OSU football: Phil Steele predicts Cotton Bowl for the Cowboys

Gundy expects his players to learn life lessons while at OSU.

By Anthony Slater – Staff Writer

If you can’t capture a coveted BCS bowl bid, many view the next best postseason destination as the Cotton Bowl, Dallas’ lavishing week-long vacation capped by a nationally televised stand-alone game in a comfy indoor spaceship.

And according to preseason prognosticator Phil Steele, Oklahoma State could be heading back there in January, for the second time in three seasons.

Steele has the Cowboys matched up with Arkansas in the Jan. 7 game at Jerry’s World. The two programs haven’t played Sept. 20, 1980, when Arkansas beat OSU 33-20.

And all things considered, with a true freshman quarterback and an unproven receiving corps, Dallas is a solid landing spot for a retooled OSU team, despite the nightmares that still remain from the same game two seasons ago, when Zac Robinson threw four interceptions and the Cowboys were beat 21-7 by Ole Miss.

Last year, in his preseason predictions, Steele had OSU playing Stanford in the Alamo Bowl. The two ended up meeting, but the stakes and location were a little different, as they matched up in a 41-38 overtime thriller at the Fiesta Bowl, which OSU won.

Here’s Steele’s other Big 12 bowl projections:

National Title – OU v Florida State

Fiesta Bowl – Texas v Alabama

Alamo Bowl – West Virginia v Stanford

Insight Bowl – TCU v Penn State

Pinstripe Bowl – Baylor v Rutgers