Gundy unsure of what to expect in Texas Bowl matchup with A&M

As he begins preparing for a Texas Bowl matchup with Texas A&M, Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy admitted he wasn’t sure what to expect.

That goes for the Aggies and his Cowboys.

A&M (7-5) and Oklahoma State (9-4) will square off on Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Speaking at a press conference via Zoom on Monday, Gundy said he expected the vast majority of his players to participate. However, he also acknowledged that’s just a guess.

“I’m anticipating a large, large majority of our team playing in this bowl,” Gundy said. “But over the last two or three years I think we would all agree that we don’t know anything for sure until it’s all right in front of us.”

The Cowboys’ depth chart for the Big 12 Championship game last week showed 17 of 22 starters are seniors and juniors. Those are draft eligible players.

In recent years it’s become common for draft eligible players to opt out of bowl games to avoid injury and/or to prepare for the NFL Combine.

Players three years removed from high school are available to enter the draft. The transfer portal also opened on Monday, so any players that enter wouldn’t play in the bowl game.

Gundy said he should know by next week who will be available for the Cowboys.


“Just going off history we would think we would know by next Monday, for sure, who’s going to not play in the bowl game,” he said. “Now that’s not 100 percent. Every year we learn more about decisions that players make. I would think in a week we would be pretty close to knowing who we’re going to have available for the game.”

Running back Ollie Gordon II, who leads the nation with 1,614 rushing yards, is a sophomore, so he isn’t draft eligible.

However, there has been speculation that he could enter the transfer portal.

“We’ll find out who’s available after portal decisions are made,” Gundy said. “Then moving forward we’ll practice like we do in spring practice. We’ll share reps instead of just giving all the reps to the majority of the 1’s and 2’s.

Lia Musgrave, TexAgs

Texas A&M is 18-9 all time against Oklahoma State and defeated the Cowboys 24-21 in the 2019 Texas Bowl.

“We’ll work and get our young players an extra 12 practices to get them prepared for spring ball. Wait and find out who we have available based on decisions guys make.”

Gundy admitted his knowledge of Texas A&M is limited. He knows head coach Jimbo Fisher was fired several weeks ago and replaced by Mike Elko.

Interim head coach Elijah Robinson was expected to coach the Aggies in the Texas Bowl.

However, he's accepted a defensive coordinator position at Syracuse, so it's uncertain whether he'll still serve as the A&M coach.

Also, offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has left to accept the same position at Arkansas. There's been no word of who will call the plays for A&M.

Receiver Ainias Smith won't play because of a broken finger. There may be other players who decide to opt out or enter the transfer portal.

“I haven’t even gotten into what we’re facing other than I know a little bit about Texas A&M’s defense and certain things like that just from hearing guys down the hallway,” Gundy said. “But I’m not sure where they’re at with their coaches. I’m not sure who’s available to them. I’m not sure if the new coach coming in is going to coach them.”