Scott Verplank seeing the benefits of sticking with OSU through thick and thin

Verplank was on the sidelines at Colorado in 1994, when the Cowboys lost and Jones coached out the string of his final season.

Verplank is not a bandwagon fan. Which means this 2011 ride – the second-ranked Cowboys are 10-0 for the first time ever, after routing Texas Tech 66-6 Saturday – is especially sweet for Verplank. And any long-suffering Cowboy fan.

“I'm just excited we're doing things the right way,” said the 25-year PGA Tour golfer, standing on the Jones Stadium ramp Saturday. “All the behind-the-scenes stuff, all the attitude stuff, getting the right kind of kids is starting to pay off.

“So it's very cool that we're actually in this position.”

And Verplank says he never doubted this day could come.

“I always thought it could happen,” Verplank said. “Anything's possible. I play on the PGA Tour. Anything's possible.”

Verplank figures he would have been a football player himself, had he reached 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. Instead, Verplank stopped growing at 5-foot-9 and became one of the America's greatest amateur golfers before turning pro, where he's won five times on tour.

But Verplank stayed with Cowboy football. As a freshman golfer, Verplank met Jones, then an assistant coach. Jones would jog around the intramural fields, where Verplank hit golf balls.