Exactly. There is a huge gap between the fan expectations and those of Gundy/Holder. Just 2 steps and it's mission accomplished on the season for Gundy/Holder. Step 3 is like winning the NC in their minds.
7 - National Championship [Fans expectation level]
6 - Win the Semifinal Game
5 - Make the Final 4
4 - Make the Big 12 Championship
3 - Have a 10 Win Season
2 - Have a Winning Record (7-5) [Gundy & Holder expectation level]
1 - Make a Bowl Game (6-6)
Not sure which fans you're talking about, but we have two distinct fanbases.
Fans that began watching OSU football pre-Miles/Boone's money/Gundy timeframe seemingly expect to make a bowl game and have a winning record. Accomplish those, and they're content. Currently, this is likely where all the big donor $$$ is.
Folks that became fans post-Miles/Boone's money/Gundy era expect WAY more than that, but likely represent way less donor $$$.
No sane OSU fan expects to make the CFP, and with Gundy, even making the CFP is an impossibility. He has built this team and staff to give us zero chance of it. He'll satisfy 1 and 2 every year and sneak 3 in periodically given our super weak schedule, and *might* get to 4 if everyone else is horrible or we somehow have Heisman candidates at multiple positions. Who in in the world do you know that expects OSU to even make the CFP? That's 100% a pipe dream with Gundy as the HC unless he makes major changes to his approach (like when DH was the OC).