Can Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State football offense find a reset vs. Houston Cougars?

HOUSTON — A week removed from a demoralizing loss at Central Florida, 23rd-ranked Oklahoma State is back on the road to face another newcomer to the Big 12.

The Cowboys take on Houston at 3 p.m. Saturday at TDECU Stadium, televised by ESPN2.

And with the 45-3 loss at UCF not so distant in the rearview mirror, this is an important game for a Cowboy squad looking to right the ship with a Big 12 Championship Game berth still in the balance.

Here’s a look at the game in this week’s edition of Four Downs:

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Cowboy in the Crosshairs

Quarterback Alan Bowman: Bowman was intercepted three times last week, though two of them were ricochet picks off helmets or hands. One was a questionable throw, but those are going to happen when a team is trailing by three or more scores, like the Cowboys were by the middle of the first quarter.

Still, Bowman needs to be the point man for calming the offense down this week. While it showed signs of life last week, the offense never seemed fully settled, which was a combination of the early turnovers, the crazy rainstorm and the huge deficit.

So all eyes will be on Bowman, the grounding force of this offense from a leadership perspective, to have the offense feeling comfortable out of the gate.

OSU had scored on the first possession of the game in five straight weeks prior to last week, so getting points on the board quickly will once again be a key for this offense finding its rhythm in Houston.

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Number to Know

164.7: That’s how many rushing yards Houston is allowing per game, ranking 92nd nationally. By ranking, that’s the best quality of this defense, which ranks 100th or worse in total yards allowed (411.0 per game), passing yards allowed (246.3 per game) and scoring defense (30.8 per game).

Of course, UCF went into last week’s game against OSU giving up 212 yards per game on the ground and held Ollie Gordon II to just 25 yards on 12 carries. So the pressure is on Gordon and the offensive line — which is battling health issues — to reinvigorate the run game.

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Bold Bowl Projection

With a win: Alamo Bowl. A win keeps a Big 12 title and possible New Year’s Six bowl alive, but last week reset the expectations for this team that had been looking like one of the hottest in the country. San Antonio feels like it’s in the wheelhouse.

With a loss: Liberty Bowl. The Pokes haven’t been to the Memphis bowl since 2018 when they beat Missouri with a slew of young defensive backs who were just coming into their own under their first-year defensive coordinator. Sound familiar?

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Uni-Guess

All White: Same guess as last week, but since this is the last road game, it seems like a lock. This is a player favorite, so you expect them to wear it once every year. And it’ll pop opposite the red-red-white look Houston is going with.

Not-so-fun fact about last week’s uniform combination of orange-white-black, OSU has lost the last four times it has worn that combo, with the last two seeing the Cowboys outscored 93-3.

OSU vs. Houston

KICKOFF: 3 p.m. Saturday at TDECU Stadium in Houston (ESPN2)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Can Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State football offense reboot vs. Houston?