Alan Bowman’s growth has Cowboys diving deeper into playbook

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State’s veteran quarterback is coming off his best performance of the season, as the offense continues to trend up through Big 12 play.

Alan Bowman’s journey up to this point has been all about perseverance and patience. His experience at Michigan and Texas Texas is paying off on the gridiron, and Bowman clearly is settling in at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys took down both teams from the Sunflower State over the past two weeks, and Bowman believes the offense is new and improved.

After all, Oklahoma State racked up a season-high in points and yards against Kansas. Bowman generated 571 yards through the air over the Cowboys’ last two victories. The offense continues to feed off his energy by lighting up the scoreboard.

“I think that’s kind of been our motto over the past couple of games,” Bowman said. “We’re going to take care of the football, we’re going to go on sustainable drives, we’re going to score some points and kick field goals if we have to.”

Bowman completed 28 of his 41 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns against the Jayhawks. He was only sacked once. Oklahoma State’s offense got off to a fast start, and scored on the first three drives, including two that ended with touchdown passes. Bowman was provided enough time in the pocket to go through his progression and located targets downfield.

The Texas native threw a touchdown strike to running back Ollie Gordon, and wideout Brennan Presley. Most importantly, the Cowboys didn’t commit any turnovers for a second-straight game. Bowman was able to operate the offense efficiently because of a dominant rushing attack.

Gordon trampled over Jayhawk defenders throughout the afternoon, and ended the game with a season-high, 168 yards on the ground and a rushing score. Not to mention he caught six passes out of the backfield for 116 yards and a touchdown. Bowman understands the value of Gordon, and what he bring to the offense as a whole.

“He’s a big energy guy, when Ollie gets going, we all get going,” he said. “So when he’s running down the field, it puts more confidence in us, confidence in the receivers and definitely confidence in me.”

After losing at home to South Alabama last month, and dropping the Big 12 opener, Oklahoma State has bounced back in a major way. Bowman knows leaders like himself had to emerge and rally the troops because there was so much football left to be played.

“I think the loss to South Alabama took a really hard toll, this is our home, our stadium, and when we lose at home it’s really, really tough,” the 23-year old said. “As a team, as a unit, and personally we weren’t going to let that happen.”

The Cowboys put on a show in front of a crowd of 53,855 at Boone Pickens Stadium. There were a ton of fireworks, the defense created turnovers to put the offense in great field position and Bowman took care of the rest. Everything is coming full circle for the gunslinger in his sixth season as a student-athlete. Bowman is just glad to be part of a program that embraces him. Oklahoma State is currently tied in third place in the Big 12 standings.

So it’s only going to add more motivation for him to put on a show in front of the home fans again when the team returns back to Boone Pickens on October 28 to take on Cincinnati.

“Coming in being able to take a win in front of this crowd, the fans were unbelievable and packed it out, the fourth quarter this place was rocking, and I think that really plays a factor.”