Mike Gundy's Conservative History Could've Saved Oklahoma State vs. Tulsa

Oklahoma State is coming off a tough loss, but it might have been avoidable with a more traditional approach.

OSU had an incredibly disappointing loss against Tulsa on Friday night, and fourth downs can easily tell the story of the matchup. While Tulsa consistently burned the Pokes on fourth downs, converting all three of its attempts, the Cowboys managed to convert just one of their four fourth downs, a fourth-quarter fourth-and-1 from Tulsa 5 that ended in Zane Flores running in OSU’s only touchdown.

After that score, OSU opted to go for two and didn’t convert. However, there’s a scenario where kicking the extra point would have been the right call, and it could’ve happened if the Cowboys made some more conservative calls earlier in the game.

OSU’s first two fourth-down failures were at the Tulsa 37 and Tulsa 5. Had OSU taken field goals in those situations, the Cowboys could’ve been trailing just 19-9 ahead of their only fourth-down conversion of the night.

Assuming OSU would have still felt comfortable rolling the dice on the play that saw Flores’ score, then Logan Ward’s 49-yard field goal that cut the lead to seven would have tied the game in this scenario. Obviously, this situation is predicated on OSU kicking on the fourth downs it didn’t convert and still going for it on its one successful try, but that exact pattern isn’t so far-fetched, given Mike Gundy’s history.

While fans are calling for Gundy’s reign in Stillwater to end, which appears likely at this point, they can’t be upset with his decisions on Friday night. Sure, Doug Meacham’s play-calling through the first three games might point to him being the wrong hire, but Gundy’s willingness to trust his offense in key situations on fourth downs is something that can’t be harshly criticized.

At least, it can’t be harshly criticized through the lens of Friday night’s game on its own. However, the decisions to roll the dice on multiple fourth-and-1s in the red zone are a bit of a microcosm of one of the biggest knocks against Gundy over the years: his unwillingness to adapt quickly.

There is no shortage of times over the years with electric offenses and superstars on that side of the ball where Gundy opted to bring out the special teams units. Although it might be difficult to point to any one decision that cost OSU a championship or anything of that nature, those decisions were a significant piece of Gundy’s coaching style and are among the many frustrations from fans that ultimately could lead to the end of his tenure in Stillwater.