The Top 5 Quotes from Mike Gundy’s Pre-Kansas State News Conference

STILLWATER — For the first time this season, Mike Gundy had to host a media luncheon after a loss.

Oklahoma State fell to Utah 22-19 on Saturday in a game where the Cowboy offense played poorly for about 50 of the game’s 60 minutes. Gundy discussed issues in the run game, issues with quarterback play and talked a little Zane Flores on Monday. Here are the top five quotes from his news conference. A video of his full presser is below.

1. On Play-Calling Creativity

After a quick three-and-out to start the game, the Cowboy offense appeared to get things rolling in their second series.

It started with a four-yard run from Ollie Gordon to put the Pokes in a second-and-manageable, where Alan Bowman ripped a pass to Rashod Owens. Owens found some separation on the play and ended up gaining 25 yards to the Utah 39.

The Cowboys used tempo on the drive, trying to wear down a big Utah defense in the heat. OSU handed it off to Gordon for a seven-yard run just eight seconds after the previous play. On 2nd-and-3, Bowman and Owens failed to connect, brining up a 3rd-and-3 where things really got fun.

Gordon lined up behind center with Brennan Presley beside him as a running back. Gordon handed to Presley, who gained 11 yards. From the Utah 21, Bowman completed an 11-yard pass to Presley. The drive sputtered a bit from there, resulting in a 23-yard Logan Ward field goal, but the Cowboys momentarily had the Utes on their heels.

From that point on, though, OSU went 11 drives before scoring again. That stretch included six true three-and-outs, another instance where Bowman was intercepted on third down and another instance where Bowman was intercepted on first down.

That second drive took 3:31 off the clock and was OSU’s longest of the day. OSU had nine drives that didn’t even take a minute off the clock. The Cowboys ran for 22 yards on that drive, which doesn’t sound great, but that was 46% of the rushing yards OSU had all day.

“What we should’ve done is use my mom’s philosophy: if those seven or eight plays worked on that drive, why don’t you just run them again the next drive?” Gundy said. “Why do you change? Why do you go to something else because they haven’t stopped any of those plays. And in most cases, they don’t have time on the sideline to fix them. That’s exactly what we should’ve done.”

2. Bowman’s Poor Outing Puzzling

In the midst of the Cowboys’ offensive struggles, quarterback Alan Bowman was benched at halftime before he re-entered the game after four Garret Rangel-led series.

Bowman’s benching, it’s length and who went in for him have all been part of some Sunday-morning quarterback discussion. Gundy called himself a Sunday-morning quarterback before that aforementioned quote on play calling.

As for Bowman, he finished the day 16-for-33 (48%) for 206 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Bowman threw for 117 of those yards and both touchdowns in the fourth quarter when it was going to be tough for OSU to find a way to come back.

“He just didn’t play as well as what we would’ve wanted to or he would’ve wanted to,” Gundy said. “I just had a guy in my office five minutes ago ask me, and I didn’t have an answer for him. I can’t imagine the game got too big for him. I just don’t think he played well. I think he got uncomfortable. Then he started to move his feet around a little bit and then it kind of snowballed. I don’t really have a good answer.”

3. Why No Flores?

The struggles OSU had at quarterback brought up discourse about Zane Flores.

The unknown guy in quarterback rooms is often a fan favorite, but that fan intrigued was flamed in August when Gundy said that Flores, a redshirt freshman from Nebraska, was “ready now,” but that Flores was “just not experienced” back in fall camp.

When asked about Flores on Monday, Gundy said, “we haven’t got to that,” before explaining that Bowman and Rangel have gotten the majority of practice reps.

“If Zane were to go out there, nobody in this room would know what’s gonna happen, including me, because we just don’t know,” Gundy said. “That would be the one factor that’s different at that particular position. But Zane is doing good.”

4. On the Struggles in the Run Game

The issues OSU had the in passing game are magnified by the fact that the Cowboys cannot run the rock.

OSU finished with 48 yards on the ground against Utah on Saturday with Gordon, the reigning Doak Walker winner, having 42 of those. Gordon ran for 6.1 yards a carry last season. Through four games in 2024, he is averaging 3.5 a carry. That’s coming with essentially the same offensive line. Despite having 73 carries this season (which ranks second in the Big 12), Gordon has ran for just 258 yards (which ranks 10th in the Big 12).

Gundy reiterated Monday that it is tough to run with how opposing teams are filling the box.

“When we’ve had equal numbers in the box or a half-man disadvantage, we’ve run the ball effectively,” Gundy said. “But when we’ve had one to two extra people in the box, we’ve not been as effective, which is kind of the way it’s gonna be.

“There’s not anything we need to change from a scheme standpoint — we need to improve a little bit in fundamentals and technique and things that we would work on every year. But from a change standpoint, there’s no reason to change anything right now.”

5. Preparing for Another Running Quarterback

If it’s any consolation to the Cowboys, their next opponent is also coming off a head-scratching performance.

Kansas State went to Provo on Saturday and lost to BYU 38-9. Like the Pokes, the Wildcats are 3-1 at this point. K-State is breaking in a young quarterback in Avery Johnson. Johnson is a true sophomore after playing in eight games last season while K-State still had Will Howard, who is now the starter at Ohio State.

Johnson didn’t play great against BYU, finishing having completed 54% of his passes for 130 yards and two picks. But when Johnson isn’t throwing well, he brings a different element to the game with his legs. Johnson has ran for 261 yards this season — more than Gordon. Isaac Wilson, who started for Utah on Saturday, isn’t known for his wheels, but he had a 48-yard run against the Pokes.

A dual-threat quarterback could be an issue for any defense, but OSU fans might be particularly tight about what could happen Saturday with how the Cowboys handled Arkansas QB Taylen Green. Green threw for 416 yards and ran for 61 against the Cowboys a few weeks ago.

“Different philosophies, but (having seen Green) could help some just understanding pass rush principles and things,” Gundy said. “Can’t run out of your lane, things like that. Like what happened to us Saturday when we pressured him and had him and got out of our lane, and (Isaac Wilson) took off and ran for 40-something yards. That’s what you can’t do. So you can carry those things over game to game.”