‘That’s the Reason I Came Here’: Justin Bowick Explodes in Cowboys’ 59-0 Win

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STILLWATER — For most of the first half, it looked like receiver Justin Bowick was fighting a one-man battle (with assistance from Drew Mestemaker) against Murray State.

When the final whistle sounded, the receiver won in resounding fashion. Murray State finished with 160 yards of total offense in the 59-0 loss to the Cowboys.

Meanwhile, Bowick put on a clinic hauling in nine receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns despite spending most of the second half on the sidelines.

“That’s the reason I came here,” Bowick said. “To be explosive.”

Bowick believed he had that kind of game in him from the first snap he lined up against the Racers. Not on Saturday night, but back in 2022 when he was a freshman at Eastern Illinois.

“My freshman year I played Murray State, and then playing them now it was a cool moment just to see how much I’ve grown,” Bowick said.

In that 2022 meeting, Bowick was an afterthought, playing only four snaps on offense according to Pro Football Focus records.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot bigger, faster and stronger,” Bowick said. “My routes have gotten way better since freshman year.

“So, made an improvement.”

He can say that again.

Bowick’s response was super sincere on Saturday night, but his improvement seems so obvious that it’s almost laughable to see his quote written out.

His start at the FCS level, at least according to Bowick, wasn’t a lack of talent on his part, but a lack of opportunity.

Bowick missed his entire junior season after transferring high schools. According to MaxPreps, he caught 11 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown across three games late in his senior season, but he tore his Achilles completely off the bone before that season, which is why he didn’t play until the end.

“That was probably the most pain I’ve felt,” he said. “But it also gives me the drive I have now, sitting out, knowing what that feels like.”

When asked if that was a frustrating time in his life, Bowick said it’s important to have faith and know an opportunity is still coming.

That’s what Eastern Illinois represented to him.

It didn’t take long for him to begin standing out. Bowick broke out in the final game of his freshman season with a six-catch, 177-yard, two-touchdown effort.

He topped 100 receiving yards once in 2023, then twice in 2024 at Ball State, including a 171-yard performance. Despite playing 12 games at Illinois last season, Bowick never topped 50 yards, though he did tie the team lead with five receiving touchdowns.

“It feels like forever ago,” Bowick said. “It really does. That’s why I was super proud to get a 100-yard game again (tonight).”

Multiple times in the last nine months, coach Eric Morris and Cowboy players on both sides of the ball have attempted to explain the seemingly too-big-to-be-that-fast weapon that Bowick proved he could be behind closed doors this offseason.

Following his own impressive outing against Murray State, cornerback Mo Horn credited Bowick with preparing the defensive backs for this fall.

“You probably won’t face any receivers like Justin Bowick, man,” Horn said. “He one of a kind for sure.”

When asked about OSU’s 6-foot-5, 209-pound receiver, Morris didn’t focus on anything he did during Saturday’s game. Instead, Morris chose to praise Bowick for everything that came before.

“He practices like a professional,” Morris said. “He takes care of his body. He’s the first one here, last one to leave. Like always in the training room, not because he’s hurt, but just the way he prepares is phenomenal, right.

“And so I think he’s having fun playing in a wide-open offense, you know, in something where he’s getting targets.”

Bowick said that “pro” mindset is something he adopted last season at Illinois, but the seeds were planted back in high school when that devastating injury sidelined him during his last chance to make a real impression.

“I always kind of keep that in the back of my mind,” Bowick said. “And that’s why I always stay on my routine, just to be healthy throughout the season.”