2021 was so nearly the year for Oklahoma State football. The Cowboys finally got their Bedlam Series victory over Oklahoma and looked destined for the College Football Playoff, but mere inches kept them from finally reaching the mountaintop, as they fell to Baylor in the Big 12 Championship Game.

A big part of the terrific season was the skill players, with the now-departed Tay Martin putting up 1,000 yards receiving and the returning Brennan Presley racking up 619 of his own.

However, the key for Mike Gundy and company is the one who distributes the ball to all those skill players. Here's the X-factor for Oklahoma State football in 2022.

2022 Oklahoma State Cowboys Football X-Factor

It's Spencer Sanders.

Sanders had a great 2021, with 2,839 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to go along with 668 rushing yards and a further six scores on the ground. He also showed out when it mattered most, which is going to be huge for an Oklahoma State football team in 2022 that may be a tad weaker overall than they were last year.

Oklahoma State has the benefit of a fairly easy open to 2022 schedule, with Central Michigan, Arizona State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff all coming to Stillwater before a bye week in Week 4. That should give time for Sanders to get on the same page as his younger skill players, and in perfect timing too because the opposite side of the bye gives Oklahoma State a trip to Baylor for a conference championship rematch. Sanders will need another performance much like he had against Oklahoma in 2021 to get past the Bears.

After that, Sanders will have to lead his team through two more favorable matchups in Texas Tech and TCU before playing a much-improved Texas team at home. After that, it's another two very winnable games against Kansas and Kansas State. Iowa State is seemingly a giant killer year in and year out, so that game will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

Following that bout with the Cyclones comes Bedlam, this time on the road in Norman. Not many people outside the program quite know what to make of Oklahoma just yet with Brent Venables coming in as head coach and Dillon Gabriel under center, so this may be an opportunity to pick up a first road win in the series since 2014, and just the fourth win over the Sooners under Mike Gundy.

After Oklahoma, Sanders and his teammates finish the regular season at home against West Virginia, in a game that, if things go well in the three key games against Baylor, Texas, and Oklahoma, could have not just conference championship implications, but national implications as well. The Cowboys were not just inches away from capturing the Big 12 a year ago, but they were also just inches away from likely clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff, something that would've been a first for this football program.

This is an Oklahoma State offense that could be even better than they were in 2021, so if the defense can hold serve, Sanders should be able to guide this team right back to contention for a spot in the conference championship. If he can do that, expect Oklahoma State football to have a very good 2022, and Sanders should be right in the thick of things for some national awards come December.