Cowboy Offense Shines as Oklahoma State Overwhelms SDSU in Opener
Oklahoma State left no doubts in its season opener.
OSU beat South Dakota State 44-20 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater on Saturday. OSU never struggled against the back-to-back FCS champions, winning its 10th straight season opener.
Ollie Gordon was a star for the Cowboys in the season-opening victory. The reigning Doak Walker Award winner had 27 carries for 104 yards and was also a threat in the passing game, helping him finish with three total touchdowns.
Looking to create separation in the third quarter, Alan Bowman threw a 58-yard touchdown to Rashod Owens along the right sideline. That was one of Bowman’s three touchdowns, as he threw for 267 yards. Gordon piled in for his third score a few minutes later to put OSU in firm control.
On fourth-and-2 on OSU’s first drive out of halftime, Gordon made a diving catch to keep the drive alive. One play later, he caught a pass in the backfield, ran down the left sideline and lunged for the goal line to get a touchdown, putting OSU up 24-6.
His first score came in the second quarter, as he took a handoff from Bowman, found his crease and broke a couple of tackles as he ran into the end zone. His first score of the season pushed OSU’s lead to 17-3.
SDSU looked to respond to Gordon’s second touchdown in the third quarter, and some Mark Gronowski throws got the Jackrabbits in the end zone. After finding Griffin Wilde on back-to-back plays for 54 yards, he launched a perfect throw into the end zone for Grahm Goering to get their first touchdown.
Korie Black earned the first OSU takeaway of the season, picking off Gronowski in the first quarter. His second career interception set up OSU’s first touchdown, with Bowman finding Brennan Presley.
After forcing a turnover on downs, the Cowboys marched down the field. After Rashod Owens couldn’t pull in a pass in the end zone, Logan Ward made his first career field goal attempt for the first score of 2024.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.