STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – The proof that the football program is growing at Oklahoma State is everywhere.
Not only are the No. 17 Cowboys off to a 6-0 start for only the fourth time in school history, they’re moving closer to another building block for sustaining success, with the opening of bids this week for a new indoor practice facility.
In recent years, Oklahoma State (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) has had a building boom thanks to the hundreds of millions of dollars donated by alumnus T. Boone Pickens. The stadium has been overhauled with a new locker room and weight room, and the next step is an area to work out when there’s lightning, frigid weather or even extreme heat.
On the field, another chance to move forward comes Saturday when No. 14 Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) visits.
“I’m personally very comfortable with where we’re at in our program,” coach Mike Gundy said Monday, outlining everything from academic support to the coordinators of the Cowboys’ offense, defense and special teams. “Still, we’re not there and it’s going to take some time.”
Over time, the Cowboys have been getting rid of their demons.
On Saturday, OSU won at Texas Tech for the first time since 1944. And the Cornhuskers have lost three of their last four games against Oklahoma State in a series they once dominated – including a 36-game unbeaten streak from 1962 to 1999.
The most surprising part is that the Cowboys are achieving the success with an almost entirely new starting lineup on defense, a new starting quarterback and four new starters on the offensive line. In the preseason, they were picked to finish fifth in the six-team Big 12 South.
“We knew we could accomplish things at the beginning of the season. Everybody else didn’t believe in us. We believed in ourselves,” said Justin Blackmon, the nation’s leader in receiving yards (159.1 ypg) and scoring (13.0 ppg). “It won’t change anything. We still believe what we can do.”
The success comes on a foundation that’s been built since the start of this decade, when Oklahoma State sandwiched a pair of landmark wins against rival Oklahoma around the breakthrough win against Nebraska. Pickens’ big donations followed, and the new facilities provided even more fuel for Gundy and his staff to lure top recruits.
Joseph Randle, Shaun Lewis and Justin Gilbert are among the group of talented freshmen who are helping to make up for the loss of so many starters from a team coming off back-to-back 9-4 seasons.
“For me to say that I wouldn’t be surprised at all by the performance we’re getting out of some of our younger players would be somewhat misleading,” Gundy said. “I felt like we had a chance to compete and have an opportunity to win our games, but you never really know when you have a new quarterback and four new starters on the offensive line and so many role players on defense that are true freshmen.”
Oklahoma State has only started 7-0 twice, during an unbeaten 9-0 season in 1945 and on the way to that 9-4 finish two seasons ago.
Lying ahead are potential roadblocks at Kansas State, where OSU has lost six straight, and against divisional powers Texas and Oklahoma. And the spotlight only continues to get brighter with each victory.
“I think we’re ready for it. I don’t think it’ll make a difference,” Blackmon said. “Nobody’s really going to be looking or listening to what people are saying. We’re going to try to stay focused and take care of the task at hand.”
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