Can New OSU Starter Garret Rangel Take Down No. 13 BYU?
Fresh off three-straight conference losses, the Oklahoma State Cowboys are making a change at signal caller.
Garret Rangel — the team’s sophomore quarterback — will reportedly make his first start of the season against No. 13 BYU.
The change isn’t all that surprising. Alan Bowman, the team’s seventh-year slinger, simply wasn’t cutting it with 12 touchdowns to eight interceptions, and plenty of less-than-stellar offensive outputs. And now, with the team reeling, there’s really no sense in keeping another younger QB from developing.
For now, that seems to be Rangel, with freshman Zane Flores in reserve.
Rangel isn’t a complete stranger to the collegiate field. He’s already amassed 1,024 yards with the Cowboys in his career, playing in 12 games across the last three seasons. His completion percentage has hovered around 50%, and he’s thrown for seven touchdowns to six interceptions.
Starting Rangel is undoubtedly the right decision for the Cowboys’ future, but perhaps not their present. Is the sophomore slinger truly ready to face the undefeated Cougars? So far, he's yet to prove he's capable of leading the offense, having been beat out by Bowman on a few seperate occasions.
OSU has offensive weapons, but there’s certainly easier opponents to start out against.
Head coach Mike Gundy’s game-plan will undoubtedly need to be solid, featuring plenty of middling pass plays from Rangel and the occasional deep ball.
The odds aren’t necessarily on Rangel’s side to succeed over BYU, but some of Oklahoma State’s best work has come against adversity.
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Derek is co-founder of All Pokes and publisher for Draft Digest and Inside The Thunder for Fan Nation, powered by Sports Illustrated. He has been a sports writer in the Oklahoma market for five years now covering a variety of sports over the course of his career.