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No. 20 Oklahoma State is trying to make its big breakthrough a year later than everyone expected.
With first-round draft picks Dez Bryant and Russell Okung gone to the NFL, quarterback Zac Robinson done rewriting the school's offensive record book and a dozen other starters finished with their careers, the Cowboys (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) are off to a surprising start as one of only 13 undefeated teams in the Bowl Subdivision.
''There's a lot of people that underestimated us but we don't worry about it. We really don't care,'' defensive end Richetti Jones said Monday. ''We just care about the people that are in our organization and in our circle. Outside of that, we really don't care. We just have to keep on working hard and just keep on playing.
''We'll let everyone talk and doubt. that's fine with us. We're just going to keep on going.''
To get to 6-0 for only the fourth time in school history, the Cowboys will need to win for the first time since 1944 at Texas Tech (3-2, 1-2), where they've lost nine straight times heading into Saturday's game. After that, No. 5 Nebraska comes to visit and then OSU will try for its first win in seven tries at Kansas State.
''Not that the first five weren't big, but yeah, they're going to get bigger,'' quarterback Brandon Weeden said. ''They're going to get tougher.''
Running backs coach Robert Gillespie called this year's team ''The Joshua Generation,'' in reference to Moses' successor in the Old Testament.
Gillespie suggested that, like Joshua, this year's team could take the Cowboys to the promised land - even if it was those who came before who were expected to make it happen.
The promised land for the Cowboys would be a Big 12 championship and BCS bid, both would be a first.
Not even coach Mike Gundy was thinking those were realistic goals back at the start of training camp, when he said the Cowboys were ''rebuilding.'' Megabooster T. Boone Pickens lessened his expectations, saying he envisioned his alma mater winning eight games this season.
In addition to the headliners that went to the NFL, eight defensive starters were gone and there were four new starters on the offensive line.
Last season was considered Oklahoma State's best chance for a BCS breakthrough.
OSU reached the top five of the AP poll for the first time since 1985 and were still in the mix for an at-large bid to the BCS until they finished the regular season with a deflating 27-0 loss at Oklahoma and settled for the Cotton Bowl instead.
''At this point last year, our record wasn't as good but we may have been more talented than where we are right now when you tie in just raw talent, experience and depth,'' Gundy said. ''We were probably further along last year than we are now. But that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is where you're at at this particular time.''
And right now, the Cowboys don't look like a team that was picked to finish fifth in the six-team Big 12 South.
''When you lose guys like Dez and Zac and Russell that have been around here for so long and kind of built what we've got going, it's tough,'' Weeden said. ''That was a big question mark going into the year.
''But the guys that are here that have filled those shoes never really bought into the fact that we were going to drop a tier. We felt like we could step in and just kind of take over what they started.''
Justin Blackmon, who totaled just 20 catches last season, leads the Bowl Subdivision by averaging nine catches for 150 yards. He's also tied for the most touchdowns with 12. Weeden ranks fourth in the country with 322 yards passing per game and he's tied for the most TD passes with 18. Oklahoma State is second in the FBS in scoring at 52.6 points per game.
And the overhauled defense has feasted on takeaways with 16.
There are problems, particularly pass defense and kickoff coverage.
''They like to hear that they're performing well and doing good. I think that's only human nature,'' Gundy said. ''I always worry about it because I'm pretty sure it doesn't really affect the game, and I don't want their performance in practice to lessen because somebody's telling them how good they are.''
