Alan Bowman and Kasey Dunn had some explaining to do after OSU's loss to Utah — and they still do
Mike Gundy didn't do quarterback, offensive coordinator any favors by limiting interviews.
STILLWATER — Alan Bowman was brilliant on every drive Oklahoma State scored Saturday. Completed almost all of his attempts. Accounted for a bunch of yards. Made great decisions.
But the other drives he quarterbacked?
They stunk.
Kasey Dunn was brilliant on every drive the Cowboys scored Saturday. Had a mix of plays. Used interesting alignments. Even added a few unexpected wrinkles.
But the other drives he coordinated?
They stunk.
Bowman and Dunn had some explaining to do after a 22-19 loss to Utah — and they still do.
Neither was made available to reporters after the game. Cowboy coach Mike Gundy hasn't allowed either of his coordinators to do interviews since the season began, and the OSU offense was represented by receiver Brennan Presley and center Joe Michalski. Both are perfectly wonderful spokesmen, but they shouldn't have had to answer for their coordinator or their quarterback.
Because on an afternoon the Cowboys had a chance to take early command of the Big 12 race, they gave away a golden opportunity.
Utah came to Stillwater for its first Big 12 game against the best team it has played by far, and it trotted out a true freshman at quarterback, Isaac Wilson, who has been filling in for the injured Cam Rising.
Then, lo and behold, the OSU defense played its best game under Bryan Nardo. Despite a 100-degree day and an offense that kept putting it back on the field, the Cowboys on the defensive side of the ball were mostly superb.
And it still wasn't enough.
"I have a ton of respect for them," Gundy said of Utah. "Class organization. Well coached. Great guys after the game. ... But I told the team, ‘You guys gave them a game.’
“Offensively, we were awful. We couldn’t get any quarterback play. Then all the sudden late in the game we start playing better at quarterback, but it is what it is by then."
Bowman was so bad that he was benched at halftime, replaced by Garret Rangel.
It was a shocking move because changing quarterbacks during a game is not something Gundy's teams have done much. But it was totally warranted Saturday — Bowman was 8 of 22 for 89 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the first half.
Take away the one scoring drive the Cowboys had before halftime, which ended with a field goal, and Bowman was only 4 of 16 for 49 yards.
"Sometimes you gotta get a guy out and calm him down a little bit ... " Gundy said. "I just felt like that we weren’t getting good play and we needed a relief pitcher, get somebody else in there."
Not that Rangel was any better. He went 3 of 11 for 31 yards, and the Cowboys put Bowman back in the game midway through the fourth quarter.
Upon return, his first two possessions were clunkers, 0-3 with one interception. But then, on the next two drives, Bowman completed all eight passes he attempted, including two for touchdowns, then added two-point conversions on both with passes to Presley.
It was a roller coaster ride.
What was wrong when it was bad, and right when it was good?
I'd have loved to have asked Bowman about that. Instead, we have to settle for Gundy's assessment.
"Something was bothering him," Gundy said. "I didn't feel like he set his feet. ... I thought he bounced around a lot today."
Maybe Bowman felt pressure to make plays in the pass game. The OSU run game, after all, was once again held in check, averaging only 3.2 yards a game.
But here's something to keep in mind: on the Cowboys' scoring drive in the first half, when they weren't in scramble mode playing catch up, Dunn put together a masterful mix.
Not every play worked, but the play-by-play is revealing.
^ First and 10 from the OSU 32, Ollie Gordon run up the middle, 4 yards.
^ Second and 6, Bowman across the middle to Rashod Owens, 25 yards.
^ First and 10 from the Utah 39, Gordon run up the middle, 7 yards.
^ Second and 3, Bowman deep throw to Owens, incomplete.
^ Third and 3, Presley run with Gordon at wildcat and Bowman split out, 11 yards.
^ First and 10 from the Utah 21, Bowman pass wide to Presley, 10 yards.
^ First and 10 from the Utah 11, Bowman pass short to Gordon, -2 yards.
^ Second and 12, Bowman pass to Gavin Freeman who lined up in a trips formation, 7 yards.
^ Third and 5, Bowman pass long on a fade to De'Zhaun Stribling in the corner of the end zone, incomplete.
^ Fourth and 5, 24-yard field goal by Logan Ward.
It wasn't perfect, but the variety and creativity was great. Utah seemed to be on its heels, too. Heck, when that Gordon wildcat formation worked, I might've just left him in the backfield. Let him run it some and hand it off some. Make the Utes prove they can stop it.
Instead, Dunn never called for the Gordon wildcat again.
Gundy insisted after the game the Cowboys weren't going to make changes.
Not at quarterback; when I asked him if Bowman would be the starter moving forward, Gundy said, "Yeah, he will."
Not in any other way either.
"We have to stay the course," he said.
But then in the next breath, he said "I didn't think our plan was very good."
Asked what he didn't like about the plan, Gundy said he felt the Cowboys should have tried to take advantage of what they have at receiver more often. Hard to argue when you see some of the things Owens, Stribling and Presley can do.
"Without watching tape and seeing safety locations, I felt like we should have tried to make these guys pay the price a little bit more with some of the maturity we had at wideout," Gundy said. "But again, to be fair, I need to look at it and see what everyone else is seeing. I’m on the ground and sometimes it's hard to see.
"But most of the time I’m right."
Would've been great to ask Dunn what more could've been done to exploit the Cowboys' talent at receiver.
Or why the mix of that early scoring drive was never seen again.
Or why Bowman was able to flip the switch late.
I had all sorts of questions for Dunn and Bowman. I'm guessing most Cowboy fans did, too. In this era of massive salaries for coordinators and sizable NIL deals for quarterbacks, both Dunn and Bowman are making enough money (paid for, in part, by fans buying tickets and donating to collectives) to provide answers.
Gundy probably believes he's protecting his people by not making them do interviews after bad games. I get it. But I have never seen Bowman or Dunn shy away from tough questions. Both have been around long enough to understand that answering for your bad days is part of the job.
Instead, we're left to wonder exactly what happened against Utah.
That stunk, too.
Dunn is at his max potential. No one comes calling for his services, enough said.