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Gundy’s One Goal: ‘To Win a Conference Championship’

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There has been a lot of hand-wringing about the College Football Playoff this fall from Big 12 country. Yours truly has been the chief culprit. We have thought and argued and debated and been more frustrated than humans should be over amateur athletics. And the conclusion for Oklahoma State (and Oklahoma) in a lot of ways is this: None of it matter.

The CFB Playoff is an entity that exists independent of the way the rest of college football operates. It is almost disassociated from the ecosystem of the sport altogether except in the way it affects postseason bowl berths. So let’s put that to the side for now and talk about just how much Bedlam means. Mike Gundy, you’re up first.

“Our goal each year is to get our team prepared so that when we step on the field the fans can be proud of the product that’s on the field,” said Gundy on Monday. “We’re going to play hard, we’re going to do it respectfully. We’ve been in that situation every game this year. That’s always been our goal.”

“It’s extremely difficult to predict wins and losses or to see how the game is going to go — any game. But our goal is to win a conference championship. We have always felt like if we can win the conference championship that would allow us an opportunity to get to the playoff.

“The only thing we can control is what we do tomorrow and each day in practice and how we play Saturday. What I mentioned to them is that I want them to continue with what they’ve done over the last two months, because for a coach, it’s just enjoyable to watch them. They play for each other. There’s not any selfish players on the field. And I would fully expect them to play that way Saturday. We can worry about the playoff system next Monday.”

Well said. And good advice for fans, players and media members alike. We have talked a lot about how Bedlam this season is the conference championship for the fourth time in six years for Oklahoma State. That’s true, but it sort of veils the fact that OSU has only won one of those.

For all the winning OSU has done — and it has done a LOT of it since Mike Gundy arrived — it still only has one banner hanging from the east end of Boone Pickens Stadium on the side of Gallagher-Iba Arena. A banner that could use a cohort.

“I think the benchmark is to win it,” said defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer. “Maybe six, seven or eight years ago, to play was good, but the benchmark has changed. How you are evaluated has changed. The way this team is critiqued has changed. That just means we’ve gotten to this point. A lot of people have done great things to get to this point.”

Yes they have. And so while a CFP Playoff berth might be the dream, a Big 12 title is all you can control. Sixty minutes to your second one of the decade. Sixty minutes until OSU-OU enters a new phase as a rivalry. You do it once with a NFL QB and first-round pick at receiver, and it’s considered a one-off. You do it again five years later on OU’s home field with their perfect Big 12 season hanging in the balance and, well, we have a full-blown conference war on our hands.

Four days.

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