Oklahoma State Cowboys

In 2004 the Oklahoma State Cowboys were coming off a 7-5 record both straight up and against the spread and their third consecutive bowl season under head coach Les Miles for one of the better three year runs in that school’s recent football history.

Did Les mean more?

During the week leading up to their bowl game against Ohio State, Miles was contacted by LSU to fill their head coaching vacancy, which had to be filled due to Nick Saban’s decision to move on to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. After Okie State’s 7-33 loss to Ohio State as 3.5-point chalks in that Alamo Bowl in which they appeared quite distracted, Miles jumped for the LSU job. He was replaced by a “favorite son” in former OSU quarterback Mike Gundy, whose dream job was right there in Stillwater, meaning it would be likely he would stay for as long as he was wanted. But the question remained entering 2005, which was did Les mean more?

Many challenges for the new coach

Miles’ success at Oklahoma State would be tough to maintain for Gundy, who was going to alter the offense from a ground-oriented attack to more of a spread feature. Under Miles, the Cowboys were good but couldn’t get over the next hurdle and truly compete with the top shelf of the Big 12 South in Texas and Oklahoma. In fact, they also lost to Texas Tech and Texas A&M in 2004 with their only division win coming against Baylor. With the new offense and tough division there were many challenges for the new coach.

Winning without power

Oklahoma State opened the season against 1-AA Montana State and won in alarming fashion, just 15-10, which was not what a Big 12 team is supposed to do against 1-AA competition. In their next game at Florida Atlantic, a college football version of an “expansion team” the Cowboys were 13.5-point chalks and scored a 23-3 win and cover but looked erratic in the process. Back home against Arkansas State as a whopping 24.5-point overlay, the Cowboys took a 20-10 win to start off 3-0 straight up and 1-1 against the spread as they were winning without power.

The truth was revealed in their free fall

In their next game at home against Colorado, the Cowboys were blown off the field in a terrible 0-34 loss as 3.5-point dogs. In their next game against Missouri as 5.5-point dogs, Oklahoma State shot themselves in the foot one too many times in a 31-38 loss. At struggling Texas A&M as whopping 20.5-point dogs, the Cowboys were proven incapable of hanging in there against a non-power as they were destroyed in alarming fashion 23-62. At Iowa State the following week Okie State was a 13-point dog and was again manhandled 10-37 for their fifth straight loss against the sportsbooks and fourth consecutive straight up defeat as the truth was revealed in their free fall.

Briefly served as an unwanted value

In college football gambling, a team is often at its most valuable when they are unwanted by the masses of asses. This proved to be true for Oklahoma State. Standing at 3-4 straight up and 1-5 against the spread and bleeding red ink all over, nobody wanted anything to do with the Cowboys so the oddsmakers jacked up the prices to entice bargain hunting investors. OSU was a hefty 37-point dog at home against Texas on homecoming and got the cash in a respectable (for them) 28-47 loss. This was followed up with a 24-17 upset win over Texas Tech as 23-point home dogs. Okie State briefly served as an unwanted value with two consecutive covers as they prepared for the season’s merciful end.

Down and out

Oklahoma State next traveled to improved Baylor, who was a 3-point home chalk. The Bears proved to be the team going in the upward direction as they handed the Cowboys a 44-34 defeat. All that was left was the “Bedlam” game at Oklahoma against the hated Sooners who, while still good, were not their former powerhouse selves. Oklahoma was a 17.5-point chalk but the Cowboys couldn’t even cover that number in their most important game of the season, losing 14-42 to finish down and out for 2005 and with a lot of doubts about their future.