Mike Gundy believes Cowboys well-positioned to impress playoff committee in future seasons
- Aug 12, 2024 Updated Aug 12, 2024
Tyler Waldrep
OSU Sports WriterSTILLWATER — The last time college football’s postseason changed was in 2014. Baylor and TCU were somewhat controversially left out of the inaugural College Football Playoff due in part to the lack of a conference title game.
Rules overseeing the sport eventually changed and the Big 12 subsequently brought its championship game back. This year, the 12-team College Football Playoff finally arrives and who makes the bracket, and in what spot, could have a similar domino effect on the sport in the coming years.
“That’s part of what’s gonna be interesting, to really see what they’re looking for and how they feel about it,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “I do think the Big 12 has an advantage because we play nine (regular season) conference games, and that is important.”
That impact hasn’t shown up regarding the top four spots. Since 2014, ignoring 2020, only 14 teams earned playoff berths after playing nine conference games, while 20 spots went to teams that played only eight conference games. The other two spots went to independent Notre Dame.
Rightly or not, this season’s results will likely be used as a referendum on how the committee views the Big 12, SEC and Big 10 after all three conferences added multiple members during the offseason.
“I think non-conference scheduling will be a bigger factor now than what it has been in the past,” Gundy said on Saturday. “Which is good for us, because we’ve scheduled really good moving forward. And I think that’s gonna be a bigger factor.”
The Cowboys have scheduled an FCS opponent in each of the next five seasons, along with an annual series against Tulsa through 2031. That’s the routine stuff.
What could set Oklahoma State apart in the coming years is its home-and-home series with some of the best teams in the sport, Oregon (2025 and 2026) and Alabama (2028 and 2029). In between, Oklahoma State plays a road game against Arkansas in 2027, which pays the Razorbacks back for their upcoming visit to Stillwater on Sept. 7.
According to FanDuel, the Ducks and the Crimson Tide currently have the third and fifth-best odds of winning the national championship this season. Oregon is +650, and Alabama is +1400.
Compared to those teams, a visit from the team FanDuel gives the third-worst odds of winning the SEC this year, Arkansas, lacks the same shine.
Despite lacking a must-see matchup that will jump off the page for a national audience, this non-conference schedule could still serve as an adequate warmup act for a team with legitimate playoff aspirations.
Look no further than the Cowboys’ opener against back-to-back FCS national champion South Dakota State. On Monday, the Jackrabbits nearly started as the unanimous No. 1 FCS team after receiving all but one first-place vote in the coaches poll.
“When we scheduled that, I’m sure we were trying to avoid North Dakota State,” Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said with a laugh.
South Dakota State formally announced the matchup in July of 2022. Since then, the Jackrabbits have won 29 of 30 games with the lone loss coming by only four points at Iowa in 2023.
In the three years prior, South Dakota State’s best record was 11-4 and its total record over that time was 27-11.
“But that’s how football scheduling goes, right?” Weiberg said in an exclusive interview with the World. “You just don’t know and those are so far out in advance.”
Oklahoma State’s players fielded several questions about the playoffs over the weekend. After admitting that the playoff is a goal for this team, most refused to elaborate further. Instead, they preferred to take their cues from their head coach who maintains this team isn’t looking past the first week.
“We know that South Dakota State is an issue,” Gundy said. “I’ve said that all along. When you play a team that hasn’t lost a game in that many years, we definitely have our sights set on them and them only at this time.”
