Senior Night. It's the one game of the year where all eyes are on a group of young men, not the whole team, but just a small group of men, who started off as boys.
Twenty-two young men, some who spent four to five years at Oklahoma State University, were to represent the orange clad nation that fills Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Most notable of these men are Keith Toston, Patrick Lavine, Andre Sexton, Russell Okung, and none other than the Cowboys fearless leader, Zac Robinson.
Head coach Mike Gundy joined his seniors as they ran into newly renovated Boone Pickens Stadium.
That's not all the seniors got to experience. Robinson and his fellow seniors took the field with a new look. For the first time since the mid-1990's the Cowboys took the field in black.
New uniforms caught they eyes of everyone across the country, as the Cowboys prepared for a nationally televised dog fight against Big XII bottom feeder Colorado.
However, Robinson did not play, due to a head injury he suffered against Texas Tech. Gundy looked toward two little-used backups to lead his football team.
Juniors Alex Cate and Brandon Weeden are looked upon as the future of Oklahoma State football, and one of them could use the chance to show what their future would be like in Stillwater.
Cate was givev the starting job, but as the first half ended, the future of his career may have ended. He went 0-9 on his pass attempts. The only pass he completed was an interception.
As the second half began, Weeden heard his number called, and he entered into what many thought was a lost cause.
But he carried the Cowboys back, making play after play, to a 31-28 victory.
Not only did the Cowboys pull off their second-straight comeback win, but they got a sign of what their future could be. Weeden showed that he was the man Gundy will need in 2010.
The already young receiving core got to experience what is was like playing behind Weeden's constant leadership and poise within the pocket. Though he is not the most agile player, he has the arm and vision to make up for it.
When all seemed lost, Weeden found a way to make a play. In so doing, he shed light on a future that seemed dark. He placed a light at the end of the tunnel, giving Cowboy Nation a glimmer of hope for what's to come.
Bedlam approaches, giving Gundy his best chance at beating his rival Bob Stoops and Oklahoma for the first time as head coach.
This is the statement Oklahoma State can make, by finishing second in the Big XII South and possibly sending themselves to the Fiesta Bowl. If everything goes well, they could also end up with a 10-win season.
The Cowboys can finally say that they are ready for prime time. They can finally show the country that they really are capable of competing with the likes of Texas, USC, Florida, and Alabama.
Though this statement might only say that their time is about to come, they are climbing ever closer to their ultimate goal.
The class of 2009 will leave as the most decorated and most influential class in Oklahoma State history.
Failure ended and success began with them.
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