STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State football team beat South Dakota State 44-20 on Saturday to start the season 1-0. After the game, Mike Gundy, Ollie Gordon, Alan Bowman, De’Zhaun Stribling, Collin Oliver, Korie Black and Trey Rucker met with reporters to recap the game.

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STILLWATER — Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are 1-0, and they beat a team that hasn’t lost in nearly two years to get there.

Oklahoma State beat South Dakota State 44-20 on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. Here are five things OSU’s coach said after the game. A video of his full news conference is below.

1. On the Bow Show

Alan Bowman was perhaps as good as he has been in an OSU uniform on Saturday.

OSU’s quarterback threw for 267 yards, three scores and no interceptions while completing 74% of his passes. He didn’t complete more than 70% of his passes in any game last season.

Gundy was pleased with Bowman’s ability to spread the ball to the Cowboys’ various weapons — guys such as Ollie Gordon, Brennan Presley, De’Zhaun Stribling and Rashod Owens.

“Alan, I think, was good from a mental standpoint from what I heard on the headphones,” Gundy said. “Made decisions in what we asked him to do, and his grade in that area, I think, will be really high. That’s where he can help himself and help our team — if he can get the ball distributed to the people that we have because most of what we do is run-pass options.”

2. Colorado-North Dakota State Score Raised Gundy’s Anxiety

This is actually the second time this week a Dakota school faced a Big 12 school — the other instance was much closer.

Colorado beat North Dakota State 31-26 in a game that went down to the final play. Gundy said he didn’t watch that game, as Gunnar Gundy and the Emporia State Hornets opened their season at the same time. (Gunnar led the Hornets to a 30-14 victory.) But Gundy said when he saw the score, it was a little anxiety-educing considering South Dakota State beat North Dakota State 33-16 last season

“My anxiety went up when I saw that score,” Gundy said. “I can’t remember — I was afraid to look it up — but I think this team beat (NDSU) by three or four touchdowns last year (17 points). I’m not sure. And I’m not taking anything away from North Dakota State. They do a great job. But when somebody sent me the final score, my anxiety went up a little, I will have to admit.”

3. ‘Average’ Running the Ball

OSU ran for 3.3 yards a carry Saturday, but Gundy said he wants about a yard more.

Gordon eclipsed 100 yards against a Jackrabbit team that gave up just 89.6 yards a game last season. Still, the Cowboys didn’t exactly gash South Dakota State on the ground. Gordon had four rushes of 10 or more yards but none longer than 12 yards.

“I thought we were average running the ball today,” Gundy said. “Now, they play good defense. They always have, and they understand principals of inside leverage. Ya know, ‘I’m gonna take the run away. I’m not gonna let this guy block me, and then I’m gonna rally late and defend the pass.’ They’re really good at it. That’s why hardly anybody scores on them in their games. I didn’t think we ran the football as well as we should’ve, in my opinion. …

“We ran the ball OK today, but that’s not good enough.”

4. QR Codes

Who would have thought that a little sticker would cause such a stir.

OSU announced earlier this month that the Cowboys would wear a QR code on the backs of their helmets that links to the team’s general NIL fund. Shortly before kickoff, a release was passed around the press box announcing that the NCAA was blocking OSU from slapping the stickers on its helmers based on a rule.

When news first came out about the QR codes, everyone seemingly had an opinion about it. Then when they were banned, it kicked up the storm all over again.

Gundy said word got to him Tuesday or Wednesday.

“They called me and said the NCAA had met and said it was a uniform violation and that it was punishable by the players being suspended if we put the QR codes on the helmets,” Gundy said. “Now, I read the rule, I think it’s judgmental based on if it ever went to a court of law. It’s pretty vague. All we’re trying to do is the most we can do to maximize our players’ opportunities with fans across the world that don’t have a chance to be involved if they’re not local. …

“They said it was a uniform violation. I don’t agree with that, but what I didn’t want to do is take a chance on them trying to drop the hammer on a player because that wouldn’t be fair to the player. Now, if it was me — if they were gonna drop the hammer on me — I don’t care. I would’ve wore it. But I don’t want a player to get penalized for something like that, so I just said it’s not worth it. I don’t know what authority they have anymore, but I don’t want to take a chance on them trying to penalize a player for something that we could avoid.”

5. Depth

The Cowboys didn’t clear the benches Saturday. Bowman played the entire game, and fans kept asking on social media why Gordon was in during the fourth quarter. Still, the Cowboys were able to use quite a few guys just naturally against a good team.

OSU’s participation chart shows that 62 players saw game action against the Jackrabbits, something Gundy said is a good thing on a few fronts.

“I think that’s important,” Gundy said. “We talked about it all through the offseason that we have a number of players on both sides of the ball that have some sort of experience that can get in and play. And in my opinion, the area you really improve in is when you get in the game and play. Practice is great, but it’s not the same. The more reps we can get players in, it does two things. One, it shows us who they are. And two, it gives us a chance to evaluate them and keep the other guys fresh. So I was pleased with the number of players we were able to get in.”

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The Cowboys ended the longest win streak in college football with relative ease on Saturday, and PFB was on site to document all the memorable plays. Pistols Firing photographer Devin Wilber was on the sidelines to capture all the action, just for you. Here are some of his best shots. The entire album can be viewed here.

 

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Football is back in session.

Oklahoma State kicked off its 2024 season with a 44-20 win against reigning two-time FCS champion South Dakota State on Saturday in Stillwater. A lot has actually changed for me since the last time I graded the Cowboys playing a football game. I’m no longer PFB’s resident teacher, but now, following the Oklahoma education trend, am PFB’s former educator, with this now being my only opportunity to hand out grades on a weekly basis. But as there’s been change for me and probably so many of you, nothing is really different for the Cowboys.

Like an adult who’s dealt with raising children and stressing about a mortgage before going back to school, this college stuff doesn’t seem as difficult after some experience. And, boy, is that what the Pokes have. That experience was evident already in OSU’s season opener as I dish out my first report card of 2024.

Alan Bowman: A

After six years of something, you start to get the hang of it.

Seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman played like exactly what he is on Saturday: a veteran. Even with it being OSU’s first game of the season, there seemed to be no rust or figuring things out for Bowman. He was 25-of-34 (74%) for 267 yards and three touchdowns.

Bowman was by no means spectacular or made your jaw drop, but he was reliable, especially while not throwing an interception. And that’s what a team like OSU needs when Bowman can hand the ball off to the best running back in the country and has an offensive line almost as experienced as him protecting his backside.

Although it had won 29 games in a row, South Dakota State was still an FCS team. The Cowboys will obviously play better squads and Bowman at times will need to do more to lead his team to a win. But as long as Bowman is always the steady hand he was in the opener, there won’t be a game this season OSU will be out of.

Offensive Line: B+

Bowman would have kept his pants white even if he played on the old grassy Lewis Field.

There are high expectations for OSU’s offensive line in 2024, mainly because, like the quarterback it’s protecting, all of the experience the Cowboys have up front. OSU returned seven starting offensive linemen from last season, and even added Arizona State transfer Isaia Glass out of the portal for more depth and experience. Every guy OSU started up front in its opener has been playing college football for at least five years.

Yes, Bowman is a seasoned veteran, but I’d be remiss to not acknowledge that his protection also played a big role in his success. OSU didn’t allow a single sack Saturday and the Jackrabbits put pressure on Bowman only three times all game.

The o-line would have earned an A like its QB1, but OSU, even with the reigning Doak Walker Award winner, averaged only 3.3 yards a carry. That’s not a terrible number, but again, there are high expectations for such an experienced group. In the past, OSU coach Mike Gundy has mentioned four yards a carry as the goal they strive for in the run game. Ollie Gordon still surpassed the century mark, though, with 104 rushing yards, so obviously the run blocking wasn’t all too bad.

Defense: B-

I led my recap with the fact the opener proved that not much has changed in Stillwater from OSU’s 10-3 season a year ago. That doesn’t necessarily mean all good, though.

OSU’s 2023 defense, in its first season under Bryan Nardo, struggled on third downs and with giving up chunk plays. That seemed to still be the case in 2024, but once the turf pebbles settled, the numbers show Nardo’s guys improved, even against an FCS opponent. The Jackrabbits were 3-for-13 on third down, which is converting 23% of the time. For comparison, when OSU played FCS Central Arkansas in last season’s opener, UCA was 5-for-13. Not a major difference, but SDSU is a much better team than UCA with a much better quarterback.

As for big plays, the Cowboys gave up nine, which includes passes over 15 yards and runs of more than 10 yards. Last season, on average, OSU gave up 16.5 plays of 10 yards or more a game, which was second-worst in FBS.

Holding a solid team to 20 points will do, though, especially when your offense is trying to move as fast as OSU was early. And when the Jackrabbits’ defense stepped up in the fourth quarter and forced OSU to punt three times in a row, the Cowboys returned the favor and also kept SDSU from scoring during that stretch, including a Nick Martin sack on fourth down to give OSU the ball on SDSU’s 15 and set up a field goal.

On top of all that, OSU recorded a pair of sacks (which definitely needs to get better) and an interception.

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As if Oklahoma State’s offensive line didn’t already have enough experience.

Offensive lineman Isaiah Glass transferred this past offseason to OSU from Arizona, where he had spent the past three years as an Arizona native. Glass immediately saw the field at Arizona State as a three-star prospect out of Queen Creek High School. He then started every game as a sophomore in 2022. An injury hampered Glass’ 2023 campaign, though, ultimately redshirting after playing and starting in only three games.

As a redshirt junior, Glass brings even more experience and depth to OSU’s offensive line group. Depth has been a rarity for the Cowboys at a position they seem to always suffer injuries. Because of that, although Glass likely won’t crack the starting lineup early, he will still be vital for a successful 2024 season for the Pokes.

Glass was part of the first shuffle on the offensive line for the Cowboys during their season opener Saturday. He entered at left tackle early in the second quarter, already proving the depth he adds to OSU’s front.

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LIVE UPDATES

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How bout that grab by De’Zhaun Stribling? Cowboys cross midfield looking to build on their lead.

SCORING UPDATE: Cowboys 10, Jackrabbits 3

The Jackrabbits pay off that big run with a 31-yard kick to get them on the board.

END of Q1: Cowboys 10, Jackrabbits 0

The Good: Each team went for it on fourth down in its opening drive but the Cowboys converted theirs which led to a 42-yard field goal by new starting kicker Logan Ward. The Cowboys took it back thanks to a Korie Black interception. Brennan Presley paid off the TO with a TD giving the Pokes a 10-0 lead.

The Bad: OSU has not been able to get things going on the ground. Just 39 rushing yards (27 on four carries for Ollie Gordon) but it’s still early.

The Ugly: OSU gave up a 40-yard run to SDSU running back Amar Johnson at the end of the period to put the Jackrabbits deep in OSU territory. They’ve also allowed SDSU to go 2-4 on third down tries. Big plays and third-down D were two big questions for OSU’s defense coming in.

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