Despite a pair of early losses, the Cowboys have played so well as of late that they were included in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season that released Tuesday night.

Oklahoma State came in at No. 22 — sandwiched between two Big 12 teams the Cowboys have beaten in No. 21 Kansas and No. 23 Kansas State. Some crazy, crazy stuff would have to take place for OSU to get into the CFP, but this is a nice recognition of just how far the Cowboys have come over the past month.

	CFP	AP	Coaches
1	Ohio State	Georgia (48)	Georgia (58)
2	Georgia	Michigan (9)	Michigan (3)
3	Michigan	Ohio State (3)	Ohio State (3)
4	Florida State	Florida State (3)	Florida State
5	Washington	Washington	Washington
6	Oregon	Oregon	Texas
7	Texas	Texas	Oregon
8	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
9	Oklahoma	Penn State	Penn State
10	Ole Miss	Oklahoma	Ole Miss
11	Penn State	Ole Miss	Oklahoma
12	Missouri	Notre Dame	Notre Dame
13	Louisville	LSU	LSU
14	LSU	Missouri	Missouri
15	Notre Dame	Louisville	Louisville
16	Oregon State	Oregon State	Tennessee
17	Tennessee	Air Force	Air Force
18	Utah	Utah	Utah
19	UCLA	Tennessee	Oregon State
20	USC	UCLA	UCLA
21	Kansas	Tulane	Tulane
22	Oklahoma State	Kansas	USC
23	Kansas State	James Madison	Kansas
24	Tulane	USC	James Madison
25	Air Force	Kansas State	North Carolina

The intrigue at this particular ranking comes at the top, where the committee put Ohio State ahead of Georgia with Michigan and Florida State finishing out the top four. Unbeaten Washington is the first team out of the playoff despite being unbeaten.

OSU’s in-state rival Oklahoma with enter this weekend’s all-important Bedlam matchup at No. 9. That’s two spots behind No. 7 Texas — the highest-ranked team in the Big 12.

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Ollie Gordon II continued his historic run Saturday against Cincinnati, chewing up 271 yards of BPS turf and scoring two touchdowns in the Cowboys’ fourth consecutive win.

That performance earned him another round of weekly honors.

Gordon was named the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week for the third straight week, as well as the Maxwell Award Player of the Week.

The Doak Walker Award is given annually to college football’s top running back and the Maxwell Award is given to its best all-around player. It would be hard to argue that Gordon hasn’t been both for most of the last month.

This news came just a day after Gordon won his third consecutive Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Entering a huge Bedlam matchup, Gordon leads the FBS in total rushing at 1,087 and leads the Big 12 with 10 rushing scores and yards per carry (7.7). Another strong showing against the Sooners would continue to strengthen his case for All-Big 12 year-end honors and potentially much more.

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Josiah Johnson’s aching body is proof there’s a difference between Power Five football and the levels below it.

Mike Gundy shared a story Monday about Oklahoma State tight end Josiah Johnson being beat up and asking him if he’d be practicing or not. Gundy described the enormous bruise on Josiah Johnson’s thigh as black as Gundy’s black jeans. Josiah Johnson also has a broken toe, according to Gundy.

“It’s been going on for about a month,” Gundy said. “I was razzing him a little bit, basically making sure he was still gonna practice over the last few weeks because he’s beat up. He said, ‘Yeah, Coach, guys at this level hit a little harder than when I was at UMass.’

“He was just telling the truth. Kid’s just being honest. It’s interesting. It takes them awhile to adjust to the everyday wear and tear, in my opinion. I think that’s the adjustment.”

Josiah Johnson transferred from UMass, which plays at the FBS level as an independent but still isn’t playing Power Five-level programs on a weekly basis. Auburn and Penn State — both losses — are the only Power Five opponents on the Minutemen’s schedule this season.

Josiah Johnson and receiver Leon Johnson III were hot topics at Monday’s media luncheon. At the last luncheon a week before, some in the room might’ve not even known what position Leon Johnson III played. Josiah Johnson was written about more before the season started with the tight end position returning to Stillwater, but after that, crickets, for the most part.

Both abruptly emerged against Cincinnati on Saturday, though, as the Cowboys’ pass catchers were depleted by injury.

Josiah Johnson has played all season, but Saturday still seemed like his introduction. OSU’s first points of the game came via a 29-yard receiving touchdown from Josiah Johnson, who Alan Bowman found wide open to strut into the end zone. It was Johnson’s first touchdown as a Cowboy after transferring from UMass. He has 12 catches for 112 yards and the touchdown on the season.

Leon Johnson’s emergence was even more improbable. Last year, he was a two-sport athlete playing football and baseball for Division-III George Fox in Oregon. There, he was a first-team All-American in football and Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year last season.

Leon Johnson’s size is Power Five-worthy at 6-foot-5, and he showed Saturday, so is his ability. He played because of multiple injuries throughout OSU’s receiving corps. Leon Johnson led all Cowboy receivers with five catches for 149 yards. It was the most receiving yards by an OSU receiver this season. And after that performance, despite lack of playing time early in the season, Gundy doesn’t plan for him to redshirt.

Even outside the numbers, Leon Johnson’s actual plays popped off, too. He looked like a DI standout in the second quarter when he turned back to catch an underthrown ball over a defender before sprinting for a 67-yard gain.

“I think we were all surprised and very impressed with his performance in essentially his first game at this level,” Gundy said. “He has shown signs in practice of performing at a high level. Practice is one thing, games are another. We talked about that a number of times that until we get a young man on the field in a game you never know what they can do.”

Gundy has never been anywhere that wasn’t a Power Five program as a coach or player, so he said he wasn’t sure of the differences between the levels. He has realized, though, that finding those diamonds in the rough from the depths is becoming rare. He even explained why because of technology and easier ways to find more talent.

Either way, it seems Gundy and his staff pulled off that rare feat with Josiah Johnson and Leon Johnson.

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It’s Bedlam week, which brings the longest seven days of the football season, drawn out with comparisons and over analyzing the upcoming rivalry matchup.

Bedlam is, well, bedlam, so it’s nearly impossible to predict what will happen on the field. But one thing to peek at to even get an idea is to compare common opponents that the Cowboys and Sooners have had this season and what the results were.

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have faced three common Big 12 foes this season: Kansas, Iowa State and Cincinnati. Let’s look at how each fared against the trio and if it gives any glimmer of how Saturday could go.

Kansas

OSU: W, 39-32 (10/14)

OU: L, 38-33 (10/28)

Thoughts: This was OU’s most recent game and the favorite for Cowboy fans to enjoy. The main difference in this matchup, besides the outcome, was that OSU got to host KU, while OU had to travel to Lawrence for the Jayhawks’ homecoming. With that being said, though the football stadium was fuller than usual, it’s no Phog Allen. I’m not sure traveling to KU for a football game takes a team into enough of a harsh environment to make a difference. Most of the stadium was even vacant for a bit after a lengthy weather delay. However, I would say OSU was given an advantage inside Boone Pickens Stadium when the Jayhawks were in town.

The weather did make a difference in Lawrence, though. It was cold and rainy. That forced OU to rely on its run game, especially at the end to wind down the clock. The Sooners’ lackluster ground game finally did them in and is what gave KU enough chances to pull off the upset.

The Sooners averaged 4.9 yards a carry while having to run the ball 55 (!!) times. For comparison, though in a different environment, OSU averaged 5.7 on 38 attempts.

Cincinnati

OSU: W, 45-13 (10/28)

OU: W, 20-6 (9/23)

Thoughts: While OU was suffering its first loss of the season Saturday, OSU was shellacking Cincinnati.

Once again, OSU hosted this opponent while OU hit the road. The Cowboys got an obvious boost from a sold-out homecoming crowd Saturday, but I’m not sure it was enough to make the amount of difference when you compare these two score margins.

Cincinnati’s run defense is stout and hadn’t allowed a running back to rush over 75 yards before it was introduced to Ollie Gordon, who ran for 271 yards and averaged 10.8 yards a carry. As a team, OSU totaled 315 rushing yards, averaging 8.5. For comparison, OU’s leading rusher against Cincy was Marcus Major, who had 15 carries for 63 yards, averaging 4.2. OU had 103 total, averaging 3.0 yards an attempt. That means Gordon, by himself, nearly tripled the Sooners’ run total as a team against the same defense.

Dillon Gabriel threw for 322 yards and a touchdown against the Bearcats, while Alan Bowman had 286 passing yards, two touchdowns and interception. Both teams, for the most part, kept Cincinnati’s offense in check.

Iowa State

OSU: L, 34-27 (9/23)

OU: W, 50-20 (9/30)

Thoughts: Close your eyes, Cowboy fans, we’re revisiting September.

Of the three games we’ve compared, this one happened in the closest timeframe, as they were a week apart. However, that was in September, and after that loss we weren’t sure if OSU would win another game. But it’s looked to be a completely different OSU team in October in a drastic turnaround.

Regardless, let’s compare. ISU is still OSU’s lone Big 12 loss, as the Cyclones’ only conference loss was to the Sooners. OU had its way with ISU, accumulating 523 total yards, as Gabriel threw for 366 yards and three touchdowns, plus two rushing scores. At the time, this was OSU’s best offensive performance in nearly a year and it came a week after scoring only one touchdown against South Alabama. The Cowboys had 409 yards of offense in their first game with one quarterback behind center and Gordon actually getting the ball.

Defense was shaky for OSU, though, giving up 348 passing yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers to freshman Rocco Becht in his Big 12 debut. OU forced Becht into throwing two interceptions, going 15-of-33 for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

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Alan Bowman will get one crack at Bedlam (unless these teams meet again in Arlington). How will he leave his mark?

Saturday’s tilt with Oklahoma will provide myriad storylines both for this season and Bedlam history. Bowman can put his stamp on both with a strong showing.

He’ll join a small group of OSU passers to play in a single Bedlam game. We’ll look at three of them from the Mike Gundy era and see how Bowman’s Bedlam might compare.

J.W. Walsh (2015) | OU 58, OSU 23

I was actually surprised to see that the former fan favorite and current OSU staffer qualified. While riding a QB carousel over four seasons, Walsh somehow only recorded passing stats in one Bedlam game, when he spelled an injured Mason Rudolph in 2015. (He did rush once for a two-yard touchdown in Bedlam 2012, behind Clint Chelf.)

Walsh went go 25-of-42 for 325 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He found James Washington seven times for 169 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown, but the Sooners thumped the Pokes 58-23 on a frigid night in Stillwater.

Taylor Cornelius (2018) | OU 48, OSU 47

Oh so close.

This one was almost an all-time Bedlam win for OSU, but I consider it an all-time Bedlam performance by Cornelius.

In his lone season as a starter — and with fans peering at Spencer Sanders on the bench — Cornelius turned in a solid performance after solid performance. But he saved his career game for Norman.

Cornelius went 34-of-53 for 501 yards (the third highest in OSU history) and threw three TDs and no picks. He was a two-point conversion short of taking a Bedlam lead with 63 seconds left when he and Tylan Wallace weren’t able to connect at the goal line. It was gut punch, but Cornelius wasn’t the reason OSU came up short. You’d take that performance from your QB any game.

Dru Brown (2019) | OU 34, OSU 16

Similar to Walsh’s Bedlam game, Brown was thrust into action due to an injury to Spencer Sanders. The Cowboys’ offense wasn’t exactly a world-beater that year, but it relied heavily on Sanders’ run threat, which Brown couldn’t duplicate.

Brown went 22-of-32 for 207 passing yards and an interception, and the Cowboys struggled to keep up with the No. 7 Sooners. Even with Sanders, it would have been tough to keep up with the No. 4 scoring offense that season.

Alan Bowman (2023) | ?

Since taking the reins of the offense, Bowman has quietly captained the Cowboys from early struggles to a team in the Big 12 title race in November.

Ollie Gordon II has gotten much of the pub — he’s been on a historic tear — but Bowman has done a good job of making plays on his own and finding his playmakers (like Gordon).

If we were to project his upcoming Bedlam game compared to the others on this list, you’ve got to shoot for somewhere in the middle. OSU needs to lean on its resurgent run game and then take the opportunities the Sooners’ defense gives down the field. So, I wouldn’t expect a 500-yard (Corn Dog-esque) outing, but the Cowboys may not need that from Bowman.

This is the final scheduled Bedlam football game with the Sooners leaving for the SEC next season. If Bowman can lead the Pokes to a win, they’ll put an orange cap on the historically tilted rivalry. And it would be the Cowboys’ first back-to-back home Bedlam wins since 1930 and 1932.

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Maybe you could call PFB presumptuous last week for doing bowl projections, but now, Oklahoma State is officially bowl eligible after the Cowboys’ win over Cincinnati improved them to 6-2.

OSU earned a bowl berth for the 18th straight year under Mike Gundy. It’s the sixth-longest active streak in the country.

Here’s a look at where pundits from across the country predict the Cowboys to end up for their bowl destination and who they could play there.

Oregon | Goodyear Cotton Bowl | 7 p.m. Dec. 29 | Arlington, Texas

Let’s start with the big one. Imagine if I told you in September that it was possible for this OSU team to finish the season with two trips to Arlington? You’d question how strong my orange Kool-Aid was, for sure.

Brett McMurphy from The Action Network has the Cowboys taking on Oregon in the Cotton Bowl. He also has OU in the Alamo Bowl, so I would assume that means McMurphy predicts for his alma-mater to knock off OU in Bedlam on Saturday. He could also be fishing for the reactions because the Sooners’ projected matchup is a reunion with Lincoln Riley and USC. That would be must-watch TV.

But the Pokes going from 2-2 and doubtful to even make a bowl, to a NY6 bowl, may be the greatest in-season turnaround in college football season.

Notre Dame | Pop-Tarts Bowl | 5:45 p.m. Dec. 28 | Orlando, Florida

Arlington may be down the road for a bigger matchup, but Orlando seems like the more fun trip. And this matchup would be just as thrilling as anything you’d ride at Disney World if it’s anything like last time.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports and ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura predict a rematch of the 2022 Fiesta Bowl in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Cowboys won the last matchup 37-35 before Gundy proclaimed to the world that OSU has a logo, too.

USC | Valero Alamo Bowl | 9:15 p.m. Dec. 28 | San Antonio, Texas

This is the only pick this week that was the same as one last week.

Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports predicted this same pairing last week, too, but so did two others, as well. This still may be the most intriguing matchup, considering USC started 2023 as a College Playoff favorite with the returning Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback and former OU coach Lincoln Riley leading the program.

Who knows, maybe this game features last year’s and this year’s Heisman winner. …

Kentucky | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | 2:30 p.m. Dec. 29 | Memphis, Tennessee

This was the most popular pick this week, with College Football News and Bill Bender of The Sporting News projecting this matchup.

Even though it’s the most popular projection currently, it’s the first time this season that any of the outlets I keep track of has OSU in the Liberty Bowl. The Cowboys last played in the Liberty Bowl in 2018 against Missouri. This could also be the bowl that we one day get to see the first Bedlam after OU leaves for the SEC.

Missouri | TaxAct Texas Bowl | 9 p.m. Dec. 27 | Houston, Texas

Again, not a sexy projection traveling to Houston to play an above-average SEC team. I’ve actually never been to Houston, but I also have no desire to go because I assume there are always better destinations. OSU probably feels the same.

This could be an exciting destination one day, though, because like the Liberty Bowl, it could be a chance to watch a rare Bedlam in the future. But for now, it’s still a Big 12 rematch, but against Missouri or, like was predicted last week, against Texas A&M.

Wisconsin | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | 8 p.m. Dec. 26 | Phoenix, Arizona

I was so disgusted by this projection I almost just pretended it wasn’t there.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports predicts OSU to end up in literally the same situation as last year after a very disappointing season. Wisconsin beat the Cowboys 24-17 in the last Guaranteed Rate Bowl to hand OSU its third straight loss to conclude 2022.

We might have been happy with this in September, but imagine witnessing the Cowboys’ drastic turnaround only for them to wind up in the same spot as last year.

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Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

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OSU Bullets

• Three things we will miss about Bedlam when it’s gone (Sellout Crowd)

• Ollie Gordon wins Big 12 player of the Week – national awards starting to bubble up (PFB)

• Action Sports has the Pokes in the Cotton Bowl against Oregon (Action)

• Mike Gundy was great at his weekly media availability – my favorite quote from it below, excellent Bedlam teasing (PFB)

“Unfortunately half of my family will (be Sooners and Cowboys hugging each other) because half of them are wearing red. Now, they’re the ones that had issues at birth…”

Mike Gundy

• A couple of Cowboy wrestlers named to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for 2024 – including the current associate head coach. (OKState.com)

• Former Sooner Dusty Dvoracek will be on the crew calling the game Saturday – it’d be fun to have a Cowboy in the box.

On the ABC call for #OKState-Oklahoma Saturday afternoon: Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Tom Luginbill.

Kickoff set for 2:30 p.m.

— McClain (@McclainBaxley) October 30, 2023

• SB Nation’s Bud Elliott isn’t going to let us Pokes keep our heads out of the clouds this week.

This projected 12-team playoff field is… something. pic.twitter.com/lJe52Ie0QZ

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 30, 2023

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Non-OSU Bullets

• Test, seek, pray, fight (faith-based)

Ben knows. 1. Reese’s cups 2. Peanut M&Ms 3. Snickers are my take.

Lmk if I missed anything pic.twitter.com/3d4QR0MjDN

— Ben Rector (@benrector) October 30, 2023

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STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State men’s basketball team unofficially tips off its season Wednesday with an exhibition against Oklahoma Baptist. Mike Boynton, Bryce Thompson and John Michael Wright met with reporters Monday to preview the exhibition and the upcoming season.

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STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State football team hosts in-state rival Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon in what is the final scheduled Bedlam. Oklahomans Collin Oliver, Brennan Presley, Dalton Cooper and Collin Clay met with reporters after the Cowboys’ Monday practice.

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The high school football season is nearing its end, and the Cowboys’ commits are still putting up impressive numbers.

Here is a look at how each Oklahoma State pledge performed this past weekend with stats and highlights provided when available.

The post Friday Night Highlights: Johnson Puts Up Three-Sack Performance, Fields Runs for 120 Yards first appeared on Pistols Firing.

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