Breaking Down Mike Gundy’s Post Bye Week Record

I think there’s a common perception about bye weeks, that coming off of one should be good for a team. They had a week off to heal, time to fix problems, and extra time to prepare for their next opponent. While that all might seem like it should equal a victory the following week, it’s not necessarily the case.

In his 12 seasons at the helm, Mike Gundy has faced "bye" 19 times (he’s 19-0 against "bye" in case you were wondering). According to the Tulsa World, Gundy is 11-8 after a bye week. (I checked, they’re right).

Gundy is a good coach. He generally has his teams prepared to play at the start of the season and in bowl games; the two other times where teams have ample time to prepare for an opponent. So why is Gundy just two games over .500 after a bye week? I decided to dig deeper and look for a reason Gundy has been so mediocre.

The problem is... I can’t find a pattern.

Against ranked opponents: 3-4
Against OU: 2-2
Against teams that end with winning records: 5-6
Against teams that end with losing records: 6-2
2 or more bye weeks in a season: 8-6
At home: 8-6
On the road: 3-2
When winning before the bye: 7-6
When losing before the bye: 4-2
When the game is on a Thursday/Friday: 1-0
Bye week in the first half of the season: 6-4
Bye week in the back: 5-4

Even if you drop out Gundy’s two worst seasons (2005, 2014) the record is 8-6, which isn’t any better.

I think the one assurance we can take from this, is that we’re good against bad teams under Gundy. That case can be made whether it’s post bye, pre-bye or really any time of the year. Kansas is a bad team. They’re looking more competitive than last year (and should have beaten TCU), but they’re still bad. By Saturday afternoon, Gundy’s post bye-week record should be 12-8.

In case you’d like a full break down, take a look. If you see a pattern I missed, let me know in the comments section.

2005 - 1-1
(Sat) L - Colorado 34-0 (7-6) bye week 4
(Sat) W - #13 TTU 24-17 (9-3) bye week 10

2006 - 0-1
(Sat) L - @KState 31-27 (7-6) bye week 5

2007 - 0-1
(Sat) L - #15 Texas 38-35 (10-3) bye week 9

2008 - 1-1
(Sat) W - Troy 55-24 (8-5) bye week 4
(Sat) L - #3 OU 61-41 (12-2) bye week 13

2009 - 1-0
(Sat) W - @TA&M 36-31 (6-7) bye week 5

2010 - 1-0
(Thur) W - TA&M 38-35 (9-4) bye week 4

2011 - 2-0
(Sat) W - Kansas 70-28 (2-10) bye week 5
(Sat) W - #14 OU 44-10 (10-3) bye week 13

2012 - 1-1
(Sat) L - #12 Texas 41-36 (9-4) bye week 4
(Sat) W - @Kansas 20-14 (1-11) bye week 6

2013 - 1-2
(Sat) L - @West Virginia 30-21 (4-8) bye week 4
(Sat) W - TCU 24-10 (4-8) bye week 7
(Sat) L - #17 OU 33-24 (11-2) bye week 14

2014 - 2-1
(Thur) W - TTU 45-35 (4-8) bye week 4
(Sat) L - Texas 28-7 (6-7) bye week 11
(Sat) W - @#20 OU 38-35 (8-5) bye week 14

2015 - 1-0
(Sat) W - Kansas 58-10 (0-12) bye week 7