Gundy foresaw Big 12 parity, not potential problems
STILLWATER — Mike Gundy rarely finds himself stumped. Yet there he was Monday, stuck on pause for several seconds, contemplating a question concerning the ramifications of his Big 12 parity theory that’s come to life.
When Gundy first started preaching conference parity weeks ago, it sounded so much like coach-speak. His Cowboys were a top-10 team, ranked only a few spots behind Oklahoma. And the Bedlam rivals were propped up as the best of the Big 12, quite comfortably. Now OSU has lost, as a double-digit favorite, at home to TCU. And the Sooners lost Saturday, as a 30-point favorite, at home, to Iowa State.
Suddenly, Gundy’s parity take bears teeth.
So, what does it mean
for the Cowboys going forward? And what does it mean for the Big 12’s playoff chances, if the league’s teams keep taking shots at one another?
“When you hit me with that question,” Gundy said, “I hadn’t thought about that like I have other things, just based on we have our hands full preparing for this game Saturday, based on what we’re trying to accomplish, and I hadn’t got that far down the line.”
Gundy won’t project long term with his own squad, either. Baylor is
next for the Cowboys — Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, for homecoming — and he believes that requires full focus.
But if Gundy is right about Big 12 parity, the remaining seven weeks of the schedule will likely feature a another version of the Cardiac Cowboys, 2017 edition.
“I think a (pass interference) here or there, a missed field goal here or there, it’s gonna make games close,” said OSU defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer. “Then it just comes down to who can execute at the end.”
The Cowboys know that script well.
Since 2015, OSU has played a combined 15
games dripping with fourth-quarter stress; one-score games with less than a period to play. The Cowboys are 12-3 in those games, and that includes the disputed Central Michigan loss as time expired a year ago. During that stretch, they’ve won on two last-minute field goals, one in overtime, another when an opponent missed what would have been a tying extra point with 1:44 remaining and seven times when they trailed in the fourth.
This year seemed to be potentially different for the Cowboys, with a premium quarterback in Mason Rudolph leading a potent offense. But injuries on both sides have compromised OSU’s depth and the rest of the league has risen up to the surprise of many, although not Gundy.
“The quarterback play in this league has created parity, more so than ever before,” Gundy said. “The things that sway games in this league would be turnovers, special teams play,
injuries and quarterback play.”
Through just three weeks of play, the league has cannibalized itself.
Only TCU and Texas remain unbeaten in conference play, and neither has cruised to wins, with the Longhorns surviving in double overtime against Kansas State. OSU and OU, the early established favorites, have already been toppled, slipping among six teams bunched at 1-1. And it’s early. “This is going to continue on,” Gundy said.
If it does, the Big 12 could again have a perception problem when the College Football Playoff conversation heats up.
The conference, omitted from the playoff each of the past two seasons, surely can’t benefit by teams routinely beating up on each other, although Gundy hopes the league at least has a voice to push parity as a strength with Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt acting as the chair of the CFP committee.
“It’s easier to get into the playoff if you’re undefeated. We all know that,” Gundy said. “How the committee sees our league this year will be different, in my opinion, than it has in the last few years.
“If Kirby’s worth his salt at all, he should get that accomplished in that committee.”