As Kansas running back Devin Neal shifted past a herd of OSU defenders, there was nothing but green turf awaiting the sophomore running back.

Thirty-one yards, to the house.

What was once a promising 5-0 start had quickly shifted to a season likely geared towards a respectable bowl appearance. Just two weeks ago, OSU was a top 10 team nationally.

“I wouldn’t say that things have spiraled out of control,” Gundy said. “We’ve got guys that are trying to work in roles that they haven’t had much experience in. We have some key players out.”

2014 was the last time the Cowboys suffered consecutive blowout losses while scoring 17 points or less — similar to the stretch of losses they have faced the past two weeks against Kansas State and now Kansas.

The lead into the 2014 season was not too different from that of this season. A talented wide receiving core with an experienced quarterback and offensive line was expected to lead the Cowboys to a nine or possibly 10-win season.

Amid a narrow 37-31 loss to defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Florida State to open the year, OSU garnered early success, jumping out to a quick 5-1 start. Even after quarterback JW Walsh suffered a seasonending injury in the second game of the season against, backup Daxx Garman provided enough stability under center for the Cowboy offense to remain fluent.

“JW went out but Daxx came right in and we didn’t miss a beat,” said David Glidden, a junior wide receiver on the 2014 OSU team. “We were inexperienced on certain ends, of course. But we won our next five after the Florida State loss and we were honestly looking pretty good.”

Glidden, a mainstay for the Cowboy offense over a four-year span, remembers the highs of that five-game winning streak. But he also remembers how it ended.

A top 15 matchup against TCU in Fort Worth awaited the Cowboys. Four quarters of action later however, the trajectory of the season would take a turn for the worse. A 42-9 blowout road loss to the Horned Frogs was followed by a 34-10 loss to West Virginia on Homecoming.

Losses to Kansas State and Texas ensued, and all of a sudden what had once appeared as another strong season for OSU, turned into one with a level of uncertainty regarding whether or not the Cowboys would even make a bowl game.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Kevin Peterson, a cornerback on the 2014 team. “It’s like after the (TCU loss), everything that could possibly go wrong for us, went wrong. Whether it be a handful of missed tackles, guys lining up wrong, simply losing a fiftyfifty ball in coverage, everything went wrong for us. It was just the little things, and it was frustrating.”

All of a sudden, Garman went out with a shoulder injury, and true freshman quarterback Mason Rudolph made his OSU debut in a 49-28 road loss to No. 5 Baylor. Rudolph had his freshman moments, throwing two interceptions and only completing 52% of his passes. But also a 291-yard performance through the air gave some silver lining to the OSU coaching staff.

The same could be said for true freshman Garret Rangel’s first start as a Cowboy in Saturday’s Kansas this season. Three interceptions came costly for OSU, but two touchdowns and 304 yards through the air showed signs of promise for the first-year quarterback.

The situations aren’t entirely the same. The 2014 team was fighting for bowl eligibility. This year, the Cowboys could still win 10 games.

At the same time, the similarities are visible. A promising start that quickly shifted into uncertainty regarding the remainder of the season. A true freshman quarterback is now the centerpiece of the offense.

“I see the similarities of both teams in the sense of adversity,” Peterson said. “This year’s team has just been super injured and banged up. Much like ours. But I think they’ll bounce back. We were very very young, but I always wonder what our peak could have been had we stayed healthy.”

The final three games of this year that remain include three of the bottom-four teams in the Big 12 standings. Will the two recent losses just act as a footnote of the 2022 season? Or will they be the peak of a massive collapse in a team that was supposed to have a season to remember?

“I’ve seen some stuff about that 2014 team,” said sophomore defensive end Collin Oliver. “We’re too talented to go on a (losing streak) like that. We’ve still beaten Texas and Baylor and got close against TCU. We’ll bounce back. We’ve got to. I’m confident in us.”