Oklahoma State fans voted Kendall Hunter as the best running back of the Mike Gundy era in OKC Dave’s 2022 OSU Fan Survey.

That got me thinking — Is that accrut? So, I opened up a spreadsheet to try to find out. Dave listed the 10 running backs who have led a season in rushing under Gundy. For my research, I also included Jeremy Smith. To start, let’s look at the career numbers for these 11 guys (sorted by rushing yards).

All semi-standard stats, aside from the touchdowns per carry. I wanted to add that as another stat that had less to do with longevity and more to do with production. For example, yes, Hunter had more touchdowns than Keith Toston, but Hunter also had 235 more carries than Toston did. The touchdowns per carry stat also shows some love to guys who might’ve been used more as a goal-line back in a two-headed backfield.

So from here, I awarded points based off the following stat categories: yards, touchdowns, yards per carry, touchdowns per carry. Hunter had the most yards, so he got 11 points. Justice Hill got 10 points. Chuba Hubbard got 9 points — you get it. If two players tied in a category, they split the point they tied over (i.e. Toston and Desmond Roland each got 5.5 points in the touchdown category).

Here are those results:

This foolproof scientific experiment agrees with the OSU faithful that Hunter is, in fact, the best running back of the Gundy era. But it was close. Randle put up a good fight with his 40 rushing touchdowns and .071 touchdowns per carry.

I think the top of this list could be argued pretty solidly, but the science might not check out as much as you go down. Call it recency bias if you want, but I’m taking Jaylen Warren over a lot of those guys in the bottom half of the list.

This also — obviously — doesn’t take into account the offensive lines these guys were running behind or how much of a passing game each team had to compliment the running backs. I also didn’t include the running backs’ receiving stats. There is no perfect way to find this question out.

The Top 5 from Dave’s survey were:

1. Hunter
2. Hubbard
3. Randle
4. Hill
5. Warren

Again, the survey didn’t include Smith, so that throws a kink into things. However, that’s a solid list that I’m not going to argue too hard, but you could also argue that OSU fans might be undervaluing Randle (somehow) and Toston.

OKC Dave’s OSU Fan Survey will be old enough to drive next year.

This year, 1,476 people took part in the annual tradition that, in a lot of ways, kicks off the Oklahoma State school year. You can view the full results of Dave’s 2022 survey here. Here are some of my takeaways from it.

Desiring the Expanded Big 12

One of the more surprising stats to me was that 54.5% of OSU fans desire for OSU to stay in an expanded Big 12 once the dust of conference realignment settles. That’s up from just 10.2% last year.

That says a lot of how the Big 12 was able to stabilize over the past 12 months that more people now want to stay in the Big 12 as opposed to the going to the SEC or Big Ten, which combined come out to 45% of voters. Some of this probably has to do with the fact that it seems the most likely option at this point. People have come to grips with this being the future. But regardless, a year ago, the building was burning down.

When Dave gave the same prompt last year, 61.6% of people desired the Big Ten (the SEC wasn’t an option), and 21.6% of fans wanted OSU in the Pac-12 (LOL). The demise of the Pac-12 and the Big 12 adding quality schools in UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati really has things looking up in Big 12 land.

Presley Goes Back-to-Back

For the second year running, Brennan Presley is OSU fans’ favorite offensive player. He joins Mason Rudolph as the only player to win that honor multiple times on the survey since 2009.

Rudolph did it three years in a row (2015, 2016 and 2017), but I feel like the quarterback is kind of supposed to be everyone’s favorite — not an undersized slot receiver. And Presley won by a lot, too. The 45% of the vote he got is highest since Justice Hill’s record-setting 67% in 2018.

For any local business owners wondering which Cowboy to have endorse their business NIL-style, Dave has already done the work for you.

For those wondering, Collin Oliver, Trace Ford and Brock Martin went one, two, three as favorite defensive players. That is wild because all three of those guys play the same position.

Basketball Approval Rating Finally Takes a Hit

Oklahoma State basketball has had a tough time gaining momentum since the latter years of the Travis Ford-era (shoot, it probably goes back to Eddie).

It just seems like at every turn, something is there to stop any momentum in its tracks.

The Brad Underwood year was fun. Then Brad Underwood jetted out as soon as he possibly could.

Mike Boynton was awesome in his opening news conferences. Then the FBI news dropped before he could even coach a game.

Cade Cunningham, a generational talent, came to Stillwater. But, a freaking pandemic made seeing him in Gallagher-Iba Arena limited.

Last year was weird. Did OSU do enough to get into the NCAA Tournament? Probably not. Would things have gone differently if there wasn’t an NCAA Tournament ban? It’s impossible to say.

With all that said, Mike Boynton and OSU basketball’s ratings have gone down this year. For the past three years, fans were most excited for the future of the men’s basketball program. This year, men’s basketball ranks fourth behind football, softball and baseball. Boynton was the highest-ranked coach/administrator last year. This year he is seventh. Boynton still has a 70% approval rating entering the 2022-23 school year, but that is down from 96% a year ago.

Winning cures all, and with the tourney ban behind them, maybe the Cowboys can get to doing that more often this season.

With fall camp well underway and the season fast approaching, Mike Gundy and his staff are encroaching upon deadlines on which to make big decisions about playing time, roster construction and how not only the two-deep will look — but also how practice reps will be handled among those players.

So with just over two weeks to go until the start of the season, we’re back for another PFB roundtable as a check-in on fall camp to answer some questions. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this team? Which players (on both sides of the ball) will step up? What areas does OSU still need to address in the next two weeks?

Marshall, Cox and I set out to answer some of those questions below.

What is the strength of this OSU football team?

Marshall: The absolute dogs coming off the edge of the defensive line. The Cowboys led the country in sacks last season and return four of their five-leading sack-getters. Collin Oliver is bigger, Trace Ford is back and Brock Martin is still the toughest dude on the field at all times. Opposing quarterbacks aren’t going to have a ton of time in 2022.

Cox: Since Marshall took the obvious one, I will go with OSU’s big men on the other side of the ball. The Cowboys’ offensive line is poised to be deeper than it was at this time last year, despite the loss of several would-be starters. A lot will depend upon how newcomers to the starting lineup perform — and even more will be determined by the Cowboys staying healthy — but the O-line could be a sneaky strength for the Pokes.

Boone: I think it’s the quarterback position. It’s so important to have someone who is more than just a game-manager but a game-breaker, and OSU has that in Spencer Sanders. He can make plays with his arms and his legs. Coming off an All-Big 12 First Team season, he is another year more familiar with the system and has the weapons around him to again be the best in the league at the most important position. That’s a huge asset for the Cowboys.

What is the weakness (or weaknesses) of this OSU football team?

Marshall: I’m bullish on OSU’s offensive line being better in 2022, but it will definitely be a question mark. But I’ll go with experience on the back end of the defense. Two new starting corners, two new starting safeties, two new starting linebackers. I think all of those guys are going to be good, but it’s hard seeing that group pick right back up where OSU’s 2021 defense left off.

Cox: The loss of Blaine Green to injury definitely dampens my enthusiasm for the Cowboy Back position. OSU still has Braden Cassity returning and adds another talented pass-catcher in true freshman Tabry Shettron, but Green was to be OSU’s second-leading returning receiver. He’ll be missed.

Boone: It’s difficult to point to one specific area — this team looks pretty well-rounded on paper — but I’ll go with the linebacker position. Losing Malcolm Rodriguez and Devin Harper is a tough blow. There’s gobs of talent in the middle primed to replace those two, but no one has the combination of mobility and experience to replace that duo one-for-one.

What position group has the most question marks?

Marshall: I’ll say the offensive line. I think this group is as deep as they’ve had in a while, but it’s hard to know that until I see it. It’s difficult to say that Preston Wilson is going to instantly be as good as Danny Godlevske at center or whoever plays at left guard (Taylor Miterko, Tyrone Webber) is going to instantly be as good as Josh Sills. But for the first time in a long time, I think if there is an injury somewhere on the line Charlie Dickey isn’t going to have to play “musical chairs.” I think it’ll, for the most part, be plug and play.

Cox: I think it has to be linebacker for me as the Cowboys try to replace both Malcolm Rodriguez and Devin Harper. I think OSU coaches like the options that they have in guys like Mason Cobb, Xavier Benson, and a handful of others, but that’s a lot of production and leadership to replace in one offseason.

Boone: For me it’s the running back position. After losing Jaylen Warren, Dezmon Jackson and LD Brown, OSU is effectively replacing its entire RB room (save for returning RB Dominic Richardson). There’s whispers that Richardson is primed to take over the top spot, and Texas A&M transfer Deondre Jackson has apparently impressed, but the split of carries remains a big question mark. Can Ollie Gordon get some run in as a true freshman? Will second-year speedster Jaden Nixon break into the regular rotation? Gundy has said he wants to use a committee approach, it’s just very unclear what that will look like and how many will be involved.

Who will be the (non QB) team MVP on offense this season?

Marshall: I want to say Brennan Presley or Jaden Bray, and one of those two are probably the right answer, but for fun, I’m going to say Braydon Johnson. After missing almost all of last season, Johnson seems as locked in as ever heading into 2022. It feels like ages ago that he had 124 yards and two touchdowns against Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl, but I think this could be a big year for him.

Cox: I will go with Dominic Richardson. I think he has an opportunity to break out as OSU’s RB1. I don’t know if it’s fair to expect the overnight success story that we saw from Jaylen Warren last year, but Richardson has shown he’s more than capable of making plays and I think an improving Spencer Sanders and offensive line leads to a nice productive year for No. 20.

Boone: I’ll go with Jaden Bray. It’s kind of a dart throw because outside of Brennan Presley, the receiver room seems pretty wide-open. But Bray gives off some major Justin Blackmon vibes because of his size, speed, mobility and catch radius. I like him as a potential second-year breakout candidate.

Who will be the team MVP on defense this season?

Marshall: Collin Oliver, and I’m not particularly sure it’s close. He had 11.5 sacks a year removed from playing an away game against Enid High School. He’s 25 pounds bigger this year. I haven’t been as excited to watch and OSU defensive lineman since Emmanuel Ogbah.

Cox: I guess I’d have to say Oliver, as well. For fun, I’ll add Trace Ford as an honorable mention. If he is in as good of shape as Mike Gundy said, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue where he left off a couple of years ago. Either way, OSU’s EDGE group is going to be scary.

Boone: I mean, is there even a doubt? Collin Oliver is that dude. He was a freshman All-American a year ago and has bulked up and been one of the stars of training camp. Even under a new defensive coordinator he will be one of the most lethal edge-rushers in America this season.

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

OSU Bullets

• OSU landed in the top 15 in the preseason AP top 25

– A history of OSU in the AP Top 25
– The Pokes were one of four teams to go from unranked in the preseason to the top ten at the end of the year:

After a brief lull — only two combined teams went from unranked to top 10 in 2019-20 — we saw a mini-explosion last year, when four teams did the deed: Michigan, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Michigan State.

[ESPN+ $$$]

• The Cowboys landed the next Tom Hutton, another Australian punter

• Scroll down to the second team to read about why this pundit has Oklahoma State Men’s Basketball as one of the teams to be higher on after the offseason

• Comparing where the Pokes landed in the AP Top 25 to where they landed in the PFF Top 25

• Kenny Monday was hired to coach a college wrestling program

• Soon, indeed.

Non-OSU Bullets

• Brett Yormark is one of the most intriguing figures in college football this season
• Flew through this fun summer read – a spy thriller

The preseason AP Top 25 college football poll was released on Monday, where Oklahoma State came in with its highest ranking — No. 12 — in the preseason poll since 2017.

The Cowboys came in behind Big 12 foes OU and Baylor in the ranking but still garnered immense respect on the whole. It’s the sixth time since Mike Gundy was head coach that OSU will enter the season inside the top 15 of the rankings.

OSU should be set for success this season behind a four-year starter at QB, a revamped offensive line and a veteran-heavy defensive line. However, history is a bit shaky for the Pokes when they have gotten this level of accolades this early. Of the five previous times OSU was a preseason top-15 team under Gundy — 2020, 2017, 2013, 2011 and 2009 — four of the instances resulted in OSU finishing the season either unranked or ranked lower than the preseason. The only anomaly came in 2011 when it opened the season No. 9, climbed to as high as No. 2 and finished No. 3. (Scholars still argue to this day that Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden would have torched both of LSU and Alabama and won the title, if given the opportunity that year. But I digress.)

Here’s a look at the history for OSU dating all the way back to 2009.

OSU has plenty of holes to fill to outperform its preseason ranking, as it has done six times since 2010, but the path is absolutely there.

“Everything is going well at this time,” Gundy said last week at his media day. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve got a good group as I mentioned earlier. I’m excited. I like what I see with the coaching, the interaction with the players, guys’ effort, responsibility, the loyalty to each other and their team. I’m excited about where we’re at, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

AP voters think the Cowboys are among the dozen best college football teams in the country.

The Associated Press released its 2022 Preseason Poll on Monday, and Oklahoma State will start the season ranked 12th, behind Oklahoma (No. 9) and Baylor (No. 10) in the Big 12. After winning the Fiesta Bowl last season, OSU finished seventh in the AP Poll, trailing only Baylor in the Big 12.

OU, Baylor and OSU are the only Big 12 teams ranked in the AP’s Top 25, but Texas and Kansas State received votes. In an expanded poll, Texas would’ve ranked 27th while K-State would’ve ranked 38th.

Three or the four incoming Big 12 schools will start this season ranked with Cincinnati, Houston and BYU coming in at No. 23, No. 24 and No. 25, respectively. And UCF received votes and would’ve ranked 33rd in an expanded poll.

The Cowboys didn’t start last season ranked in the AP Poll and didn’t climb into the rankings until they were 4-0. The last time OSU was ranked in the Preseason AP Poll was in 2020 when the Pokes ranked 15th nationally. The Cowboys finished that season ranked 20th.

The Cowboys were 11th in the Preseason Coaches Poll that came out last week, behind Oklahoma (No. 9) and Baylor (No. 10) in the Big 12.

Here is a look at the two polls side by side:

Morgan State University announced on Monday morning that it has hired Olympic gold medalist and former Oklahoma State national champion Kenny Monday as its new head wrestling coach.

Morgan State is a federally designated Historically Black College or University. It is the only Division-I HBCU with a wrestling program after announcing a revival of its program and plans to field a competitive team for the 2023-24 season.

“I am incredibly proud of how we were able to work together with Morgan State to secure such an incredible leader for the program,” said Kerry McCoy, president of HBCU Wrestling in Morgan State’s release. “Kenny Monday is an icon in the world of wrestling and has inspired so many. He has the ability to mobilize the Morgan alumni and the local community to generate support for the program. We look forward to continuing to support him and the program in any way we can.” 

Monday will make the ninth former Oklahoma State wrestler leading a current D1 program along with the following.

1. Neil Erisman (University of Arkansas-Little Rock)
2. Chris Pendleton (Oregon State University)
3. Coleman Scott (North Carolina)
4. Glen Lanham (Duke)
5. Kevin Ward (West Point)
6. Pat Popolizio (North Carolina State)
7. Mark Branch (Wyoming)
8. John Smith (Oklahoma State)

Monday will also now be the fifth black D1 head wrestling coach alongside Lanham and Pendleton.
 

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

OSU Bullets

• Mike Boynton landed a second commitment for the 2023 class yesterday – PFB talked with him (PFB+)
– Detail on where OSU’s 2023 basketball recruiting class ranks now

• Mike Gundy and Co. gave video updates from fall camp

• The AP preseason top 25 will be released today and the Pokes are expected to be in the top 15:

14. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

Ranked No. 11 in the Coaches Poll, Oklahoma State’s worth likely won’t be as high in the AP rankings this week. There are questions concerning the Cowboys on defense after losing Jim Knowles to Ohio State, despite this team, as a unit, finishing just short of a Big 12 Championship last season. Spencer Sanders returns at quarterback to lead Mike Gundy’s offense, but that’s not the primary worry. One interesting note is that Oklahoma State started the 2021 season unranked, and that didn’t bother the Cowboys at all.

[247 Sports]

• Mason Rudolph and Jaylen Warren had solid preseason games on Saturday night for the Steelers – Jaylen Warren sounds to be having a terrific fall camp

• Rodriguez has got that leverage point down:

Non-OSU Bullets

• How Costco invented Kirkland Signature
• Utah would make a great addition to the Big 12
• The guys over at 11 Warriors had a restructuring idea based on geography

Unbeatable duo

There won’t be a break from Aussies kicking footballs in Boone Pickens Stadium.

Hudson Kaak, a 2023 prospect from Prokick Australia, announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Sunday.

The Cowboys already have a pair of Australian ball booters on campus in punter Tom Hutton and kicker Alex Hale.

Like Hutton, Kaak is a former Aussie rules football player. Unlike Hutton, Kaak isn’t in his 30s. According to one Aussie rules website, Kaak is 21 years old. He played for the Murray Bushrangers in the NAB League, an under-18 team in Wangaratta, Australia.

Prokick Australia has made a name for itself turning Aussie rules football players into American football players. Prokick punters have won six Ray Guy Awards, an honor given to the best college punter, and saved Austrailians $45,000,000 in education fees since its founding in 2007. It’s the same program that got Hutton to Stillwater.

Hutton is entering his senior season with Oklahoma State. He has an extra year available because of the pandemic, but at 32 years old, it’s uncertain whether he will return to OSU for that extra season. In 2021 Hutton was an honorable mention for Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, as voted on by the coaches.