Can OSU’s Success in the Run Game Continue with Bowman Back Behind Center?

STILLWATER — The Cowboys’ offense looked revitalized Friday night in Provo.

Oklahoma State rushed for 175 yards in the first half of its eventual 38-35 loss to BYU. In just those two opening quarters, that was more yards than OSU rushed for in any full game this season up to that point. The Pokes rushed for 10.3 yards a carry in that opening half. OSU’s best yards-per-carry number in a game this season before that was 4.2 (Kansas State). But that half mostly featured Garret Rangel at quarterback — that was until Rangel broke his collarbone at the end of a 54-yard run late in the second quarter.

Alan Bowman, who started OSU’s first six games, came in after that. The Cowboys ran for 94 yards in the second half with Bowman running the show at 4.7 yards a carry. That was still better than things had been, but as the Cowboys head to Waco this week for a 2:30 p.m. Saturday kick against Baylor with Bowman set to resume as OSU’s starter, it’s fair to wonder if the rushing success the Cowboys had against the Cougars can continue.

“I’m not going to pretend to tell you that we can invent a way to create quarterback runs with certain players, but we need to try to do as much as we can,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said Monday. “But there’s no question about it — you look across the country at pretty much every level, and now include the NFL, if you’re playing with a quarterback that is a runner or a run threat, your running game is going to be better. Just a numbers game.”

Bowman showed some athleticism in the second half of that game running for 19 yards (the most he has rushed for in an OSU uniform and two yards off a career-high). He also had a 16-yard touchdown reception on a trick play where Brennan Presley threw the ball back to him. In his 47-game career to this point, Bowman has 30 rushing yards (sacks don’t help). In 13 career games, Rangel has rushed for 107 yards. So, it isn’t outrageous to say that Bowman simply doesn’t bring as much from a dynamic rushing standpoint as Rangel did, which seemed to be a trait that unlocked the Cowboy offense.

Despite not being as dynamic, Bowman still played well Friday. He finished off the drive where Rangel got injured with a touchdown, handing the ball off to Gordon for a 2-yard score. To start the second half, Bowman led an 11-play, 44-yard drive that took 5:08 off the clock (a lot of time compared to recent weeks) that ended in a missed field goal before throwing an interception. Then Bowman led back-to-back 70-plus-yard touchdown drives, including the 17-play, 76-yard drive that took 8:22 off the clock and should’ve won the Pokes the game.

Gundy reiterated Monday that Bowman needs to move forward in the pocket and not fall backward — as he did on his interception against BYU. But Gundy praised Bowman’s mental fortitude for going straight back into the fire after being benched as a seventh-year senior.

“He was in a very difficult situation, and we said, ‘We need you to get back in and fight your ass off,'” Gundy said. “And he didn’t have any issues. In college football nowadays, guys will say, ‘I’m not going in. Y’all didn’t like me. I ain’t playing.’ They can do anything they want nowadays. But he was awesome. He jumped back in, he buckled up, got loose, went in, started playing. And I thought he was competitive when he played.”