After four years at Texas State, Prague, OK, product Dalton Cooper transferred to Oklahoma State prior to the 2023-24 season.

The veteran offensive lineman developed into one of the Cowboys best players in the trenches during his first year in Stillwater, finishing the season with a 75.3 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus.

Cooper’s PFF grade is the third highest among returning offensive tackles in the Big 12 behind only Iowa State’s Jalen Travis and West Virginia’s Wyatt Milum. Cooper received a 74.1 pass blocking grade and a 71.6 run blocking grade for his efforts in 2023.

According to PFF, the 6-foot-7 tackle allowed just three sacks and 22 quarterback pressures in 576 pass blocking snaps. Cooper’s performance led to the in-state product being named an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection after his first season at OSU.

Last year marked Cooper’s third consecutive season with a PFF grade above 70, as the former Bobcats’ standout earned an 85.3 offensive grade in 2021 and a 72.3 offensive grade in 2022. Cooper has also logged at least 810 offensive snaps in each of the last four years.

The Cowboy’s 2024-25 campaign will mark Cooper’s sixth season in college football, and the veteran tackle will anchor an Oklahoma State offensive line that returns Jake Springfield, Joe Michalski, Cole Birmingham and Preston Wilson.

With all five starters back along OSU’s offensive front and Ollie Gordon II set for a big junior season, Mike Gundy’s squad should have one of the top rushing attacks in college football next year.

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There’s just something about playing underdog that Mike Gundy seems to love, no matter how much he wins. Oklahoma State was picked seventh in last season’s Big 12 preseason poll. Months later, the Pokes upset Oklahoma in the final Bedlam and played for a Big 12 championship. The Cowboys have reached double-digit wins eight times under Gundy’s watch. Half came after starting the year unranked in the preseason AP Top 25. 

But in 2024, the lack of attention is head-scratching. Oklahoma State has the seventh-best odds to win the Big 12 championship, behind teams like Iowa State and Texas Tech. The Cowboys are tied with UCF, which went 6-7 during a frustrating first season as a power conference team. Ironically, the only Knights win against a legacy Power Five team came against OSU. 

Granted, Oklahoma State was by no means dominant during its run to the Big 12 title game. Bizarre losses to UCF and South Alabama came by a combined 78-10. The Cowboys needed double overtime to survive a late charge from BYU. But still, Oklahoma State steadily held its ground. Heading into 2024, last season feels far more like an early arrival than a peak. 

For one, running back Ollie Gordon II is back after a Doak Walker Award-winning campaign. Gordon rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns during a breakout sophomore season and will enter the 2024 season as the top returning rusher in the sport by a wide margin. 247Sports ranks his offensive line No. 1 in the nation, ahead of behemoths at LSU and Georgia. The unit boasts five starters, including tackles Dalton Cooper and Jake Springfield who combine for 89 starts. 

Overall, Oklahoma State ranks No. 3 in returning production nationally per ESPN, trailing only Iowa State and Stanford. An absurd 85% of production returns to college football with playmakers at almost every level. Defensive lineman Collin Oliver is a potential first-round draft pick to lead the unit. Quarterback Alan Bowman was able to wrangle yet another year of eligibility in 2024. The Pokes reached Big 12 contention only once Bowman fully took over under center. 

While returning production is no guarantee of success, it does set a baseline. Last season, Florida State, Kansas and Michigan were the three top Power Five teams in returning production. Those teams combined to go 37-5 and each put together their best seasons in at least a decade. 

By the way, the greatest stumbling block is gone. Gundy lost 15 games against Oklahoma, which represents nearly 20% of his career losses. Now, the Cowboys have eternal scoreboard and Gundy never has to worry about Oklahoma ever again. It should be a huge weight off his shoulders heading forward. 

It must be said, a non-Oklahoma team has ridden close-game luck to the Big 12 title game essentially every year since it returned in 2017. History is paved with horror stories of their follow-up seasons. There was 2023 TCU, which went from the national title game to missing a bowl game. One year earlier, Baylor went from a Sugar Bowl victory to a losing record. Iowa State also fell from a regular season first-place Big 12 finish in 2020 to a disappointing 7-6 campaign. 

However, there are a few pieces that help crack the code of a successful Mike Gundy team. For one, experience at quarterback helps. All eight of Gundy’s 10-win seasons came under multi-year starters. A superstar wide receiver helps too — and Brennan Presley is back to take that role. Defensively, the middle of the pack is good enough. That will take some improvement from Bryan Nardo’s unit but it is possible. 

Also, low expectations don’t hurt. Since 2009, Oklahoma State has been picked top 15 in the preseason AP Top 25 six times. Five times, the Pokes finished lower in the final poll, including two unranked finishes. The only exception was during the historic 2011 season. 

Simply put, all the pieces are in place for another Mike Gundy special, despite the shockingly long odds. Then again, I doubt Oklahoma State is too worried about getting overlooked. It’s how the Cowboys live best. 

10-win seasons under Mike Gundy

 Oklahoma State when preseason ranked

NORMAN — On Saturday night, the Connecticut Huskies quelled Oklahoma’s offensive firepower, downing the Sooners 4-1.

OU’s stunning loss came just one day after Skip Johnson’s team demolished Oral Roberts 14-0 in their first game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma’s offense could not be slowed down against the Golden Eagles, as the Sooners notched seven extra base hits while nine of the team’s 10 batters reached base.

In Saturday night’s contest against the Huskies, however, OU’s ferocious offense disappeared, as the Sooners tallied just one run and three extra base hits. After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning, Oklahoma had multiple chances to score and tie the game, but were unable to string together any consistency in the batter’s box.

“Stephen Quigley pitched really good tonight, we hit a lot of balls hard in that game right at guys,” Johnson said after the game. “I thought our guys battled all night long. … That’s baseball, hats off to them, and maybe this is just part of the story.” 

In the top of the fourth inning, senior infielder Michael Snyder hit a one-out double down the left field line, but Huskies senior right hander Stephen Quigley retired Jackson Nicklaus and Scott Mudler in the next two at-bats to shut down the Sooners’ scoring chances.

With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, junior outfielder John Spikerman doubled down the right field line, but senior outfielder Bryce Madron grounded out to once again end OU’s at-bat with a runner left in scoring position.

Just two innings later, Mudler hit a one-out single that once again gave Johnson’s team an opportunity to get in rhythm on offense, but sophomore utility Rocco Garza-Gongora lined into a double play in the following at-bat to send the Sooners’ defense back onto the field.

“He threw the backdoor slider and rammed the fastballs in, made some really quality pitches,” Johnson said. “We hit some balls hard, I want to say 14 balls that we had quality at-bats on and hit balls, line drive outs. He did a great job and they played great defense.” 

Garza-Gongora got the start for OU in place of senior Anthony Mackenzie, who suffered an injury against ORU and will likely be unavailable on Sunday as well.

Even in the eighth, when senior outfielder Kendall Pettis hit a solo home run to leadoff the inning, the Sooners next three batters were retired in order as Oklahoma continued to struggle on offense.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Sooners had one more chance to get back into the game, as Willits and Snyder walked to put the tying run at the plate with no outs. Just as Connecticut had all game, however, the Huskies were able to get out the jam to escape the Regional Semifinal with a victory.

“There were some quality at-bats right there,” Johnson said. “I think we had a six-pitch walk and had a five-pitch walk with Snyder and, I mean, (Jackson Nicklaus) hit a two-run homer just last week to take the lead and he swung at a pitch and popped it up (on Saturday). You know, and then Rocco (Garza-Gongora) had a battle and got out. … That’s part of it.”

The offensive letdown is a surprise for Johnson’s squad, who has been held under two runs just three times all year. After Easton Carmichael, Willits and Nicklaus all recorded hits against Oral Roberts on Friday night, the trio went a combined 0-for-11 at the plate against the Huskies.

Quigley’s solid outing on the mound was a key contributor to the Sooners’ offensive struggles. While the senior right hander only tallied two strikeouts and allowed seven hits, he finished with just one walk and one earned run.

“He just pitched a good game,” Pettis said. “Like Skip said, we had a lot of hard hit balls, you know, it’s baseball. It just didn’t fall, it literally just did not fall. We had a lot of good ABs a lot of line drives, but nothing was falling.”

WIth the loss, OU will play an elimination game against Duke at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon from L. Dale Mitchell Park. If Oklahoma wins, the Sooners will get a rematch with Connecticut at 8 p.m. with a chance to extend the Norman Regional to Monday.