Cowboys reach two milestones
OSU 34, ISU 8 7 wins in four straight years matches four straight bowl appearances

By Johne Rohde Comments 3
Published: November 8, 2009

AMES, Iowa — Lost in the Dez Bryant mess is the fact Oklahoma State has done something it has never done in 108 seasons of football.

With their 34-8 dismantling of Iowa State on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon, the Cowboys have won at least seven games for the fourth consecutive season, which coincides nicely with their pending fourth straight bowl appearance.

Neither feat had ever been achieved before at the school.

Sure, there are extenuating factors to these milestones. The regular season now has 12 games rather than 11 or 10. College football is drowning in bowl games with 34 and counting. Also, the four teams OSU has beaten this season in Big 12 play have a combined league record of 6-15.

Nevertheless, these 18th-ranked Cowboys are still due some props given all the other extenuating circumstances, particularly the never-shall-he-return suspension of Bryant.

With his NCAA appeal officially denied and his relocation to Tampa, Bryant’s collegiate career is done.

While the ridiculously gifted All-America wide receiver basks in the sunshine and prepares for the 2010 NFL Draft down in Florida, his ex-teammates will continue their mission to make this the first 11-win season in OSU history.

Manhandling the Cyclones kept that dream alive for the Cowboys (7-2, 4-1), who on this day not only overcame the permanent dismissal of Bryant but also an embarrassing 41-14 loss to Texas in Stillwater the previous Saturday.

OSU coach Mike Gundy and his staff prepped their team as best they could last week, but there was no way to tell how his players would respond after two decisive blows compliments of the Longhorns and the NCAA.

"These guys have a lot going on in their life, and they have done a good job of supporting each other,” Gundy said. "Whether you like it or not, I don’t think there’s any question it affected them some. There’s always concern whether they’ll put it to the side and go play hard, and so they have. I’m really proud of them for that.

"If anybody were to say that it’s not somewhat of a distraction, I think they’d be crazy.”

The Cowboys buried these distractions in a convincing manner, essentially doubling up on the Cyclones in total yards (473-242), first downs (29-13), time of possession (39:38-20:22) while not committing a turnover.

ISU came in with the league’s top rushing attack (200.3) and top rusher in Alexander Robinson (101.6). OSU stuffed those totals to 54 and 51 yards, respectively.

"Last week took away our self-control. We don’t control our own destiny anymore,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Bill Young said of the Texas loss. "That was disappointing, but our kids really responded. They just jumped right back. They’re pretty resilient, they really are.

"I think we’ve got a pretty tough group of guys mentally. They know exactly where we are.”

Offensively, OSU gave Iowa State a dose of its own ground game. The Cowboys gained a season-high 331 yards rushing, led by senior Keith Toston’s career high of 206.

Amidst this land assault, senior quarterback Zac Robinson flew past his head coach to become the school’s all-time leader in career passing yards (8,065).

Gundy, who held the previous mark at 7,997 yards from 1986-89, seems to take genuine pleasure in watching Robinson break his records.

Asked if he now lives vicariously through Robinson, Gundy smiled and said, "As I get older, I think I live vicariously through a lot of people, starting with movie stars and rock stars.”

Just one week earlier, Robinson had the worst outing of his college career with four interceptions against the Longhorns, two returned for touchdowns.

After that game, Robinson sounded like a kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders, suggesting he had to play a perfect game for the Cowboys to have a chance.

Gundy shook his head and said, "Zac can’t put that on himself. All he can do is what he can do. The other guys have to fall in line with him. On game day, Zac just has to go play. He shouldn’t put that pressure on himself. He knows it. We’ve told him that before. He just needs to go play.

"He’s held up well. This has been a tough year for him. I’ve been really proud of him for that because that’s not easy for a quarterback. You can say, ‘Aw, just go play.’ Well, it’s not that easy.”

Nothing has come easy for OSU this season, but the Cowboys manage to keep on winning.

Seven and counting.

John Rohde: 475-3099. John Rohde can be heard Monday-Friday from 6-7 p.m. on The Sports Animal Network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.