Can The Oklahoma State Cowboys Turn Their Season Around?

It's no secret the Oklahoma State Cowboys are getting off to a less-than-ideal start to the season. On paper, however, the Cowboys are 2-1 with a bad loss to a non-conference team. The Cowboys have the ability to flip the narrative by opening conference play strong.

The first Big 12 opponent for the Cowboys this season is the Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones are off to just as rough of a season as the Cowboys, which gives Oklahoma State an opportunity to turn things around for good.

If what Mike Gundy said at his Monday press conference is true, and the Cowboys have problems that are able to be fixed in the short term, there's no reason this season can't be turned around. 

Senior offensive lineman Preston Wilson has seen a thing or two since his time in Stillwater, which began in 2019 as a redshirt freshman. One of those things is the 2021 season. 

"We have another game to play next week. We're 0-0 in conference, so let's go in with a level head this week, put the loss behind us, learn from it, and ultimately go fix our mistakes," Wilson said on Monday.

Again, this sounds eerily similar to what Gundy said on Monday. Between the coaching staff and players, there seems to be a certain level of optimism. 

"We've had some rough starts and finished out strong before, you know," Wilson continued. "Looking back at 2021, there were games we almost lost at the beginning that could have went the other way, and we ended up having a great year. There's still a lot of season left to be played and a lot of ball left to be played."

During that season, Jaylen Warren had a breakout game, which helped the team establish an identity. Offensively, that's what the Cowboys need. There's a lack of flow and rhythm on that side of the ball. Maybe it's Ollie Gordon receiving the number of touches he needs to have a breakout season, but the quarterback situation also needs clarity to help find that flow and rhythm. 

Defensively, the Cowboys should be able to do something similar to 2021. They looked solid in the second half against Arizona State in Week 2, pitching a second-half shutout. If they can bring that same level of intensity to back the offense, things could start to come around in the second half of the season.

The Cowboys have a long, long way to go, but writing the season off after one bad loss isn't quite ideal, especially if coaches and players are choosing to remain optimistic with this much season left.

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