A benchmark game for OSU in Austin
Cowboys doing right in series vs. Longhorns
AUSTIN, Texas — OSU football teams have been coming to the Hill Country for more than a century.
Before the Big 12 was a gleam in DeLoss Dodds’ eye, the Cowboys made 10 trips to the University of Texas campus. Get this. The Cowboys have played in Austin more times (23) than they’ve played in Boulder, Colorado (21), and OSU-Colorado seemed like a forever rivalry.
The visits to the Flatirons ended, and soon, too, will be the visits to Austin. Either Saturday or some day in 2023, the Cowboys will make their final trip to Hippie Heaven. The Longhorns are headed to the Southeastern Conference, and a non-league continuation of the series seems quite unlikely.
Which is too bad. The Cowboys are about to lose their benchmark.
OSU football’s 21st-century renaissance has been marked by many thresholds. The Cowboys caught and surpassed Texas Tech. Impressive. The Cowboys caught and surpassed Texas A&M. Amazing. Then the Cowboys caught and surpassed Texas. Wait, what?
It’s true. In the 11-plus seasons since Texas made the 2009 national championship game, OSU leads Texas in the series (7-4), Associated Press top-25 finishes (7-4), and conference victories (66-54).
All that’s left for the Cowboys to climb is the Bedlam Series. OSU hasn’t made a dent in that, and the Sooners are fleeing to the SEC along with Texas. Stay tuned on if Bedlam will survive.
With Texas gone, the Cowboys will have to find another yardstick to measure their progress.
“I had this discussion (Sunday) night walking off the practice field,” Mike Gundy said. “I’ve not really ever used them as a game where, ‘Guys, if we can just do this, this is kind of who we are.’”
Gundy’s reasons are coachspeak and common sense. The Cowboys always have a game the week after Texas. At Iowa State, this year.
But clearly, if you’ve caught Texas, if you’ve become the second-best program in a Power 5 Conference over a dozen-year span, you’re doing something right.
“We started bringing in good players,” Gundy said. “If you don’t have players somewhat on an equal level, you can win games, but (Las) Vegas will tell you if the other team’s more talented, then they’re going to win most of the games most of the time.
“Once we were able to win some of those games, we developed a confidence that everything’s gonna be OK, let’s just go play. So some of that is a natural progression through confidence and success.”
The new-look Big 12, which will include Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida in full force by either 2023 or 2024, will have a more egalitarian feel. No caste system. No Sooners or Longhorns with advantages in resources and tradition and branding.
Heck, OSU might become the Big 12 benchmark. Hard to rank the new league for expected sustain success. Cincinnati? Kansas State? BYU? Texas Christian? Central Florida? Baylor? I don’t know.
That’s for another year. This year, Texas provides another benchmark. Beat the Longhorns on Saturday, and OSU is the clear frontrunner to join OU in the Big 12 Championship Game.
The Longhorns look lively. With Oklahoman Casey Thompson at quarterback, the UT offense is alive. Texas scored 70 points on Texas Tech, 32 on TCU and 48 on the Sooners last week in a discouraging defeat.
“This will be the most athletic team we’ve competed against so far,” Gundy said. “It’ll be important for us to minimize big plays and try to keep the quarterback corralled.
“I mean, you’re talking about Texas. I don’t need to stand here and convince people that they have good players.”
But that’s the point. The Longhorns always have players. Gundy made the point again this week that he’s not sure if any of his players were offered a scholarship by the ‘Horns.
Turns out, three Cowboys received UT offers — tailback Dominic Richardson, defensive end Tyler Lacy and injured flanker Langston Anderson – but the point is well made. OSU has thrived by recruiting at a different level than where the Longhorns shop.
The Cowboys, 5-0 and ranked 12th nationally, can continue their rise with a victory Saturday. Better take advantage of the opportunity. OSU is about to lose its benchmark.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.