By Wendell Barnhouse
Big 12 Digital Correspondent

A coach's demeanor can sometimes provide a hint to what might lie ahead for the season. If that's true, then expect Oklahoma State to exceed expectations and become a dark horse contender for the Big 12 championship.

"I'm as excited now about our football team, as I've been since I've been here," coach Mike Gundy said.

The Cowboys went into last season with an inexperienced team that appeared headed for a losing season. But a pull-it-out-of-the-fire Bedlam victory earned a bowl game which Oklahoma State won. Injuries forced Gundy to remove the redshirt from freshman Mason Rudolph, who sparked the late-season surge and is now entrenched as the starter.

"He's the leader on our offense," Gundy said of Rudolph. "He's worked hard, he's shown signs of toughness. I like what he accomplished (over the) summer."

The offensive line is solid and the receiving corps features play makers like Brandon Sheperd, James Washington, David Glidden and Jhajuan Seales. If veteran Rennie Childs and junior-college transfer Chris Carson are productive running backs, the offense could be one of the best in the Big 12.

The slogan for the defense is available on social media. Hashtag WTIB is short hand for "We're Taking It Back." The Cowboys forced just 14 turnovers last year, ranking 116th nationally. Oklahoma State forced 33 turnovers and led the nation with 44 in 2011. The drop off created the motto.

"We know that last year we didn't get the job done on defense," linebacker Seth Jacobs said. "We didn't stop the run, we didn't stop the pass and we got scored on too much. We need to buckle down and take responsibility."

The schedule appears to be favorable to make a run at the Big 12 title. TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma – the three teams slotted ahead of the Cowboys in the media preseason poll – visit Stillwater in what could be a November to remember.

"If we don't win our league, we're never going to win a national championship," said Gundy, whose 2011 Big 12 title team came within a missed field goal of playing in the BCS title game. "If we win a Big 12 championship, we get a great opportunity to get our foot in the door and win a national championship. That is our ultimate goal."

Did You Know?
Defensive end Jimmy Bean and quarterback J.W. Walsh are redshirt seniors and two players currently on the roster who were part of the 2011 Big 12 championship team. They're both from Denton, Texas and they've been teammates for 11 seasons, going to back to the seventh grade.

Quick Slants
Oklahoma State is benefitting from the NCAA's graduate transfer rule that allows student-athletes who have already graduated and retain athletic eligibility the option to transfer to another school and be immediately eligible. In 2013 Tyler Patmon joined the Cowboys from Kansas. Linebacker Josh Furman transferred from Michigan and last season was a starter who finished fourth on the team in tackles (65) and second in sacks (7) and tackles for loss (14). Michael Hunter, who started for two seasons at Indiana, could provide a boost to Oklahoma State's secondary this season.

J.W. Walsh was the starting quarterback when Oklahoma State opened the 2014 season against defending national champion Florida State. He was sidelined by an ankle injury he suffered in the second game. Sophomore Mason Rudolph has taken over as the Cowboys' starter but Walsh, one of the team's most popular players because of his selfless work ethic, will be a part of the offense in special packages that feature his running/passing skills. "There aren't really any secrets with him," coach Mike Gundy said. "He's going to play. We're going to use him. We have a spot for him."

Defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer has a single sheet of paper that lists what he considers to be statistics relative to his unit's success. One of his more important stats is points allowed per the opponent's possessions. Spencer considers allowing between 1.5 and 2 points per possession as acceptable. Last year the Cowboys allowed 2.27 according to Spencer's calculations.

Key Players
Sophomore QB Mason Rudolph, senior QB J.W. Walsh, junior RB Rennie Walsh, junior RB Chris Carson, junior DE Emmanuel Ogbah, senior CB Kevin Peterson, senior WR Brandon Sheperd, sophomore WR James Washington, junior K Ben Grogan.

Schedule

Sept. 3	at Central Michigan
Sept. 12	Central Arkansas
Sept. 19	UTSA
Sept. 26	at Texas*
Oct. 3	Kansas State*
Oct. 10	at West Virginia*
Oct. 24	Kansas*
Oct. 31	at Texas Tech*
Nov. 7	TCU*
Nov. 14	at Iowa State*
Nov. 21	Baylor*
Nov. 28	Oklahoma*

* - Conference game.