Oklahoma State football report card: Ollie Gordon, Collin Oliver shine in win vs. Kansas
STILLWATER — For the second consecutive week, OSU upset a Kansas team at Boone Pickens Stadium. Last week it was the Wildcats. On Saturday it was the Jayhawks.
OSU beat 23rd-ranked Kansas 39-32 in a wild affair.
Let’s get to the grades.
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Ollie Gordon: A+
Good golly, Mr. Ollie.
OSU running back Ollie Gordon II showed jaw-dropping dynamism Saturday in the run and pass game. When Gordon got the ball, great things happened for the Cowboys.
He had 168 yards on 29 carries and 116 yards on six receptions. He had one touchdown on the ground and one through the air.
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Defending the run: A
Kansas came into Stillwater as the No. 6 rushing offense in the country, averaging 232 yards per game on the ground. The Jayhawks ranked seventh nationally in yards (5.93) per carry.
On Saturday, the Cowboys held the Jayhawks to a season-low 90 rushing yards on 3.1 yards per carry.
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Defending the pass: C
Imagine how many Power Five schools would love to have a starting quarterback as good as Jason Bean. Bean, the most overqualified backup in the country, got his third straight start on Saturday in place of the injured Jalon Daniels and turned in the best statistical performance of his six-year, 45-game college career.
Bean, now in his third season at Kansas after three at North Texas, completed 23-of-34 passes for 410 yards and five touchdowns. In the second half, though, OSU allowed just one touchdown while twice intercepting Bean.
The Cowboys forced timely turnovers and came up huge on fourth downs in the second half.
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Alan Bowman: B+
Alan Bowman’s numbers weren’t as shiny as Bean’s, but Bowman came away with not only the win, but also a zero in the turnovers column.
The OSU quarterback completed 68% of his passes, throwing for 336 yards and two touchdowns.
Bowman’s top target in the passing game was Rashod Owens, who caught nine passes for 112 yards.
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Collin Oliver: A
Collin Oliver made the defensive play of the game for the Cowboys.
On a Kansas 4th-and-five in the fourth quarter from OSU’s 40-yard line, Oliver came rocketing off the edge (awfully close to jumping offsides) and got to Bean for a sack fumble.
The Cowboys, down 32-30, took over after the turnover and capitalized with a touchdown to go ahead 36-32 with 2:33 left.
Oliver wasn’t done making game-deciding plays. He tipped Bean’s pass on 4th-and-one with 1:57 left in the game.
OSU took over on downs yet again because of Oliver’s defensive effort.
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Terry Miller tribute: A+
The Cowboys were united in wearing orange No. 43 jerseys into the stadium with a few staffers keeping them on during pregame warmups. It was a cool tribute to former OSU running back Terry Miller, who was inducted into the Ring of Honor on Saturday.
Miller became the fourth Cowboy inducted, joining Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders and Bob Fenimore. Miller’s number and name were unveiled in black lettering at halftime above the west-side stadium suites.
OSU also wore a jersey patch with the No. 43 in Miller’s honor.
Miller rushed for 4,754 yards in his OSU career (1974-77). He’s second on the school’s all-time rushing list behind Thomas (5,001).
Miller’s name and No. 43 were unveiled at halftime.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football report card: Ollie Gordon stars vs. Kansas
