Three Takeaways: Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. South Alabama Jaguars
Oklahoma State fans are upset, and rightfully so. But the team's loss to South Alabama didn't come out of the blue. All week, national media was picking the Jaguars as a potential upset team.
No one expected the Jaguars to defeat the Cowboys the way they did, though. By halftime, South Alabama held a 23-0 lead in dominating fashion. They led the total yardage differential 232-70.
Not much would go right in this game, except a lone Gunnar Gundy drive in his fifth series of the game. Jaden Nixon scored on a pitch where he essentially walked into the left side of the end zone. The Cowboys lost 33-7 and by the end of the game, most of the fans had packed up and gone home.
Here are three takeaways from the Week 3 Cowboys loss.
- Not much clarity in the quarterback battle. In such an ugly loss, how can anyone take anything substantial away from this game? None of the three quarterbacks stood out at all.
Gunnar Gundy had the most burn and a touchdown drive, while Alan Bowman looked the worst. Garret Rangel entered the game with the opportunity to do close to nothing. It's hard to imagine the team can be any closer to deciding on a permanent quarterback ahead of Big 12 play.
At this point, it might make most sense to just establish one and let him play. Let him deal with the ups and downs of a full conference game and evaluate from there.
- Ollie Gordon II needs more carries. These games have shown the Cowboys struggle in having enough talent. When the playmakers are given the ball, whether handing it off to running back or hitting wide receivers on quick routes, better plays happen.
Gordon received a total of five touches, including three on the ground and two in the passing game. This isn't nearly enough. He's arguably the most talented running back on the team, and if he gets double-digit touches, the offense would see the ball moving drastically more. Maybe, the slow-developing pass plays could have a chance at working out if the ball moves more on the ground. Either way, without giving Gordon chances to continually touch the ball, the ceiling of the offense remains unknown.
- The Cowboys could be just fine come conference play. The luck ran out. Mike Gundy knew this was a possibility with all the slow starts. However, the team hadn't felt the feeling of defeat yet. Now they have, and they might finally be able to move forward.
The Cowboys have a 2-1 record on the season now and haven't even touched conference play. Until a QB1 is established and plays a full game on top of Gordon getting the proper amount of touches, this team is hard to get a read on. They just played a solid defense after two underwhelming wins. There's much to be learned about this team and plenty of season to go to do the learning.
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