Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy hit a milestone in Bedlam. Here's what it meant.
Jacob UnruhScott WrightThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy walked into the Cowboys’ team room carrying a football.
He handed it off and admitted he had no idea the gameball represented another milestone.
With No. 22-ranked OSU’s 27-24 upset of No. 9-ranked OU on Saturday inside a raucous Boone Pickens Stadium, Gundy became just the third coach to reach 100 career wins in the Big 12.
He trails only Bob Stoops and Bill Snyder.
But this win was different. It came in the last regular season Bedlam matchup for the foreseeable future.
So, Gundy took a moment to enjoy the on-field celebration as students and fans stormed the field and eventually tore down a goal post.
“I did better than I’ve done in the past,” Gundy said. “I actually walked off and then walked back over to thank the students and tried to enjoy some of it, instead of just taking off and running off the field.
“I wanted to be able to see the Oklahoma State people enjoy it. I want the players to enjoy it, so I wanted to see a little bit of it.”
With the win — a fifth straight — OSU remained atop the conference in a tie with Texas. The Cowboys have three games remaining and all are against conference newcomers who are a combined 4-13 overall in Big 12 play.
Gundy said the job now is to avoid a letdown after such a big Bedlam victory.
But he also wants everyone to soak in the moment.
“I have family, I have kids, I’ve got parents, these fans,” Gundy said. “I want to win for them. I’m OK. I get it. I get to go back to work and grind. It doesn't really bother me.
“But I am very proud and I’m glad that I’m standing here now with us winning. I don’t want to discredit it one bit. But I want to do it for everybody else more so than me because I just go back to work.”
Mike Gundy lauds Alan Bowman’s post-interception stop
In a rather serendipitous moment, OSU coach Mike Gundy yelled across the room to his quarterback while both were in the middle of postgame interviews.Gundy wanted to praise his quarterback for a tackle after Ollie Gordon II threw an interception on a trick play. When Gundy yelled, Bowman was in the middle of answering a reporter’s question about the same play.
“Hey Bo,” Gundy yelled in the direction of Alan Bowman. “You know the biggest play of the game was you tackling that guy.”
It might’ve been a touchdown-saving play, because OU safety Billy Bowman would’ve had wide-open running room for a potential 95-yard pick-six.
But Alan Bowman nudged him out of bounds near midfield, and the OSU defense forced a punt.
“Did you like how I used leverage on the sideline? Did you like that?” Alan Bowman asked Gundy. “I broke down, didn’t let him run past me.”
The play was designed to be a double-pass with Gordon throwing back to his quarterback, but Alan Bowman was covered. Gordon began to run, then saw Rashod Owens running open downfield. He lofted a throw, but it floated asd was picked off.
“Remind me on Monday,” Gundy yelled to his quarterback, “to not ever let Ollie throw another pass.”
Xavier Benson overcomes poked eye
Xavier Benson went down with an injury in the second quarter, and he wanted to get up rather than lie on the ground. After getting poked in the eye, he saw nothing but darkness on one side, so he stayed down.“I was scared,” Benson said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘It’s black, bro. I just wanna see.’ It’s fine now.”
Benson returned shortly after, and finished with one of his better games of the season. He had seven tackles with three for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
