STILLWATER – Now that we’re into the 2022 college football season, Mike Gundy is meeting with the media every Monday to discuss what he didn’t know before watching the film of the previous game, and looking ahead to the next match-up, this week being the first game against Arizona State since 1993.
There’s usually going to be something Gundy is either asked about, or something he gives in an answer that doesn’t have to do with the match-up that’s going to make some headlines.
This week’s quote is indirectly based on this week’s match-up: whether or not expansion is good for the Big 12 and whether or not the game against Arizona State either helps or hurts the Big 12’s cause towards expansion.
"[The] Big 12 is already — they’re ahead. We’re fine,” said coach Gundy. “[The] Big 12 is already working on it. We’re in good shape."
We all knew Gundy was going to get pressed about where he was getting his information. We also all knew Gundy would deny, deny, deny where he was getting his information.
Pokes Report knows Mike Gundy has established a very good relationship with new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and the two talk frequently about the goings on and the future of the conference as Gundy is now the longest-tenured, and winningest coach, in the Big 12.
"I’m getting good information,” said Gundy. “I mean, I don’t know, I’m just saying the Big 12 is in good shape."
First of all, I don’t think Oklahoma State’s match-up against Arizona State is going to make or break any potential future conference expansion.
But something you can look at this weekend are some TV numbers. No. 12 OSU plays host to unranked Arizona State, a Pac-12 school, which is being televised on ESPN2. Unranked Stanford is playing host to No. 14 USC on ABC, both Pac-12 schools, though USC is Big Ten bound soon.
ABC is over-the-air, so it should have more viewers, but if OSU-ASU on ESPN2 has comparable numbers, there’s another tick in the Pokes/Big 12’s favor. And possible ASU’s favor as well, since they’re being used in possible expansion talk because of the Phoenix market.
However, if Oklahoma State goes out and does to Arizona State what the Sun Devils did to Northern Arizona last week, won 40-3? Or if, God forbid, the Cowboys really struggle and lose, could that possibly play into possible expansion talk at all? Not according to Gundy, at least not on a national scale.
"Well, that would have more bearing on my locals, but this game’s not going to factor in that at all. We’re in really good shape with the direction we’re going and we’re making good headway."
As Gundy said last week in his pre-Central Michigan press conference, there’s no news publicly on expansion, which means it’s going on behind closed doors. Is there any merit to any future conference expansion? Possibly, especially with how many shots the two conferences took at each other the past few years.
However, we’re going to get an actual Big 12-Pac-12 match-up this weekend on the gridiron and I think that’s more important in the interim.
