10 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 42-20 Loss to Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Well, the Cowboys at least scored points in this trip to Bill Snyder Family Stadium, but it’s another trip to the Sunflower State that ends in a lopsided defeat.

Oklahoma State fell to Kansas State 42-20 on Saturday. Here are 10 Thoughts from the game.

1. It’s Ugly

Well, after two games against the two teams atop the Big 12’s preseason poll, the Pokes are 0-2 and have been mostly uninspiring.

The Cowboys were beaten soundly on both sides of the ball Saturday. The defense was bad, allowing K-State to put up a season-high 559 yards. The offense was, perhaps, worse, putting up 13 first-half points just to not score again until the final two minutes of the game when it was merely a formality.

2. OSU Left Many Points on the Table

The Cowboys had a chance to be in this game, but of the seven drives in which OSU ran a play in K-State territory, the Cowboys scored 13 points. Seven of those points game on the Cowboys’ last drive of the game, where the Pokes turned a potential 42-13 loss into the 42-20 defeat.

The Cowboys’ lone touchdown in the first half came on a 77-yard flea flicker, which was cool but perhaps not the most reliable form of long-term offense.

Flea flickers only 🎯

📺: ESPN https://t.co/kaivWf7DBu pic.twitter.com/QcXAUIV44b

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 28, 2024

OSU settled for three field-goal attempts in the game, making two. The Cowboys also had a mishandled snap lead to a turnover in K-State territory and a pair of Alan Bowman picks on the plus side of the field.

The Cowboys trailed 14-13 in the second quarter when the Pokes marched down to the K-State 22-yard line when a Bowman was unable to handle a low snap. The ball was batted around for a few moments before Bowman was clobbered, and K-State recovered. Two plays later, K-State was in the end zone, and the route was on from there. OSU was in this game up until that point.

So there were times where the Cowboys were able to move the ball, but the Pokes didn’t often look a threat to score. As woeful as the offense looked, the 490 yards the Cowboys gained were the second-most they’ve had in an outing this season, trailing only the 560 the Pokes put up against Tulsa.

3. Ollie Went Off … for a Quarter

For a moment there, it looked like OSU had figured out its running woes and unlocked some of the Cowboys’ offensive potential. But, that glimmer of hope was short-lived.

Ollie Gordon rushed nine times for 72 yards in the first quarter — 43 of those yards came on OSU’s first possession. The 72 yards are more than he had in the entire games against Arkansas, Tulsa and Utah. He was running angry. After a third-down reception in the opening quarter, Gordon trucked a defensive back at the line to gain. On the next play, Gordon found space and got to the second level before throwing a right hook of a stiff arm for a big gain. It looked like the offense people expected from OSU all season.

The issue? Gordon had four (FOUR) rushing yards over the next three quarters. OSU’s run game was there, and then it was gone. And with it, OSU’s ability to move the ball. Perhaps Kansas State adjustments slowed Gordon and the OSU ground game down, but this is another week where the Cowboys looked at their best offensively in the first quarter but brought little outside of that.

4. Another Tough Day for Bowman

It has to be tough to be a quarterback with little to no run support, but Alan Bowman’s 52% completion percentage tells you about all you need to know about his performance Saturday.

There was a play late in the third quarter that basically summed up Bowman’s day. His first read wasn’t there, so he gave a halfhearted pump fake before falling back and whipping a ball across the middle to an open Rashod Owens. But the ball was well off target and kicked up beads as it hit the turf.

Bowman finished the day 26-for-50 with 364 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Thus far in his 19 games in an OSU uniform, Bowman has thrown 26 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

5. But Bowman Played the Entire Time

Despite the lackluster play, the Cowboys did not pull their starting quarterback in consecutive weeks. Bowman played the whole time.

It wasn’t like last week against Utah where the OSU defense had kept the Cowboys in the game, and yet even with the poor completion percentage, the interceptions and the one touchdown that came on a tick play, Bowman took every snap.

Bowman won’t be back for an eighth season, meaning the Cowboys will need to figure out what they have at quarterback going into 2025. Meanwhile, Garret Rangel and Zane Flores don’t have redshirts available. Rangel used his in 2022 and Flores used his last season. Keeping them on the sideline doesn’t accomplish much. Perhaps the staff doesn’t want to tank the confidence of their younger passers by playing without a competent run game, but that’s hard to say for certain when Rangel got in the game last week in a closer game. It’s just all so odd.

“I don’t think that’s what’s best at times for what we’re trying to get accomplished offensively,” said Gundy on why a quarterback change wasn’t made.

6. Big Plays Still a Big Issue

A lot of talk among the OSU fanbase after this game will be about the offensive struggles, but the defense had plenty go wrong on its end, as well.

Kansas State compiled a season-best 559 yards of total offense, many of which came off big plays. That’s been an issue for OSU’s defense this season and last. The Wildcats had six pass plays of 19 or more yards, including a 55-yard touchdown. The ‘Cats also had nine rushes of 10 or more yards, including runs of 31, 37 and 66.

K-State running back DJ Giddens toted the rock 15 times and managed 187 yards on those carries. That’s 12.5 yards a rush. Meanwhile quarterback Avery Johnson had five rushes for 60 yards — coming in at 12 yards a carry. In total, the Wildcats averaged a ridiculous 8.8 yards a carry. Not winning football from the Pokes.

7. Avery Johnson Looked Like He Was Playing on Rookie

The OSU D also provided Johnson his best passing outing to date, as the sophomore completed 61% of his passes for 259 yards (career-high) and three touchdowns (career-high).

On top of that, Johnson ran for 60 yards and another two scores. Five touchdowns might earn the sophomore Big 12 Player of the Week honors come Monday.

Johnson’s most impressive play of the day came on a 13-yard touchdown run at the start of the fourth quarter. Johnson spun away from linebacker Jeff Roberson in the pocket before pump-faking and taking off. He took a hard cut to split a pair of defenders, one literally sliding past him, and Johnson strolled into the end zone untouched.

Johnson had a lot of hype around him entering this season. I’m not exactly sure what went down with Will Howard, but the optics from the outside appear to be that Johnson’s potential helped Howard hit the portal. Howard is now the starter at Ohio State, so he is still plenty good. It hasn’t exactly gone swimmingly for Johnson this season. Coming into Saturday, he had thrown for 620 yards, six touchdowns and three picks before having his best day as a starter.

Avery Johnson put on a show in Manhattan 🌟

✅ 259 passing yards
✅ 60 rushing yards
✅ 5 total TDs#Big12FB | #KStateFB pic.twitter.com/agglEi68pj

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) September 28, 2024

8. Is Fourth-Down D an Issue?

Over the past two weeks, teams are 6-for-7 against the Cowboys on fourth down.

The Cowboys were among the best in the country in that stat a year ago, as opponents were just 6-for-25 on fourth down against the Pokes. Gundy much of last season trumpeted that the Cowboys put a lot of work in on knowing down and distance and getting stops.

It’s tough to be too critical on such a stat that usually comes down to not giving a team a single yard, but it felt like the difference in a lot of those close games last season. Now those plays have been going the other way.

Both of K-State’s fourth down attempts Saturday came on the Wildcats’ first drive. The first was a six-yard completion on 4th-and-1. The second stung a little worse, as it was a nine-yard completion on 4th-and-7. The Wildcats paid that drive off with a touchdown. Those seven points don’t feel big in a game that ended 42-20, but this game was competitive at the start. Perhaps a big stop could’ve captured some momentum.

9. Trey Rucker Is Still Tackling Everybody

OSU safety Trey Rucker has had double-digit tackles in every game aside from the Pokes’ dominating win at Tulsa where OSU played some reserves.

He led the team with 10 takedowns Saturday, bringing his season total to 63. For reference, Nick Martin had 45 through five games last season. Rucker is on a ridiculous pace to finish with about 151 tackles this season — which would be the fifth-most in a season in program history.

10. This Team’s Aspirations Are Going to Be Tough to Reach Now

It’s hard to count this team out considering about 12 months ago, the Cowboys went from losing 33-7 to South Alabama before turning the season around and making the Big 12 title game.

And, for the most part, these are the same guys who forced that turnaround last season. That’s a point of hope and a point of confusion. It’s head-scratching how an offense with all the same pieces cannot run the ball with any sort of consistency just months after featuring a running back, who is still the running back, win the Doak Walker.

Arkansas, Utah and Kansas State have all outplayed OSU to this point. The Cowboys won one of those games, but that run of form doesn’t inspire confidence for a team with eyes on a Big 12 title and the College Football Playoff. I’m still having a hard time totally counting the Pokes out just because of what happened last season.

From here, the Cowboys will host a 2-2 West Virginia team that is coming off a bye. Then OSU has a bye of its own. OSU has to find a way to beat the Mountaineers. Then who knows what can be accomplished in a bye week — that’s where OSU’s turnaround last season started. But the Cowboys have to get to that bye at 4-2 instead of 3-3. Then they’ll probably need a little chaos elsewhere in the league to have a shot at Arlington.