Bowl History - Mike Gundy Era - Oklahoma State University Athletics

BOWL HISTORY
Classic Era (1945-58)
Middle Years (1974-83)
The Triplets (1984-88)
Orange Renaissance (1997-2004)
Mike Gundy Era (2006-Present)

Oklahoma State briefly tried to give away the Independence Bowl to Alabama. Dantrell Savage and Jason Ricks took it back for the Cowboys.

Ricks kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8.9 seconds remaining to give Oklahoma State a 34-31 victory over Alabama. Savage ran for 112 yards and a touchdown and made the key play on the winning drive as he took a screen pass from Bobby Reid for 26 yards on third-and-9 to the Alabama 15 to put Ricks in prime position. He was the game's most valuable offensive player.

Alabama tried to ice Ricks with three timeouts, but the sophomore sent the kick through the uprights and he snatched off his helmet and ran to the sidelines with it extended over his head.

The kick saved the Cowboys (7-6) from a fourth-quarter collapse and gave them their first bowl win since 2002.

Alabama (6-7) was playing in its NCAA-record 54th bowl game and looking for its 31st bowl victory - another NCAA record.

OSU - ranked 16th nationally in total offense - outgained Alabama, 419-276. The Cowboys rushed for 207 yards compared to 108 yards for the Tide. Reid completed 15 of 29 attempts for 212 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Keith Toston added 58 yards and two TDs on the ground. He became OSU's first freshman to rush for two touchdowns in a bowl game.

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Zac Robinson threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more to lead Oklahoma State to a 49-33 win over Indiana in the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.

With the win, OSU finishes the season 7-6 for the second-consecutive year. The Cowboys are now 12-6 all-time in bowl games. The win also marked the second-straight season OSU has earned a bowl victory, something the program has accomplished just twice before (1987-88 and 1945-46).

Robinson was named the game's offensive MVP after completing 24-of-34 passes for 302 yards and three scores and rushing for 70 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

OSU racked up 513 yards of total offense against the Hoosiers. Along with Robinson, Dantrell Savage rushed for 100 yards, and Dez Bryant had 117 yards receiving and two touchdown catches to lead the Cowboy attack.

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Now this was a Holiday Bowl.

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli ran through and over Oklahoma State's defense for three touchdowns and threw for another to lead the No. 15 Ducks to a 42-31 win over the No. 13 Cowboys in a wild, record-setting Holiday Bowl on Tuesday night.

Masoli, who quickly moved up from No. 3 on the depth chart this season due to injuries, scored on option keepers of 1, 41 and 17 yards in the third quarter, then threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Jaison Williams in the fourth quarter. Masoli ran over OSU free safety Quinton Moore on his 41-yard jaunt.

There were big runs, big passes and big hits in a game showcasing two of the nation's most prolific offenses, both of which feature the spread option led by running QBs. Oregon gained 565 yards and OSU had 469.

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The Cowboys (9-4) missed a chance for their first 10-win season since 1988 when coach Mike Gundy was their starting quarterback. Ole Miss coach and former Oklahoma State quarterback Houston Nutt was one of their coaches then.

Nutt has led to Rebels to consecutive 9-4 seasons, both capped by Cotton Bowl victories. Ole Miss had lost all eight of its SEC games in 2007 before Nutt replaced the fired Ed Orgeron.

Ole Miss and Oklahoma State, also 9-4 a year ago, came into this season with unprecedented expectations. Both were in the AP preseason Top 10 before early losses. Each entered the Cotton Bowl coming off decisive losses against their instate conference rivals in their regular-season finales.

They finished with a mistake-filled game in which both teams had missed opportunities--each was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Ole Miss missed two field goal attempts.

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Justin Blackmon could've strolled into the end zone. But the Oklahoma State star instead turned left and trotted along the goal line until he almost reached the sideline, finally forced to make the touchdown official.

Blackmon caught two touchdowns, including his 71-yard strike that he savored long as possible before scoring, and No. 16 Oklahoma State finished its first 11-win season with a 36-10 victory over Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.

Blackmon, the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver, later set an NCAA record with his 12th straight game with at least 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. The sophomore caught nine passes for 117 yards in perhaps his last college game.

Brandon Weeden was 25 of 41 for 240 yards for Oklahoma State (11-2) in the final game plan for Cowboys offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who is leaving to become the coach-in-waiting at West Virginia.

Oklahoma State, which led the nation in total offense, won its first bowl game in three tries and scored at least 33 points for the 11th time this season.

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Brandon Weeden threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns to Justin Blackmon in their final collegiate game, leading No. 3 Oklahoma State to a 41-38 overtime win against Andrew Luck and No. 4 Stanford in a wildly entertaining Fiesta Bowl on Monday night.

The most anticipated postseason game outside of the BCS championship, the Fiesta Bowl was an impressive offensive show, two of the nation's best teams trading big plays and scores.

Oklahoma State (12-1) came up with the last one on Quinn Sharp's 22-yard field goal in overtime to win its first BCS bowl game, earning the right to stake claim at being No. 1 in The Associated Press poll should Alabama beat LSU in the BCS title game.

"Our team rallied. Every time we got down, they just found a way to come back," said Cowboys coach Mike Gundy, who dedicated the victory to the four people who died in the Nov. 17 plane crash that killed Oklahoma State women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna.

The Cowboys, who never led until the final play, were fortunate to get a chance in overtime.

After getting the ball back with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied, Luck drove the Cardinal within field goal range in the closing seconds. Stanford couldn't finish it off, though. Redshirt freshman Jordan Williamson hooked a 35-yard field goal wide left as time expired, then missed from 43 yards in overtime.

"I think coast to coast, people have a lot of respect for Oklahoma State football," Gundy said. "What a great job by our players to battle back all night."

This matchup figured to be the ticket to match the golden jackets worn by Fiesta Bowl officials.

Oklahoma State has an electrifying offense - second in scoring, third in total yards - run by the 28-year-old Weeden and featuring Blackmon, the two-time Biletnikoff Award winner.

The Cowboys also came in with a chip on their shoulder, believing they should have gotten a shot at the BCS title game instead of it being a rematch of the field-goal-kicking "Game of the Century" earlier this season between Alabama and LSU.

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Clint Chelf threw three of Oklahoma State's five touchdown passes and the Cowboys dominated Purdue 58-14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday.

The Cowboys, a year removed from a Fiesta Bowl win that capped the best season in school history, forced five turnovers and had another short touchdown drive after a 64-yard punt return from Josh Stewart.

It was the biggest bowl win for Oklahoma State since coach Mike Gundy was the quarterback in a 62-14 rout of Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl.

With former Purdue quarterbacks Drew Brees and Kyle Orton watching, Robert Marve didn't get to 100 yards passing until Oklahoma State led 45-0 as the Boilermakers (6-7) fell to 0-4 on New Year's Day.

Leading 28-0 at halftime, Oklahoma State erased any lingering doubt three plays into the second half when Justin Gilbert stripped Purdue receiver O.J. Ross on a short completion. The loose ball shot straight to Daytawion Lowe, who ran 37 yards down the sideline in front of the Purdue bench for a 35-0 lead.

Lowe's score was the third fumble return for a touchdown at historic Cotton Bowl Stadium dating to the namesake bowl game that started in 1937 and moved to Cowboys Stadium in 2009.

Oklahoma State's 58 points were the most in a bowl game at the Fair Park stadium, topping the 55 scored by Keyshawn Johnson and Southern California against Texas Tech in 1995.

The Cowboys pushed the lead to 45-0 on Chelf's third touchdown pass, a leaping 37-yard grab in the end zone by Isaiah Anderson, who had 78 yards receiving. Chelf was 17 of 22 for 197 yards before J.W. Walsh replaced him in the third quarter.

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2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic - January 1, 2014 - AT&T Stadium - Arlington, Texas

Missouri got the big plays it needed at the end of the Cotton Bowl to beat an old rival.

Henry Josey ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 16-yarder with 3:08 left, and Shane Ray returned a fumbled 73 yards for a touchdown after that, and the No. 9 Tigers beat No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-31 late Friday night.

The former Big 12 and Big Eight rivals traded points on six consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, until Oklahoma State quarterback Clint Chelf was sacked and fumbled with a minute left. Ray picked up the ball and rumbled 73 yards down the sideline in front of the stunned Cowboys bench to score.

Josey's go-ahead TD came a play after James Franklin's 27-yard pass to Dorial Green-Beckham to convert third-and-9. Franklin, the Missouri quarterback whose final two seasons were plagued by injuries, had two fumbles earlier in the second half when Oklahoma State (10-3) overcame a 10-point deficit to tie it in just over 3 1/2 minutes.

Ray had been dragged into the end zone by Desmond Roland when the Oklahoma State running back bulled through the line for a 2-yard TD run with 5 minutes left to give the Cowboys their only lead of the night. Ray hit him immediately at the line, but couldn't keep Roland from scoring.

Franklin was only 15-of-40 passing for 174 yards with an interception, and almost another returned for a score.

Chelf threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, completing 33 of 57 passes. He also ran 10 times for 48 yards, including a 23-yard run to convert third-and-10 only a few plays before he was sacked by All-SEC defensive end Michael Sam sacked Chelf and knocked the ball loose.

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2015 TicketCity Cactus Bowl - January 3, 2015 - Sun Devil Stadium - Tempe, Arizona

Mason Rudolph threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns, and 300-pound tackle James Castleman showed off his versatility with two big offensive plays lead Oklahoma State to a 30-22 victory over Washington in the Cactus Bowl Friday night.

"Our offense was resilient," Gundy said. "I thought we blocked well, our running back ran hard, we made big catches and we turned James Castleman into a wide receiver."

Oklahoma State (7-6) needed a late rally over rival Oklahoma in the season finale to become bowl eligible and played the Cactus Bowl without its most dynamic offensive player.

The Cowboys closed out the season with a flourish behind Rudolph, with some help from Castleman.

A freshman making his third start, Rudolph kept his composure against Washington's vaunted front seven, overcoming three turnovers to hit 17 of 26 passes.

Desmond Roland kept the Huskies off balance by tearing off big runs up the middle, finishing with 123 yards on 32 carries.

Then there was Castleman.

Though he had never played offense before, the beefy defensive tackle lined up in the shotgun to score on a 1-yard run in the first half, helping Oklahoma State build a 17-point halftime lead.

Washington rallied to within a touchdown in the second half, but Castleman wreaked havoc again, catching a pass out of the backfield and rumbling down the sideline for a 48-yard catch that all but killed the Huskies' hopes.

"Honestly, I'm like, `Why hasn't somebody hit me yet?"' Castleman said of his reception. "Next thing, I look up to the screen, I see someone coming and I try jabbing inside trying to get him to miss. Once he hit me, the check engine light came on."

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2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl - January 1, 2016 - Mercedes-Benz Superdome - New Orleans, Louisiana

Chad Kelly threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns -- three to Laquon Treadwell -- and No. 16 Mississippi beat No. 13 Oklahoma State 48-20 in the Sugar Bowl.

Ole Miss (10-3) jumped out to a 34-6 lead by halftime, cruising up and down the field against an overwhelmed Oklahoma State defense. The onslaught was punctuated late in the second quarter when left tackle Laremy Tunsil had a 2-yard touchdown run on a trick play after a lateral from Kelly.

Oklahoma State (10-3) lost its final three games after 10 straight wins. The Cowboys fell into a 41-6 hole midway through the third quarter and never mounted a legitimate challenge.

Mason Rudolph was 18 of 31 for 179 yards for Oklahoma State. Ole Miss outgained Oklahoma State 554-366 in total yards.

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2016 Valero Alamo Bowl - December 29, 2016 - Alamodome - San Antonio, Texas

Mason Rudolph passed for 314 yards and three touchdowns and No. 13 Oklahoma State's defense smothered No. 11 Colorado in a 38-8 Alamo Bowl victory that gave the Cowboys their fifth 10-win season in seven years.

James Washington caught nine passes for 171 yards and a touchdown before leaving in the third quarter with an apparent hand injury. Rudolph and Washington have already announced they will return for their senior seasons, putting the Cowboys (10-3) among the favorites to win the Big 12.

Rudolph even set up Oklahoma State's first touchdown when he caught a throw-back pass for 24 yards. His 5-yard TD pass to Washington made it 17-0 in the second quarter. Rudolph had scoring throws to Blake Jarwin and Jhajuan Seales in the third to make it 31-0.

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2017 Camping World Bowl - December 28, 2017 - Camping World Stadium - Orlando, Florida

They started playing football at Oklahoma State 116 years ago, and never in that span had there been a run of three consecutive 10-win seasons.

Until now.

Mason Rudolph threw for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns on his way to winning game MVP honors, James Washington had a long touchdown grab and became Oklahoma State's career receiving yards leader, and the 17th-ranked Cowboys beat No. 22 Virginia Tech 30-21 in the Camping World Bowl.

"It's cool. It speaks a lot about the senior class, about the leadership on both sides of the ball," Rudolph said. "It's a great achievement for us."

Washington caught five passes for 126 yards, giving him 4,472 for his career and passing Rashaun Woods for the school mark. Justice Hill ran for 120 yards and another score for the Cowboys (10-3).

"A really good win for our organization," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "Defensively, we gave up a lot of rushing yards but we were able to make some stops and force some turnovers. For Oklahoma State, really in the end, that's what it comes down to."

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2018 AutoZone Liberty Bowl - December 31, 2018 - Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium - Memphis, Tennessee

Taylor Cornelius tied a Liberty Bowl record with four touchdown passes and Kolby Peel made a critical fourth-down stop with 1:01 left as Oklahoma State edged No. 24 Missouri 38-33 in the Liberty Bowl on Monday.

"(It was) like a lot of games that we play in our conference," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "As I said on the press conference a few days ago, Missouri would fit right in. It ended up being somewhat of a shootout, and the defense made a play at the end."

Missouri (8-5) faced fourth-and-1 when quarterback Drew Lock attempted a keeper around the right end. Peel made an ankle tackle that stopped Lock short of the first-down marker.

"It's a game of inches, we all talk about it and know it," Missouri coach Barry Odom said. "I wouldn't want the ball in anybody else's hand besides No. 3 for the Mizzou Tigers (Lock)."

That allowed Oklahoma State (7-6) to hang on to win a game it had led 35-19 heading into the fourth quarter. The Cowboys snapped Missouri's four-game winning streak.

Cornelius, a fifth-year senior and former walk-on, went 26 of 44 with four touchdown passes and two interceptions by Cam Hilton that sparked Missouri's comeback try. Both interceptions led to Missouri touchdowns.

Missouri's Larry Rountree III ran for 204 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown. Missouri's Johnathon Johnson had nine catches for 185 yards, including an 86-yard score. Lock was 23 of 38 for 373 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Chuba Hubbard rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown for Oklahoma State. Tyron Johnson had seven catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Missouri wasted two chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma State was clinging to a 35-33 lead when Mike Scott blocked Tucker McCann's 42-yard field goal attempt with 9:22 left.

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2019 Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl - December 27, 2019 - NRG Stadium - Houston, Texas

Kellen Mond ran for a career-high 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as Texas A&M scored 24 straight points to overcome an early deficit and beat Oklahoma State 24-21 in the Texas Bowl on Friday night.

Mond ran 67 yards to give the Aggies (8-5) a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mond cut to the right to avoid a couple of defenders and outran everyone else. Tre Sterling had a shot to tackle him around the 25, but Mond ran away from his diving attempt.

The Cowboys (8-5) went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Texas A&M 34 on their next possession, but Spencer Sanders was stopped for no gain.

The Aggies added a 24-yard field goal to make it 24-14 with about three minutes to go.

Oklahoma State cut the lead to three on a touchdown reception by Braydon Johnson with about a minute left. The Cowboys attempted an onside kick, but A&M recovered it to secure the victory.

Chuba Hubbard, who finished the regular season as the nation's leading rusher, ran for 158 yards, and Johnson had 124 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Cowboys.

Hubbard finished the season with 2,094 yards rushing to become the second player in school history to reach 2,000, joining Barry Sanders, who did it in 1988 when he won the Heisman Trophy. Sanders tweeted congratulations to Hubbard after he reached the mark and said: "I know the effort it takes to get there."

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2020 Cheez-It Bowl - December 29, 2020 - Camping World Stadium - Orlando, Florida

Spencer Sanders threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns, and Oklahoma State held off No. 18 Miami for a 37-34 victory in the Cheez-It Bowl on Tuesday.

Brennan Presley caught three of Sanders' TD passes, finishing with six receptions for 118 yards. Sanders also led the Cowboys with 45 yards rushing.

Oklahoma State (8-3) scored on its first three possessions while jumping out to a 21-0 lead. Sanders threw TD passes of 30 and 32 yards to Presley, and LD Brown had a 2-yard touchdown run.

Miami (8-3) got on the board in the second quarter when D'Eriq King threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brevin Jordan. But King left the game with a right knee injury with 4:06 remaining in the first half.

Backup quarterback N'Kosi Perry threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns for Miami. Perry's 5-yard TD pass to Michael Harley helped the Hurricanes close to 37-34 with 5:39 left.

Perry misfired on six of his final nine passes and his 6-yard pass to Michael Redding III was not enough to convert a fourth-and-9 with under two minutes remaining.

Oklahoma State used a near perfect performance from Sanders to earn its fourth bowl victory in the past five years. Sanders was 27-of-40 passing and did not commit a turnover.

Miami will finish the season with back-to-back losses. It has lost five consecutive bowl games and 11 of its past 12.

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2022 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl - January 1, 2022 - StateFarm Stadium - Glendale, Arizona

After Oklahoma State completed the largest comeback in team history, coach Mike Gundy put his own label on a 37-35 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame.

"This is clearly the biggest win in the history of the school," Gundy said. "You're in a New Year's Day bowl. You're playing Notre Dame. Biggest comeback in the school history. ... The biggest win in the history of the school."

Oklahoma State rallied from a 28-7 deficit in the second quarter to score 30 straight points. The team's previous biggest comeback was 20 points down against Colorado in 1979.

The Cowboys won 12 games for the first time under Gundy, a former Oklahoma State quarterback in his 17th season as head coach.

Oklahoma State also won the Fiesta Bowl after the 2011 season to finish No. 3 nationally. This season, Oklahoma State ended a six-game losing streak to rival Oklahoma, and it made its first Big 12 championship game appearance but fell to Baylor as running Dezmon Jackson was stopped inches short of a potential winning touchdown.

"We feel like if we didn't win this game, this would be kind of a season of just forgotten greatness," defensive end Brock Martin said after the Fiesta Bowl. "We lost the Big 12 championship, and then you lose the Fiesta Bowl, all that greatness and the great things you did as a unit, the D-line and linebackers and DBs, we kind of felt like it would be forgotten over time."

Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders finished with 371 passing yards and four touchdowns to go with 125 rushing yards on 17 carries. He joined former Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd as the only FBS players to record 350 pass yards, 100 rush yards and four touchdowns in a bowl game.

Gundy said the Cowboys' maturity and experience kept him optimistic when the team fell behind by three touchdowns.

"They're veterans," Gundy said of his players. "They've been in this program, most of them -- particularly on defense -- been in the program four, five, six years. For that reason, I didn't have any concerns. I was just hoping that we could hold up with the length they had on both sides of the ball up front."

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