 6 starters back last year but were very young, especially in the secondary, and allowed 418 ypg, their most since 1989. This year, despite having just 5 starters back, they do have solid talent and will be a tougher stop unit. OSU was outgained by 148.7 ypg in Big 12 play last year (league worst) and while this is a much stronger team and will top last year's 4-win total, they have a difficult Big 12 schedule and probably won't get into the upper half of jhe division standings.