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Bedlam brings harsh end to OSU's successful season

By JEFF LATZKE

Published November 30, 2008 at 6:59 p.m.
Updated December 1, 2008 at 9:26 a.m.

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STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ One of the best football seasons in Oklahoma State history didn't have the storybook ending that coach Mike Gundy had envisioned — at least not yet.

The Cowboys (9-3, 5-3 Big 12) tied their record for wins in a regular season and put a scare into No. 3 Oklahoma in the annual Bedlam rivalry game, but the Sooners had too much firepower in the end. Oklahoma State fell three spots to No. 14 in The Associated Press' poll Sunday after the 61-41 loss.

"What really hurt me is for the seniors to not finish with a win," Gundy said. "It's always difficult, but we have a bowl game to finish the season and they can still finish with a win.

"What the seniors need to know is that they're responsible for turning this program around and bringing it to the level it is right now. They've provided great leadership."

In four years, Gundy's first freshman class have been able to take the program from a 4-7 season in 2005 and bring it back to the level it was at when Les Miles left following the 2004 Alamo Bowl season and perhaps even beyond. A win against then-No. 3 Missouri vaulted the Cowboys into the Top 10 for the first time in 20 years, and only losses to teams ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 spoiled their season.

There's still a bowl game to come for the third straight season. The odds-on favorite is the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, although an announcement won't come until next Sunday after the Big 12 championship game. The Alamo Bowl could also end up being their destination. Representatives from both bowls were at the Bedlam game Saturday night.

"I'm not into politicking or trying to sell anything," Gundy said. "I would say that there would be some bowls out here that would be very interested in having this team play in it."

Gundy said he thought Oklahoma's offense — which leads the nation in scoring — was able to wear down Oklahoma State's defense in the fourth quarter and that the Cowboys knew coming in that they couldn't afford to commit turnovers. An interception and two fumbles — including one returned for a defensive 2-point conversion — helped the Sooners get and stay ahead.

"We felt like our plan was good enough, we were healthy enough and that if we could put the mistakes on their side and not ours, we felt like we could get the game into the fourth quarter and have a chance of winning," Gundy said. "But we made more crucial mistakes than they did."

Oklahoma State still has a chance for only the fourth 10-win season in school history.

"We know that we've had a great season. The players feel that way, the coaches feel that way and we have no reason to hang our heads," quarterback Zac Robinson said. "We've fought in there with the best teams really in the nation, when you look at the Big 12 South.

"When your losses are against No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, not saying that it's OK, but it's not like we're losing to Washington State or something. We can take away a lot from this season and just continue to build on it."

Gundy has credited much of the team's progress this season to a new attitude forged during the practices leading up to the Insight Bowl last December, and there's a chance to make even more progress with the extra sessions before this year's postseason destination.

"We've got to move on, take a few days to get over this and the latter part of next week start bowl practice and move to the next step," Gundy said.

For a little while, though, a hard-fought Bedlam loss will continue to soak in.

"When you put a lot into something, you want to reap the benefits of success, and it's hard to get the feel of having success when you lose," Gundy said. "But I'm still very proud of our football team."

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