No. 10 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

Gundy, Cowboys try to live up to lofty expectations

Missouri... Kansas... Texas Tech... Hmmm, who else can we choose?

Awww, Oklahoma State - this season's chic pick to unseat Texas and Oklahoma as the unstoppable rulers of the Big XII. Ever since Nebraska and Colorado had their fun in the early part of the decade, the two schools from the South have controlled the conference, leaving fans and the media to speculate on just who could make the conference championship game intriguing.

Last season Texas Tech came up short on a three-way tie breaker, while both Missouri and Kansas had a shot at the national title game in 2007. Now it's the Cowboys, who like Ole Miss and Cal seem to be media darlings entering the 2009 season.

But is Oklahoma State really even good enough to duplicate Texas Tech's 11-1 regular season, much less release the South from the OU/UT strangle-hold for the first time since 1998? While that question probably won't be known for sure until late October, the Cowboys will know from week 1 whether they'll steadily move up the rankings or just be a preseason afterthought. That's because OSU hosts No. 15 Georgia in the first week. A win over the Dawgs would mean a 4-0 start going into the Oct. 10 trip to College Station to face Texas A&M (the 'Boys have powerhouses Houston, Rice and Grambling State for their remainder out-of-conference schedule).

The remainder of the Big XII schedule couldn't play out better for Mike Gundy, who yes, still is a man but now forty-two. The Cowboys have an open date before A&M, host Missouri, another open date (technically at Baylor) before hosting Texas, another open date (technically at Iowa State) before Texas Tech, and then close with hosting Colorado and traveling to Norman.

So there's a high probability that a win over Georgia could mean a 11-0 start for the Boone Pickins-funded Cowboys. But while the OSU offense has been generating buzz for years, the team finally has a defense to make it formidable. If 6-point favorite OSU knocks off UGA, then watch for the Cowboys to actually live up to expectations and displace the Sooners and Longhorns.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Oklahoma St Page | CBS Oklahoma St Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team on September 2.