Oklahoma State University Athletics
Big Stage: Lookabaugh, Legends, Gundy Fuel Bowl Success of Present and Past
December 22, 2023 | Cowboy Football
By: Ben Creider, Oklahoma State Athletics Communications
Oklahoma State is built for the big stage.
Jan. 1, 1902, marked a historic day in the football community. As the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Stanford Cardinal, 49-0 – a new benchmark was established in the sport – bowl games. Since that Rose Bowl clash 123 years ago, the bowling season has revolutionized, and every FBS team in the country has wanted a piece in the action.
Nobody has found more success than the Cowboys.
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Across the century-long tradition, only 41 schools carry the honor of playing in 30+ bowl games. Carrying a 21-12 all-time record in bowl games, OSU's 63.6% winning percentage leads the nation in programs of such caliber.
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Its history to reach this point runs deep.
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The Early Days
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Jim Lookabaugh was a jack of all trades.
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A native of Watonga, Oklahoma, Lookabaugh made his first step on Oklahoma A&M's campus in 1924. Lettering in football, basketball and baseball – he made his mark. While Lookabaugh carried a strong report on the football field, taking down Oklahoma in 1924, his basketball presence was hard to miss. In 1925, he earned All-Southwest Conference honors and pushed the Aggies to its first conference championship.
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It wouldn't be his last. Â
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Returning to campus as the head football coach in 1939, Lookabaugh moved the needle for the program. Following five straight losing seasons from 1934-38 – the third-longest drought in program history – Lookabaugh helped push Oklahoma A&M back into the win column.Â
Four winning seasons and a 3-4 season later, the Aggies ascended into the spotlight, making its first-ever bowl game against TCU at the 1944 Cotton Bowl. Led by a ring of honor member Bob Fenimore, Oklahoma A&M won in dominant fashion, 34-0, en route to a Missouri Valley Conference Championship.
The success rolled into 1945 as the Aggies rallied to an 8-0 regular season. In its final test, they took down Saint Mary's (CA) 33-13 at the Sugar Bowl to punctuate one of the program's brightest seasons.
Lookabaugh finished his 11-year tenure 2-1 in bowl games, falling to William & Mary, 20-0, in the 1948 Delta Bowl. While those 11 years often get lost due to time; they laid the foundation for the success to come. Â
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A House of Legends
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Boone Pickens Stadium has been the home to many legends.Â
Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas and Terry Miller are just some of the many players who have reached the sport's pinnacle donning America's Brightest Orange.Â
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With a list of accolades, records and success in the program, they helped push the Cowboys front and center come bowl season.
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Following their departure from the Missouri Valley Conference, OSU kept to its standard, building its bowl game record to 9-4 as it entered the 21st century. As for the winning ways, look no further than the historic performances showcased in the era.
In the 1976 Tangerine Bowl, Terry Miller ran rampant for 173 rushing yards with four touchdowns – highlighted by a 78-yard run – to topple No. 17 BYU, 49-21.
To a crowd of 82,138 at the 1984 Gator Bowl, freshman Thurman Thomas took a pitch from Rusty Hilger, soared over a host of South Carolina defenders, and threw a perfectly placed jump pass to Hilger in the end zone. With 155 rushing yards and two total touchdowns, Thomas was a beaming light in No. 9 Oklahoma State taking down No. 7 South Carolina, 21-14.
At the 1988 Holiday Bowl, Barry Sanders cemented his legendary status in San Diego. Facing a rowdy Wyoming squad, Sanders smashed even more records, rushing for 222 yards on 29 carries with five touchdowns. Â
This era of Cowboy football still lives on today. Under center in that Holiday Bowl game is a man familiar to all in Stillwater – and he's swapped taking snaps for signals and a headset.
The Gundy Era
No player in the class of 2024 would have any memory of Oklahoma State missing a bowl game. But, in their defense, how could they?
Some of them weren't alive the last time it missed one.Â
Since head coach Mike Gundy took over the helm in 2005, the Cowboys have made a bowl game in every season outside of his inaugural campaign. Holding an 18-year bowl streak, OSU maintains the sixth-longest bowl streak in the nation.
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In the span, Gundy has led the Cowboys to 11 bowl-game victories, the ninth-most among all coaches in college football history.
Fighting into bowl eligibility with 6-6 records in 2006-07 and 2007-08, the Cowboys mustered up victories against Alabama and Indiana at the Independence and Insight Bowl, respectively.Â
After a pair of bowl losses in 2008-09 and 2009-10, Oklahoma State unleashed one of the deadliest offensive pairings between quarterback Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon in 2010-11 and 2011-12.Â
In the 2012 Fiesta Bowl versus Stanford, poetry was in motion as the duo sealed their legendary statuses, finding paydirt on receiving touchdowns of 43 and 67 yards.
With Quinn Sharp three steps from immortality, his 22-yard field goal sailed through the uprights, capping an exhilarating 12-1 season.
From James Castleman's 48-yard rumble at the Cactus Bowl to the Cowboys' historic 21-point Fiesta Bowl comeback over Notre Dame, Gundy and the Cowboys have found a way to win in the 21st century while collecting some memorable moments along the way.
