Since the preseason, John Smith had been keen on development.
In the early stages, it was apparent the Cowboys were nowhere near a national championship — or even conference championship — contention caliber roster. A loss to lower-ranked Minnesota at home, along with narrow duals with unranked teams like in Oklahoma, Oregon State and Columbia pinpointed it.
Nearly one month later, No. 11 OSU earned its eighth win in the past nine duals in a 17-16 victory via criteria over No. 8 Missouri. It also marked the Cowboys’ second consecutive top 10 victory, after a 24-15 win over No.