I’ve always thought we were slightly above this program in all athletics. I remember back in the 70’s playing them and thinking they were just 1 step up from Tulsa.
Today both programs have similarities & challenges (I think). Both programs have strong financial backing from donors, great facilities, similar recruiting challenges. Seems like they’ve been a consistent top 25 team for 15 years, but we haven’t.
What are the big differences? (15 year span eliminates the HC debate)
Good comparisons. I think it is a combination of things. I do think they have been better, but has been bolstered by their conference affiliation.
I would also assume that their wide open offense has been more suited to recruiting in Texas. I don’t have any facts to bear that out, but that would be my assumption.
The year it was LSU v Bama in the national championship, Oklahoma State had a strong case they should have been there. They ended up beating a Stanford team, quarterbacked by Andrew Luck, in the Fiesta Bowl.
Last thing, I wonder how many first round picks they have had in the last 15 years compared to Arkansas. Off the top of my head I can think of Dez Bryant, Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden and I am sure there are more.
Oklahoma State has had eight; Arkansas six since 2002.
The biggest difference in Oklahoma State’s success is the Big 12. The Cowboys have been around .500 in their big games out of conference, including bowl games.
I don’t think you can compare the two teams without talking about the head coaches. OSU has had two head coaches in the past 17 seasons. One is going to be in the College Football Hall of Fame and the other has a chance to get there.
Stillwater runs deep, but not as deep as T. Boone’s pockets once did. However, falling energy prices and declining health may have put a crimp in his disposable income. The elephant appears to be a rapidly depreciating asset for the Pokes.
Indeed. I don’t recall how much money he gave the OSU athletic dept a few years back, but I thinking it was somewhere around $100M. That’s a staggering sum.
I think there is much truth in this, and I’m not saying anything about the current situation. We do need to have stability in the next 10 years or so. Like or hate HDN, we had some success then partially because of stability. We haven’t had true stability since Broyles.