Is Alan Bowman really OSU's best option? What can be done to fix the Cowboy offense? Plus, West Virginia predictions!

All that and much more with Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel.

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Oklahoma State went to Kansas State hoping to make a statement. 

The Cowboys did.

Unfortunately, the statement is that they aren’t very good.

Now 0-2 in Big 12 play, the Cowboys are looking for answers every which way. Offense. Defense. Special teams. Coaching. Playing. None of it is not where it needs to be.

Where does OSU need to start if it wants to fix its problems?

Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel and I discuss that and much more on The Jenni Carlson Show.

Episode highlights

1:13: Where to start with OSU’s problems?

4:24: Could things actually get worse for the defense?

6:51: This offense has NFL-caliber talent and it is underperforming.

9:41: Is Alan Bowman really OSU’s best option at quarterback?

15:05: In America’s wackiest conference, might the Cowboys still find their way to Arlington?

17:49: Predictions! OSU vs. West Virginia.

Producer: Jacquelyn Musgrove

Creative Director: Michael Lane

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Thanks to Visit Stillwater for sponsoring my OSU football coverage.

Transcript

Jenni: All right, BT, where do we start with Oklahoma State? I mean, really, I'll let you decide. What is the most egregious area of concern for the Cowboys as they head into Saturday's game against West Virginia?

Berry: I don't know. I actually was frustrated with the defense more than the offense most of the (Kansas State) game. But after looking at it statistically, I think the defense is still ahead of the offense. That’s not saying much, you know.

I do my efficiency ratings. I've started them this week. It's sort of stark and startling because they're both down in the … they got two digits in terms of their ranking in the Big 12. They'd never been 10th in anything in the 10-team Big 12. Now they're 11th best offense, 12th best defense, whatever it is. Can't remember, but both sides of the ball just sort of disintegrated. 

It started so promising (at K-State). They had the 10-7 lead, then a 13-7 lead and should have been more, and they were really looking good. And then it just got away, and Kansas State rolled and the Cowboys look pretty despondent in that second half. 

And it makes you wonder, you know, last year, yeah, they started bad, terrible and all that, but they had two things going for them in terms of trying to make a rally. They had a superstar in Ollie Gordon. They didn't know it at the time, but a lot of people knew he was good. And then they just abandoned the quarterback derby and say, ‘Hey, let's play one quarterback.’ And that worked out. 

There's no apparent balm for this. I think they're playing their best quarterback. I think they're doing all they can to get Ollie Gordon going. I don't think there's a defensive superstar on the bench that's not been playing. So I don't know. The schedule does lighten up. We said it early, you know, if Cowboys can get through September, they're going to be in great shape. Well, they didn't get through September. Even split those games (against Utah and K-State), and you'd have to feel pretty good. But we saw that Utah is gettable; Arizona beat them in a low-scoring game. Cowboys didn't get them. Then you go to Kansas State, a very difficult place to play. No place to go if you're trying to get well, and they didn't. 

I think in the Big 12, you never give up until you’re mathematically eliminated because anything's possible. Brigham Young and Colorado are the two hottest teams in the league. Anything's possible. Texas Tech has risen from the grave. But it sure looks like going to Arlington is off the table for OSU, and just getting to a bowl game is maybe the legitimate goal now.

Jenni: It's crazy to think, but that might be true. You know, the defense obviously got wrecked, chunk plays in both the passing and the running game. This probably makes everybody feel worse, but I watched Nick Martin hobble off the field after the game with a big ice pack on his knee. So I have no idea what that means. Asked Mike Gundy about Nick Martin in the postgame. And at that point, he didn't know or wasn't willing to let any information out. (Gundy said Monday he wasn’t yet sure about Martin’s availability.) Obviously, already losing Collin Oliver, clearly we're seeing some evidence of that being a problem as K-State had several running plays just like Utah did, Berry, where we saw guys nearly wrapped up at the line of scrimmage, a place where Collin Oliver would have been, and instead, they bust out and have a big run. Saw it several times on Saturday against K-State. If Nick Martin's hurt, this Oklahoma State defense, already struggling, could be in a really, really tough spot moving forward.

Berry: And we saw this as even when Nick's healthy. It’s a problem. Saw Arkansas do the same thing for a good chunk of that game against OSU. OSU has been so sluggish on offense, we haven't focused on the defense, and there've been times when they did play pretty well, but man, you're asking a lot of this OSU defense when the offense plays like it is. Can't run the ball. (Alan) Bowman's not spot on. So, when you've got five games now, when you look at this OSU team, it makes you concentrate, makes you scrape crust off your imagination and say, ‘Why again were we so high on this team? What was so good about this team? Other than all these players back from what was a 10-4 team?’ So, it's getting more and more difficult to get enthusiasm about OSU football 2024 because such high expectations have cratered. A middle-of-the-pack Big 12 finish seems likely and pretty disappointing for a team with so much veteran leadership, so many experienced players coming back.

Jenni: We've talked about the defense, but what you said about the offense, I mean, this offense is what everybody that was interested in pegging Oklahoma State as a contender in 2024 hung their hat on. That's why everybody thought this Oklahoma State team was going to be good because of Ollie Gordon, because of an offensive line that returned so much experience and so many years of experience and wide receivers. Berry, this OSU offense, I legitimately think there's at least four guys that are NFL talent. Ollie Gordon, two of the three and maybe three of the three starting wide receivers. Definitely feel like (De’Zhaun) Stribling and (Rashod) Owens have the physicality and the skills to go play in the NFL. And Brennan Presley may well have the speed to go play in the NFL. And then the offensive linemen, a variety of those guys have been mentioned as NFL type talent, so you’ve got to think at least one of them pans out. How can they have that much NFL potential talent on the offense? To me, if you want to point fingers, it has to go to the offense because the defense didn't have the star power. Collin Oliver, very good. Nick Martin, very good. But the stars are on offense. And to me, this offense is underperforming badly right now.

Berry: It is, and you know, some of this lays at the feet of Kasey Dunn, offensive coordinator. He's not unlocked the magic box to get it going. Hasn't found the rhythm or the scheme or the whatever OSU needs.

Jenni: I mean, with Kasey Dunn, sounds like they're basically saying, ‘Hey, when opponents put an extra guy in the box, we're just done here.’ That's it? Can't do anything else? Like, that can't be the answer.

Berry: No, no. They also need better play from Bowman. I mean, he's a seventh-year quarterback, and he's just got to play better. He's got to deliver the ball on target better. He looks like his passing is worse this year than it was last year. I don't know if it's injuries over the years. You know, he got banged up when he was a freshman at Tech. He looked like the next big Tech gunslinger, and then he got hurt and he just sort of drifted in Lubbock for better part of three years and went away to Michigan. Now he's back, but he just hasn't developed. And in this day and age, you need a playmaker quarterback in college football. If you don't have one, it's not a death sentence, but it usually means quick curtains. And Bowman has not become the playmaker OSU needs. I assume there's not one on campus, or he'd be playing. And there you go. You have what you have.

Jenni: The thing I would like Alan Bowman to do is just stand in the pocket and throw a pass that doesn't come off his back foot. Stand there solidly and deliver the ball without looking like you're in distress. And maybe he is in distress, but he doesn't ever seem to just throw the ball with his feet planted properly. It's always off a back foot. And when he gets out of the pocket, it's curtains, Berry. He's not going to throw a good pass when he's rolling out. You don't see much in the way of good mechanics when it comes to throwing the ball often with Alan Bowman. 

And I don't know, the more I've watched Alan Bowman, the more I wonder if he is the best option at quarterback. Because we've heard all about Zane Flores, how great a prospect he is. Hey, by the way, OU went with a true freshman at quarterback in Michael Hawkins, who they knew way less about than OSU knows about Zane Flores. Now, maybe what they know is that he's not as good as they've told us. But at this point, what would it hurt? What would it hurt to give a guy that has come in with good pedigree a chance to go? Because Alan Bowman has not answered the call this year, Berry.

Berry: I assume Bowman still gives them the best chance to win, but one more defeat would make that irrelevant, I think. And at that point, I think Zane Flores might get the call to see what the future looks like. Nobody in Stillwater is in the business of wanting to lose games. So, you know, Gundy's proven that he'll do kooky things at quarterback. But I don't think they're playing Bowman just out of some sorts of some sense of loyalty or any of that kind of stuff. I think they really think he's probably their best quarterback and he may very well may be. And the carrot is still out there. Two losses doesn't eliminate you from Big 12 title contention. 

To me, the record or even who's ahead on the schedule is not the problem at OSU. They're just not very good football team right now. Forget all what they're playing for. It doesn't matter if we're in the old BCS era. It doesn't matter if we're in 1957 just trying to get to the Garden State Bowl. They're just not very good right now. So forget all the potential wins or how many wins can we get to blah, blah. Just try to make first downs. Just try to make tackles. Just try to keep the ball from being thrown over your head. Just try to run the ball for, you know, four yards a carry. So that's what's going on at OSU is, they're just not as good as we thought they were, as they thought they were, as good as anybody thought they were.

Jenni: The offense on Saturday at K-State had 490 yards. Not a bad statistical day. But they only scored 20 points and really only 13 when the game was in question. So to get into the red zone, the times that they did, and to not come away with more points to put K-State in a bad spot, maybe make Avery Johnson throw it more … That pass that was intercepted that he threw, Berry, might've been one of the worst passes I've ever seen by a college quarterback. I literally have no idea what was going on there. But if they could have forced K-State's hand to throw it a little bit more by scoring more when they had the chance, maybe that game turns it out differently. Maybe K-State still wins, but maybe it's not the rout that we saw, but they are not putting pressure on teams right now because like you said, they're not very good. 

So where are they going to put the pressure on? I don't know where that comes from, but I think it has to start with the offense because I think that's where way more talent resides than on the defensive side of the ball.

Berry: Yeah, I would agree. The running game did look better, particularly the first quarter. I think it had nine carries for 72 yards in the first quarter. So it's something that they can at least build on. Found something there. Didn't sustain it, but at least that cracked open a little bit. 

They're going to play a team that's not as good as what they've played the last two weeks. West Virginia, I think is pretty solid, but nothing spectacular. They've had a similar season in that they've lost a couple of games, one of which was a heartbreaker to Pitt, which they should have won. So, this is a team that's not really in any better shape than Oklahoma State. So, you win, you start feeling better. You can look at the schedule upcoming and say, ‘Hey, maybe we can put some things together.’ But they just gotta play better. 

You make the great point about the talent level. I mean, the defense is what it is, especially without Collin Oliver, their best player. The OSU offense is playing with its best player and its best players. So that needs to be leaned on, that offense.

Jenni: Before we get to predictions about West Virginia, you did your power rankings for the Big 12. Called it the wackiest conference in America, which I think is fitting. I'm with you — I don't have any idea if OSU can get there mathematically. They're gonna have to depend on some other people. But what we can definitively say about this league is that it continues to be bonkers. You just never know who's gonna be up there. There's all sorts of teams in the mix right now, Berry. Oklahoma State, despite their record, if they can figure some stuff out with their schedule remaining, they could potentially get to the end of the year with two losses in league. 

It is wacky, though, to look around this league and see who's in the driver's seat. BYU? Who thought that? I mean, for crying out loud, Arizona, are they good, are they bad? I don't know. It's just all sorts of unknowns right now as it relates to the Big 12.

Berry: I mean, here's what we know about the Big 12: Deion Sanders makes it interesting and they're better than they were last year. Colorado is the real deal. They went to Central Florida and won big. Texas Tech is back. They're 2-0 in the league, and they might have it within them to make a run. The best team in the Big 12 might be the most normal team in the Big 12, and that's our pals up at Iowa State. They're just playing solid football. Great defense. Good enough offense.

Jenni: A non-wacky team in this wacky league.

Berry: That's exactly right. Great coach. Great stability. Iowa State is what OSU was hoping to be. Iowa State had 20 starters returning and built upon that experience, and it's really just playing great football. So if Iowa State can just keep going, they're probably the favorite to win this league now. But it's early, we're only two games in. Iowa state has played just Houston. Anything's possible. Cincinnati, which I thought was the 15th best team in the league, all of a sudden has the No. 1 offense in the Big 12, and I didn't see that coming. So who knows? Sonny Dykes getting thrown out of games at TCU. Arizona is turned into a defensive juggernaut. You just don't know what's gonna happen. Kansas can't win a football game. It's like it's 2016 all over again. So you just go Saturday to Saturday in the Big 12.

Jenni: And on that note, what about West Virginia-OSU? What's your prediction for this one, Berry?

Berry: Well, you know what I'm predicting West Virginia to win. I don't see the Cowboys playing well, other than really second half against Arkansas and most of the game against South Dakota state, a I-AA opponent, let me point out. But you know, I thought they played pretty well. Otherwise at some point, you are what you're showing us to be. And so I'm going to need the Cowboys to show me that they're ready to play better football before I can get too much behind them in the prediction department.

Jenni: I'm the same way. I picked them to figure some stuff out this last week at K-State, picked them to win. They figured some stuff out for a fourth of the game and everything else was a complete dud. So I'm going West Virginia. I'll go 27-24 on Saturday up in Stillwater. 

What OSU stuff you got coming down the pipe in the Tulsa World, Berry?

Berry: I’ve got my efficiency ratings coming out. And I think you'll enjoy seeing where the Cowboys are. It’s sort of a mixed up bag of what's going on in the Big 12. I can give you a clue — we’ve got more defense than we're accustomed to. So all of college football is sort of batting down the hatches Offenses, not dominating, unless, of course, Georgia and Alabama play and have the Fourth of July fireworks. Otherwise, we're seeing good defense in a lot of places we're not accustomed to.

Jenni: Remember when scoring a lot of points was seen as a bad thing? 

Berry: Yeah, bad thing, Bad, bad, bad, bad.

Jenni: I don't think anybody was talking about that Saturday. They seemed OK with it in Tuscaloosa.