Oklahoma State went winless in the Big 12 a year after making the championship game.
The Cowboys lost 52-0 to No. 25 Colorado on Saturday, capping a 3-9 season that included an 0-9 record in Big 12 play. It was the worst loss ever for coach Mike Gundy as he had his worst season in charge and the first time Oklahoma State didn’t win at least four games in a season since the Cowboys went 3-8 in 2000.
It was a miserable showing for the Cowboys. The offense couldn’t do anything with freshman QB Maealiuaki Smith at the helm, and the pass defense was broken down by Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders.
Oklahoma State turned the ball over three times and even committed three personal fouls in a first quarter that featured three touchdowns for the Buffaloes. The game was over after Colorado built a 21-0 lead, including an 11-yard pass to priceless Heisman favorite Travis Hunter.
Hunter finished the game with 10 catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns. His final TD catch was a 23-yard grab in man coverage, putting the Buffs up 52.
Oh, he had an interception too.
The Cowboys went 10-4 a season ago and lost to Texas in the Big 12 title game before ending the season with a win in the Texas Bowl. It was the eighth time in 19 seasons that a Gundy-coached team won at least 10 games.
That season, along with a host of returning starters like RB Ollie Gordon, QB Alan Bowman and WR Brennan Presley, led to a preseason ranking of No. 17 in the AP Top 25 and made Oklahoma State one of the favorites in a wide open field. Big 12.
The Cowboys started the season 3-0, but everything fell apart from there.
A 22-19 home loss to Utah to start Big 12 play ended up being a matchup between the conference’s two worst teams. A week after the loss to the Utes, OSU was eliminated by Kansas State and then lost to West Virginia by 24. A close call against BYU on Oct. 18 – as the Cougars got a late TD to win the game – ended up being the closest Oklahoma State came to a conference win.
In early November, Gundy apologized for comments he made at a press conference when the team was 0-6. When discussing fans’ criticism of the team during the losing streak, Gundy said that “most people are weak” and “they fall apart and panic” when things don’t go well, while also saying that “in Most of the time the people who are negative and express their opinions are the same ones who can’t pay their own bills.”
Considering the way Oklahoma State played in 2024, you can understand why fans criticized a program that had been to a bowl game for 18 straight seasons. A loss to TCU a week after Gundy’s comments meant Oklahoma State would not go to a bowl for the first time since Gundy’s freshman season.
Colorado’s win eliminates TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia from Big 12 title contention. However, the Buffaloes still need some help to reach the Big 12 title game. Colorado entered Week 14 tied atop the conference at 6-2 with Arizona State, BYU and Iowa State. The Buffs are on the wrong side of the tiebreakers in a three- or four-player tiebreaker and will need two of the other three teams to lose on Saturday to reach the conference title game.
