The football season is not over yet for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Despite losing 24-31 at TCU Saturday, the up-and-down Cowboys ended with a 6-6 overall record (3-6 in the Big 12) – good for a tie for seventh place in the conference and bowl eligibility.

OSU won’t know their bowl destination until later this week but there is speculation.

ESPN. com is projecting that Oklahoma State will play Texas A&M in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl at 9 p.m. on December 27 in Houston or the same two teams in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 3:45 p.m. on December 31 in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Cowboys had high hopes but narrow losses to Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor piled up even though OSU had impressive wins over Boise State, Texas and West Virginia.

A win in a bowl game would give the Cowboys a winning record.

“As a coach, it was disappointing to watch,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy. “We waited until the fourth quarter to play on offense and make plays. It was essentially just a game full of mistakes for us, one right after the other. The defense played well, but the offense couldn’t move the ball at all.

“We also had two dumb penalties that gave them 30 yards. We also got out of position a few times on defense. On the long run, we had two guys who stuck their heads in the same gap. I was concerned about whether we could rally back after a big win last week. We were a little flat early in the week, then we practiced well and finished the week strong, but we certainly didn’t play like that tonight. The good news is that we get to play another game and I told the team that I would sure hate to finish the season like this.”

TCU (6-6, 4-5 in the Big 12) was playing for bowl eligibility. The Horned Frogs finished tied with Baylor for fifth place in the Big 12.

“You don’t want to be that fact or be that one group (that didn’t make a bowl),” said TCU coach Gary Patterson. “That’s what I told them two weeks ago.”

TCU held Oklahoma State, the nation’s No. 9 offense entering the game at 520.0 yards per game, to 280 yards.

“We got tired, and we didn’t handle them too well at the end defensively,” said Patterson. “They did a nice job coming back. I was really fired up that we swung back once they did offensively. That’s how you win ball games. You have to fight to the end. Really, the whole secondary played well. You’re talking about a group (Oklahoma State) that was almost averaging 600 yards a game in the last four games. There are a lot of positives across the board.”

The OSU players are frustrated.

“I feel like we are getting in games that we are supposed to win and guys might get relaxed,” said OSU linebacker Justin Philips. “I feel like when we get in games we are supposed to win, things don’t always go our way and we don’t play to our potential.

“Guys have to win individual battles and not have to do too much or do someone else’s job.”

The Cowboys are not used to losing.

“It’s burning up inside,” said Phillips. “I hate losing games, especially games that we are supposed to win. I just want to finish out the season well. It’s just another thing to learn from.

“We are fortunate enough to get that extra game in. We just need to learn from this game and play a perfect game from both sides of the ball with guys flying around and running on all cylinders.”

With two touchdowns Saturday, OSU quarterback Taylor Cornelius moved into a tie for third on the single-season touchdowns responsible for list with 38.  Cornelius tied Brandon Weeden’s 2011 season. 

It’s back to the basics for OSU to get ready for a bowl.

“We usually practice 14 times before the bowl and I’m going to say that at least eight of them will be on basic fundamentals,” Gundy said. “We just need quality work with young guys.”