Oklahoma State Needs to Get Rashod Owens More Involved
Many Oklahoma State players have struggled to live up to expectations this season, but there are still two games left to finish strong.
OSU’s loss on Saturday pushed it to 3-7 and snapped 18-year streaks of bowl appearances and winning seasons. Still, the Cowboys have another two games on the schedule and could play spoiler to Texas Tech and Colorado.
Throughout OSU’s seven-game losing streak, it would be difficult to find anyone who has lived up to expectations. Among those who have struggled is senior receiver Rashod Owens.
Owens entered the season on the Biletnikoff Award watch list, and for good reason. In 2023, Owens made 63 catches for 895 yards and five touchdowns.
Throughout OSU’s 10-win campaign, he was a reliable target for Alan Bowman and often eluded defenders in the open field. Despite his struggles this season, OSU fans will always show love to Owens for one of his best performances in an OSU uniform.
In Bedlam last season, Owens was a consistent threat against the Sooners, grabbing 10 catches for 136 yards. He also finished the season with a bang, making 10 catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns against Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl.
However, this season, he has barely surpassed the production from those two games throughout his first 10. With 26 catches for 391 yards and three touchdowns, Owens could use a couple of big games to improve his numbers.
While De’Zhaun Stribling’s healthy 2024 season has hampered Owens’ production, the senior still has a chance to get over 500 yards. Owens’ biggest game this season was an 81-yard performance to open the season against South Dakota State.
While it looked like he was in for a strong season, Owens has only 108 receiving yards in the past five games and didn’t make a catch at TCU.
Regardless of who starts at quarterback out of the bye week, OSU needs to find a way to get Owens more involved. He is too talented of a receiver to have such little production and opportunity.
While this season’s goals are well out of reach, the Cowboys’ new goal should be to send off the seniors with a bang and get some young stars ready for big roles next season.
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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.