As Oklahoma State is headed for its worst season since Mike Gundy took over in 2005, the coach had a message for his critics. Expectations were high entering the year as the Cowboys returned most of their starters from a team that finished runner up in the Big 12 in 2023.

However, with just three games remaining on the schedule, OSU has still yet to win a conference game. The Cowboys have not failed to make a bowl game in the past 18 seasons, but would need to win out to become bowl eligible this year.

Gundy and the team have rightfully faced criticism as there seems to be little explanation as to where things went so wrong. In his press conference on Monday, the coach came back with a strong response.

“This place has had tremendous success for 18-and-a-half years,” he said. “Unfortunately in life, most people are weak and as soon as things start to not go as good as they thought, they fall apart and they panic. Then they want to point the finger and blame other people. You see it happen in every day life. That’s why I refuse to watch the TV and watch the news because I get tired of people complaining and bitching about this and that versus just doing something about it and trying to figure out a way to make it better. That’s what happens in college athletics.

“In most cases when people are negative and voice their opinion, they’re the same ones that can’t pay their own bills. They’re not taking care of themselves. They’re not taking care of their own family. They’re not taking care of their own job that they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes them feel better. Then in the end when they go to bed at night, they’re the same failure they were before they said anything negative about anybody else.”

Some things have been out of Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State’s control. The Cowboys have lost several key players due to injury on defense and certainly no one is going to blame the coach for that.

However, the quarterback play has also been less than stellar and teams have figured out to how to defend running back Ollie Gordon after his breakout season a year ago. That’s something that falls on Gundy and the coaching staff to fix and so far they haven’t found a solution.

Gundy continued to say he is urging his team to continue to fight until the end of the season regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. He also urged fans to continue to supports the Cowboys and assured them that while things might look bleak at the moment, he has a plan to make sure the future of the program is in good hands.

“I think what’s important for all the Oklahoma State fans to know is this: We’re very aware of what’s going on and at some point in life, we all have to put trust in somebody,” he said. “I think they need to trust that we have a good plan for what’s going on here in the big picture and we have answers. Sometimes they’re not short term. Sometimes they might be long-term answers. Then secondly, in the end, the very best thing that people can do is 100% buy in. You’ve gotta be on somebody’s team. You can’t go through life by yourself.

“I’m gonna go into a meeting at 1:30 and have a similar conversation with the team, but it will only last about two minutes because they’ve heard this from me 1,000 times during their career and they understand. So what I’ll tell them is that we as a staff and me as a head coach have been working over the last two days to give you guys a plan. Now we’re asking you to buy in and execute this plan and then on Saturday go play and turn it lose and have some fun and compete. What we and I are looking for is guys that are willing to do that. That’s called being a team. That’s called being part of an organization. It’s really that simple for us.”

It’s a lengthy explanation for the team’s struggles this year but only results and the field will truly cause the critics to cease. OSU will look for its first Big 12 win when it hits the road to face TCU on Saturday.