Prior to Mike Gundy taking over as the head coach at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys had a trio of 10-win seasons. During his decade-plus at his alma mater, the Mulletted One has now doubled up on that number.
Trailing Virginia Tech 7-6 late in the second quarter of the Camping World Bowl, a Justice Hill one-yard touchdown run gave the Cowboys the lead. As it turns out, that was as close as Tech would get the rest of the way as OSU held on for a 30-21 win.
Twice, the Hokies closed the gap back to the six-point deficit it was at halftime -- 20-14 in the middle of the third quarter and then 27-21 late in the fourth quarter. A 65-yard touchdown pass-and-catch from the all-time combo of quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington stretched the lead back out to double digits after the former, while Hill’s running after the latter Tech comeback helped lead to a field goal with under three minutes remaining that essentially put the game out of reach.
Playing in his last game as a Cowboy, Rudolph finished 21-of-32 passing for 351 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Washington had five catches for 126 yards, while Hill delivered 120 yards on the ground.
In a losing effort, Deshawn McClease had a game-high 124 yards while quarterback Josh Jackson accounted for all three VT touchdowns -- one passing, two rushing.
During his 13 seasons in Stillwater, Gundy has won 10 games or more six times, including the past three seasons. In the 105 seasons prior to his taking over, the Cowboys had reached double-digit wins three times. Total.