The Final Draw: Breaking Down Vehrs Debut, Bowick’s Route Tree and Concerns for the Running Game After Murray State Win

STILLWATER — The Cowboys were heavy favorites on Saturday, but they played the part perfectly. Several teams in the country haven’t looked that good in their own games against overmatched competition.

Although this win doesn’t really change anything we think about the Cowboys, it is a small sign that the win over Oregon was more suggestive of who this team will be than the Tulsa loss, which is slowly starting to resemble an anomaly.

It’s always tough to know how good, or bad, anyone is until conference play kicks off, and Oklahoma State gets to start things off with a West Virginia squad, which also finds itself just outside the AP Top 25.

This one could be for a spot in the poll.

Today’s Final Draw will examine:

• One last look back at Justin Bowick’s big night.
• Why the running game remains a work in progress and what that means for upcoming Big 12 games.
• Some Cowboys currently buried on the depth chart who might have moved up following their play on Saturday.

But first, in the portal era, it’s always risky to get attached to young backups, but freshman Broderick Vehrs guided the offense to three consecutive touchdown drives once he took the field for the first time ever.

It’s safe to say he’s the way-too-early frontrunner to replace Mestemaker whenever he decides to leave for the NFL.

Vehrs completed 6-of-6 passes for 37 yards and a touchdown to go with eight rushing yards (on three carries). All of that adds up to one heck of a debut, but let’s go a little deeper on those nine plays.

1. 12-yard completion to WR Israel Polk: It’s Verhs’ third play, and the ball is well thrown. However, he stares Polk down all the way on this one. No big deal, it’s his first college pass ever. As long as this doesn’t become a crutch.
2. Scramble for four yards: Vehrs has a good pocket, but he doesn’t like his first read and bolts. On the positive side, he shows good speed and gets out of bounds without taking an unnecessary hit.
3. 10-yard touchdown pass to TE Carson Kolb: He is decisive, and the RPO is well-thrown here.
4. 6-yard completion to WR Kam Powell: Hits his first read quickly.
5. 1-yard completion to WR Jabarie Thornton: Another quick decision on what looks like an RPO.
6. 6-yard completion to TE Morgan McPhaul: For the first time, Vehrs checks down to his second (possibly third) read, and he converts on third down.
7. Scramble for three yards: He shows patience here, going through at least two progressions before taking off this time.
8. 2-yard completion to Powell: Quick RPO screen.
9. Rush for one yard: This time he called his own number on an RPO play. Interestingly enough, he looked like he was debating throwing the ball back to a receiver near the sideline just before he passed the line of scrimmage. Pretty sure that would have gone terribly given his speed and angle, so not throwing it was the right call. I wonder if that play has that option built into it or if it was just one of those backyard-football type instincts kicking in for the freshman.

Early on, Vehrs is so reliant on his first read that he seems more comfortable scrambling out of a relatively clean pocket instead of looking for anyone else.

That feels like such a normal response for someone in his position, so I have zero issues with it. In fact, the patience he shows later to work through his progressions more as he gets more comfortable makes me feel even better about his efficient debut.

Either the coaches nudged him to be that way, or he calmed down and started to remember that stuff on his own. Either way, it shows Vehrs can settle in and really work the field to his benefit without feeling the need to force anything.

Looking Back at Bowick’s Big Night

The rest of this article is available on our PFB+ board, you can read it here. Don’t have a PFB+ account? Well, here’s a discount for $50 for a year (or $8 a month)