Oklahoma State has come close to the national championship over the past two decades, but it might be out of reach entirely in this era of college football.
Throughout the Mike Gundy era, OSU has consistently built teams that are capable of competing not only for the Big 12 title but that have also been in the discussion for the national title. While the Cowboys have never made the BCS National Championship Game or the College Football Playoff, close calls in 2011 and 2021 showed that OSU has the chance to be within inches of college football immortality.
Of course, the game has changed drastically since that 2011 season and even since the 2021 season. With NIL and the transfer portal only becoming more relevant in this era, the Cowboys’ hopes of reaching the national championship seem to be dwindling like never before.
A number of factors put the Cowboys on the wrong side of the equation. While the 3-9 record in 2024 is only one season of bad OSU football, it does show that the Cowboys’ floor might be lower than their ceiling is high.
OSU also plays in one of the least respected conferences in the country, with the Big 12 seen as the weakest power conference. Add in that the Cowboys have struggled to establish themselves in the new Big 12, and the problems compound further for the Pokes.
In the new 12-team playoff format, the top four conference champions no longer get byes. While the top five conference champions still get an automatic bid, the byes simply go to the top four teams, which could make things even more complicated for OSU if it can win the conference.
Considering the Cowboys have only entered the postseason as a top four team once in the Gundy era, it would be a near certainty that OSU would have to win four games to win a national title, which might just be out of reach.
Considering how the odds are stacked against the Cowboys, a national title might not be the mountaintop for OSU. Instead, simply making the playoff or advancing to the quarterfinals could be the ultimate goal for the Cowboys.
While winning a national title will always be the true goal for any team of OSU’s status, actually winning the whole thing might just be a goal the Cowboys are incapable of achieving.
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