Oklahoma State badly needs answers.
The Cowboys, sitting at 3-3 amid a three-game losing streak, are underperforming across the board. Adjustments and fixes could turn their luck around, and now they have a bye week to make some before they play at No. 14 BYU next Friday.
“It starts out with just little mistakes,” OSU offensive lineman Preston Wilson said. “It’s not just one person or one specific group. It’s a bunch of little, small things that add up into big mistakes and cost us.”
Here’s what OSU should focus on during its bye week:
Solving the quarterback problem
Obvious, but necessary.
Starting quarterback Alan Bowman has been benched for Garret Rangel in two of OSU’s past three games. Bowman has thrown two interceptions in three straight outings and hasn’t completed more than 52% of his passes since Week 3.
Mike Gundy has a decision to make in the hope of a midseason surge. Experience or a fresh, I-got-nothing-to-lose mindset of a backup?
Bowman is the most experienced option and quarterbacked OSU to 10 wins last season. Rangel, though, could use in-game reps and can do more with his legs than Bowman. There’s Zane Flores, too, though it’s unlikely he will get the call, as he’s yet to make his OSU debut.
Regardless of who Gundy starts, the Cowboys need certainty at the most important position in the sport. Without it, there’s little chance of a turnaround.
“We need to look and evaluate,” Gundy said when asked if Rangel would start. “I don’t want to say something now, and then it may not be true. We’ll need to look where we’re at.”
Finding ways to get Owens, Gordon going
Wide receiver Rashod Owens has caught eight passes across OSU’s last three games. Running back Ollie Gordon — the 2023 Doak Walker Award winner — has rushed for more than 50 yards twice this season.
That’s not enough production from two of the Cowboys’ top playmakers. Offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn should look to Owens and Gordon to help OSU’s offense and relieve its quarterback dilemma.
If the Cowboys can get Gordon going and establish a run game, it will take pressure off whoever is playing quarterback — Bowman, Rangel or Flores.
And Owens’ big-play potential and red zone skills should be a point of emphasis. The passing game needs a spark, which Owens can provide, just as he did last season.
Run defense, tackling
OSU’s run defense hasn’t been great, but it looks even worse because of its tackling struggles.
In the past three games, there have been moments when the Cowboys have hit a runner behind the line of scrimmage but don’t wrap up and bring him down. Then, it balloons into a long run — like when Utah running back Micah Bernard ran for 62 yards after OSU missed three tackles.
Similar mishaps happened against Kansas State and West Virginia, which led to K-State averaging 8.8 yards on the ground and WVU running for 389 yards. The Mountaineers and Wildcats ran all over OSU’s defense, and their quarterbacks had no problem finding running lanes, too.
The Cowboys’ run defense needs adjustments, schematically and physically.
“We have to do a better job of fitting the run,” Gundy said. “Without seeing it (on film), it looked like to me (that) we had our worst tackling day of the year (against West Virginia).”
sports.ed@ocolly.com
