Mike Gundy's Message to Oklahoma State Fans After 69-3 Loss to Oregon

Power Four play has been a real challenge for Oklahoma State football for nearly a year. The Cowboys are now 1-10 in their last 11 games against P4 opponents, and have been outscored 466-240 in those 11 games, which includes 121-3 in their previous two games, Colorado 52-0 and Oregon today, 69-3.

It marked the second-worst loss in program history, dating back to the 66-point loss to Oklahoma in 1907, 118 years ago.

Watch: Mike Gundy discusses Oregon loss in postgame press conference

It also marked the worst halftime deficit of the Mike Gundy-era.

But coach Gundy had a message for the Cowboy fanbase after the loss, asking the fans to stick with the Pokes.

“My message to the fans is to stay with us. I mean, that's what we do. You know, it's in our alma mater. It's loyal and true. The one thing I can say is I understand, we get frustrated. Fans get frustrated. People get frustrated. I don't get frustrated, but I don't like it, OK? So, there's different ways to handle adversity. People outside the program get frustrated. I get that. I understand. It's just part of competitive athletics. The one thing I can say is this: they'll work hard, and two weeks from now, they're going to come out and play hard that part, I'm fairly sure. And we would love for them to come out and support their team. We'll try to do our part, but there's no doubt that that group in there is disappointed in what happened today. I guarantee you that.”

I think a lot of things can be true about this game. First, Oregon is one of the best football teams in the nation with a legitimate chance of winning a national title this season. Full stop, no arguing that point. But that’s not an excuse for the way the Cowboys played today, at least not from my viewpoint. That was easily the worst football game I’ve ever watched. As I put in my game story, outmanned, outmatched and outplayed. It was an embarrassing performance by the Cowboys, and something definitely needs to be done. 

But a loss was also something several people predicted, myself included. The outcome certainly wasn’t, but a loss was. Either way, this is a tough one shake.