Are the OSU Cowboys for Real?

Ok. Maybe I should have chosen a picture that shows a thousand words worth of football prowess the Cowboys have shown this season, but instead, I chose one that represents the exact same illusion that Oklahoma State has provided so far. I have no idea how it works, but if you stare at the picture long enough, you’ll see more than one person in it. In much the same way, if you take a good hard look at OSU, you’ll see the same team we’ve always viewed as an "I hope they get into a bowl this year" team transformed into a well rounded team that deserves it’s top 10 ranking. A team that’ll be tough for anyone to beat. I know what you’re thinking: "How can I look at OSU if they’re not on TV?" Touche. You’re absolutely right. We haven’t seen the Cowboys on TV yet. We saw Missouri. We’ll also see Texas play this weekend. But OSU just happened (and will happen) to be the team they were playing. It’s bullshit. But look on the bright side. At least we didn’t miss the game where the domi-not Fighting Irish took on the football powerhouse Stanford. Thank you ABC!

With a history of having some great players (like Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas), but a not so great team, the completely legit Cowboys are having a hard time earning respect. Just ask Chase Daniel. When asked what they had to do to prepare for OSU, he said: "Not much." Personally, I think he was misquoted. Knowing what we know now, I think he meant to say "Not enough." But Chase is good at running his mouth, isn’t he? After a disappointing loss to my beloved Sooners last year, he called it a fluke and vowed to prove it if we made it to the Championship. How’s that foot tasting, Chase? Is it as good this year as it was last year? It was for me. Watching mouthy boy crying on the sideline again was priceless! It was kinda sad, though. In the middle of a particularly intense tantrum, he threw his helmet. Damned if it didn’t get picked off. (Sorry, couldn’t resist ;-) Free Advice to Chase Daniel: If you just have to run your mouth, wait til after the game to avoid embarrassment. But the more respect you give, the more you’ll get.

But OSU is giving a lot more respect than they’re getting. Everyone likes to beat up on Baylor in the Big 12; it’s usually a game you’re pretty sure to win. (Look out next year, though. I think those Bears are much better this year than they’ve been in a while, and they’ll just get better.) Even so, this year would have been the perfect opportunity to mouth off before the game and avoid getting egg on their face. It didn’t happen. Instead, both Mike Gundy and the players interviewed talked about Baylor being a good team and listed not only the attributes of the Bears, but also the things they would have to work on and execute to get the job done. Just like Bob Stoops and the Sooners. Just like Mack Brown and the Longhorns. We Big 12 fans also like to pride ourselves on a higher level of Class.

With a high powered offense, a surprisingly good defense, and a little touch of class, the OSU Cowboys are a force to be reckoned in this "season of upsets." Don’t be surprised if they don’t stray too far from the top 5 this year. And to answer my own question: yeah, they’re real!