Winning Is Tough, and the Boise State Game Proved It Once Again

BOISE, Idaho — Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy likes to say it all the time, ‘It’s hard to win college football game.’ He’s right and it is especially hard to win games when you leave your most experienced receiver in Tay Martin and one of your most explosive young targets in Jaden Bray at home. That’s after seeing Langston Anderson and speedster Braydon Johnson go down. Anderson to a broken foot in warm-ups and Johnson to a medical condition that may end his Cowboy career. Then in the game with Boise, Bryson Green, who’s twin brother is out suffered a hand injury.

That leads me to Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn. After two wins where the normally explosive offense scored 23 and 28 points and depended on the defense to win those games. After those two wins, fans have started to second guess their enthusiasm for Dunn when Gundy kept him in Stillwater by promoting him so he wouldn’t go coordinate the offense for fellow former OSU assistant Marco Arroyo.

Last season wasn’t an offensive gem either as the Pokes’ offense stuttered and sometimes spurted through COVID-19, injuries to prominent skill players like Spencer Sanders, Chuba Hubbard, and late in the season with Tylan Wallace. That doesn’t even include the offensive line musical chairs that went on.

Depending on how you personally look at football that either adds up to lots of excuses, or for those of us inside the Cowboy football experience, a really tough bad luck reality.

Last Thursday as Cowboys voice Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb by speaker phone, and I wrapped up our weekly meeting with Dunn, he looked at is and said despite all that…

“In that time, we’re 10-3, can you believe we’re 10-3,” Dunn smiled.

Flash forward to Saturday night in Boise, and Dunn has just hugged walk-on wide receiver Cale Cabbiness, who because of a hand injury to Bryson Green found himself playing most of the second half. Dunn was congratulating the same receiver that he told us was an emergency player if one more receiver went down. A third-teamer in the spring and much of fall camp before the pass catchers started dropping like flies, the grandson of the late brash University of Oklahoma basketball coach Billy Tubbs had saved the day.

OK, the defense saved the day holding Boise to 64-yards offensively and scoreless in the second half. They held the Broncos to 61-yards rushing for the game. Safety Jason Taylor II saved the day getting a hand on Jonah Dallas 36-yard field goal try with 2:05 left. Despite his fumble that set up that game winning field goal attempt, running back Jaylen Warren saved the day with his 218-yards rushing on 32 carries and two touchdowns.

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Cowboys celebrate after a touchdown at Boise.

The Cowboys required lots of saving, but the same hoops coach that became a rival Cowboys fans loved to boo passed away last year as proud as he could be of his grandson being a Cowboy and playing for Mike Gundy, who Coach Tubbs openly admired.

So, with less than two minutes on the clock and Oklahoma State needing a first down to burn the rest of the fourth quarter, Gundy told Dunn to throw. Dunn called the play; quarterback Spencer Sanders saw Cabbiness run his vertical in man coverage and lifted the former Norman North standout the ball. Cabbiness went up, outfought the corner for the ball and held on as his back hit the blue turf just inbounds. His first collegiate catch, a 24-yard first down grab at the OSU 47-yard line. Sanders kneeled several times to complete the 21-20 win.

“I think my grandad is pretty proud and looked down and enjoyed that,” Cabbiness said. His uncle and former Oklahoma Sooners guard and assistant coach for his father got happy with a text to me.

“Please, please, please tell Coach Gundy THANK YOU for giving Cale a chance!!

I KNOW THAT MY DAD IS SMILING AND SO VERY PROUD!!

Our hearts are so happy!!

What a GREAT WIN on the road!!!"

That was the way the proud text read. Tommy’s sister and former Oklahoma pom Taylor is Cale’s mom, and I can guarantee was as proud as anybody. How could you not be, the Cowboys players in a “Rudy” type of moment they picked Cabbiness up on their shoulders.

“What a story for that kid,” head coach Mike Gundy said to me in the cramped OSU locker room. “Walk-on and Billy Tubbs grandson. That’s pretty special. Good for him!”

“I was just glad to do it for my teammates,” Cabbiness said. “Just glad I could help the team win.”

His smile said it all. Oklahoma State still fighting the awful bad luck football often throw at you is 3-0 on this season.

Then as the man being criticized for struggling to find the right plays to call and for now is coordinating a very pedestrian offense the past season and a fourth said walking underneath the south stands and into that cramped dressing room.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

“We’re 11-3, through all this we’re 11-3,” Kasey Dunn said smiling.

Yes, they are, thanks to a walk-on Dunn has coached up to be ready for his moment. A young man that is son of Boomer Sooner royalty that changed his family’s favorite color for now from crimson to orange.

Gundy’s right, that is a heckuva story.