Why Oklahoma State football has big opportunity to become face of new-look Big 12

Alabama was the face of the SEC. Now it’s Georgia. In the Big Ten it’s long been Ohio State, and still is despite Michigan’s resurgence. The ACC? Florida State before Clemson’s decade-plus run of dominance, but the title might be swinging back to the Seminoles. In the former Pac-12, Southern Cal was by far the biggest brand.

Oklahoma, of course, was the face of Big 12 football until the Sooners officially joined the SEC on July 1, leaving a vacancy on the conference throne.

Oklahoma State has a big opportunity to seize it. To be the first program people name when they think of Big 12 football.

Obviously winning conference championships and being the “face of the conference” go hand-in-hand, but the latter is long lasting — spanning decades rather than the ebbs and flows of single seasons.

Only a handful of programs, OSU among them, have the equity to claim such a label, and whichever team wins the new-look Big 12 in Year 1 could have an outsized status advantage.

So, is there any value in being the face of the conference?

“I think we all want to have success and try to establish ourselves,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said Saturday at OSU media day. “There’s so many teams in this league now, and it’s so new …”

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OSU running back Ollie Gordon II (0) makes a catch during football practice Saturday in Stillwater.

Which is why it’s a ripe time for a leader to emerge, whether it’s OSU or Utah, Kansas State or TCU. Or some other school. The Big 12 doesn’t have the bluebloods of the SEC or Big Ten, or even the ACC, but it’s littered with B-listers.

“For example, two seasons ago TCU had a season that nobody would’ve predicted,” Gundy said.

The Horned Frogs became the first Big 12 team to win a College Football Playoff game.

“And…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-oklahoma-state-football-big-110411004.html

Author : The Oklahoman

Publish date : 2024-08-05 11:04:11

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