In a season of dramatic finishes and memorable results, Oklahoma State saved its grandest act for the final showdown.
Playing down the street from the city known as “The West’s Most Western Town,” the Cowboys played it out just like a classic Western. They appeared down for the count, only to get back up and stare down the opponent in a climatic conclusion.
What else did you expect from the Cardiac Cowboys, a team that kept finding a way to add new twists to the plot of the greatest season in program history.
The flair for the dramatic started with the furious rally in College Station that sparked the run at the conference championship and instilled confidence in the Cowboys that this was going to be a special season.
Kansas State had the orange clad fans in Stillwater on the edge of their seats until the final second ticked off as Colin Klein’s pass fluttered to the ground in the end zone.
The team responded from the emotions of the season’s only loss at Iowa State, a day where tragedy overshadowed disappointment, when it crushed its biggest and most intimidating rival and celebrated with 60,000 of its closest friends afterward on the field.
Somewhere in between, there was a game ending at 3 a.m., the eventual Heisman winner lost and confused in his worst performance in his season, and Mike Gundy teaching the world dance moves.
But all of that had nothing on what was in store for the Cowboys in the valley of the sun. The Big 12 champs fought back from a deficit twice and, with some help from Stanford’s kicker, achieved a BCS victory that will send OSU fans into a yearlong fiesta.
“I would say this is probably the biggest win in Oklahoma State football history,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said.
Andrew Luck and the Stanford offense had OSU at times begging for mercy. The sensational quarterback patiently picked apart and frustrated a defense that prided itself on forcing quarterbacks out of their comfort zone.
But the Cowboys kept Luck out of the endzone on the final drive of regulation. Instead of letting one of the greatest players in college football history have the final say, the defense held enough ground to put the game on a Stanford’s kicker. Jordan Williamson missed the 35-yard field goal wide left, one of three misses on the night, and the Cowboys had life.
The offense, which gained only 26 yards in the first quarter and 13 in the third, awoke each time Stanford appeared to have the score out of reach. The Cardinal at times dared to single cover Justin Blackmon, the nation’s best receiver. Blackmon made them pay, catching eight passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns that will be shown on highlight reels for years to come.
With close finishes all season, emotions and celebrations filled the OSU sidelines, and tonight was no different. Justin Gilbert could be seen leaping for joy on the field after Williamson’s miss sent the game to overtime. The players swarmed Colton Chelf in one massive celebration after the former walk-on caught what was ruled at the time as the winning score in overtime.
There was only one person on the Cowboys sideline tonight who remained calm as the comeback began—coach Mike Gundy.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited,” Gundy said. “But I just let the team do it, and it allowed me an opportunity to think.”
Maybe Gundy can celebrate more when he returns to Stillwater and sees the trophies outside of his office: The first Big 12 championship, two Biletnikoffs and the program’s first BCS bowl victory.