Oklahoma State has plenty to gain from winning the Heart of Dallas Bowl

So what, exactly, can be gained from a game that the Cowboys are expected to win — and big?

Start with the simple record up for grabs: 8-5.

“It sounds a whole heck of a lot better than 7-6,” defensive end Cooper Bassett said.

A whole heck of a lot better to the seniors — the second-winningest class in school history — who are trying to go out with a win and finish their careers with three consecutive bowl victories.

A whole heck of a lot better to the coaches who will pitch the program during the stretch run of recruiting season, and the players who will quickly move into winter conditioning.

And a whole heck of a lot better for a program that is about to begin a very intriguing offseason, featuring at least one major change at coordinator and possibly another quarterback derby.

“It makes everything a little bit easier,” Bassett said of winning the bowl game. “To go to weights at 6:30 in the morning, it just kind of makes everything a little bit more fun.”

But back to the sheer numbers. The win would swing an injury-filled, up-and-down season — one that still had BCS aspirations in late November — back up.