3 Losses By Good OSU Teams To Give This Season Hope

How the Cowboy's past can give them hope for their future.

Oct 28, 2023; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; An Oklahoma State helmet is seen before a game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Cincinnati Bearcats at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Terry-Imagn Images | Bryan Terry-Imagn Images

The Cowboys are coming off their worst loss in the Mike Gundy era, after losing 69-3 to Oregon this past week. Losing by 66 could be a confidence killer for OSU, but that doesn’t mean it has to be.

There are multiple examples of Cowboy teams suffering a big loss that turned it around and didn’t let the loss define their season.

These instances can be learning lessons for the current Cowboy football team to remind them that the season is far from over.

Losses by good OSU teams to give this season's team hope:

2023: South Alabama 33, Oklahoma State 7

This one was a nightmare game for OSU. Although the Pokes were only a seven-point favorite, no one truly thought the team from the Sun Belt could take on the Cowboys. Unfortunately, history shows otherwise, and the Cowboys suffered a humiliating loss.

The season, however, was far from lost. Although the Cowboys would lose their next game, they would then go on a five-game win streak, winning the final Bedlam as part of it. They would finish their season 10-4, making a Big 12 Championship Game appearance and finishing the year as the No.16 team in the country.

2016: Central Michigan 30, Oklahoma State 27

Going into the game as the No. 22 team in the country, nobody thought OSU would have any trouble with Central Michigan. Of course, this was not the case as Central Michigan shocked the world winning on the last play of the game during an untimed down. 

Even though this was one of the most heartbreaking OSU losses of all time, the season did not end in heartbreak. The Cowboys would go on to have a 10-3 season, only losing their other two games to nationally ranked teams in No.16 Baylor and No.9 Oklahoma. They would top it all off by beating No. 10 Colorado in the Valero Alamo Bowl and finish the season ranked No. 11.

2023: UCF 45, Oklahoma State 3

This is the closest representation of the score to the game last week against Oregon. No. 15 Oklahoma State turned the ball over four times as R.J. Harvey rushed for three touchdowns to break the Pokes' five-game win streak in devastating fashion.

This beating could’ve killed all the momentum built up by OSU and killed a solid season. Fortunately, the Cowboys would win out in Big 12 play and make the Big 12 Championship Game. 

Although the future for the Cowboys is diminished by the performance last week, all their hopes of a good season don’t fly out the window.

---