Oklahoma State football vs. Central Arkansas: Five takeaways from Cowboys' win in opener

STILLWATER — If the season opener was a competition for Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback job, anoint Gunnar Gundy now.

He was the third quarterback to come into the game for the Cowboys, but led two fourth-quarter scoring drives as they messed around with Football Championship Subdivision opponent Central Arkansas before pulling away for a 27-13 win Saturday night at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Gundy completed seven of nine passes for 106 yards, hitting Jaden Bray on a 39-yarder to start the Pokes’ final TD drive. He also rushed twice for 20 yards.

The third-string quarterback didn’t enter the game until late in the third quarter, and his first series was an uninspired three-and-out. But he led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and ran out the clock to end the game.

Here are four more takeaways from the Cowboys’ season-opening win:

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New and improved run game?

All the offseason talk about OSU’s refocused efforts on the run game looked like hot air for three quarters.

When the Cowboys got the ball for the first possession of the fourth quarter — leading just 13-7 at the time — they had rushed for 52 yards on 17 carries, an average of 3.1 yards per carry.

At that point, the longest rush had been a 10-yarder by starting quarterback Garret Rangel in the first quarter. He was also the team’s leading rusher through three quarters with 18 yards on three carries.

After having a long run called back by penalty, Ollie Gordon busted off a 17-yard rush that got the Cowboys away from their own end zone. Elijah Collins finished off the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run that gave OSU a 20-7 lead at the time.

In the fourth quarter alone, OSU rushed for 97 yards on 16 carries.

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Hot and cold defense

In Bryan Nardo’s first game as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator — and the first game running his 3-3-5 scheme — the squad had its moments, but also gave up a few big drives.

Central Arkansas had two drives end with blocked field goal attempts and had two first-quarter touchdowns wiped out by penalties on consecutive plays.

The Bears drove 95 yards in eight plays for a touchdown late in the third quarter that cut OSU’s lead to 13-7, and after OSU answered with a pair of scores, the Bears found the end zone again.

A seven-play, 70-yard drive got Central Arkansas within 27-13, but OSU was able to kill the clock after that.

The Bears finished with 391 yards and 19 first downs.

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Transfers surprise

A few transfer players stepped up with big performances in their first OSU games.

Running back Elijah Collins had 41 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Receiver De’Zhaun Stribling had 73 yards on four receptions.

Punter Wes Pahl averaged 57 yards on his first two punt attempts.

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Health update

The Cowboys entered the game with only a couple of notable absences. Redshirt senior right guard Preston Wilson was not suited up for unknown reasons. Redshirt junior receiver Cale Cabbiness was wearing a sling on his right arm.

The first in-game casualty of the season was right tackle Jake Springfield, who suffered what was reported by the OSU radio broadcast as an ankle injury. He did not return, but the injury was said to be mild.

Backup middle linebacker Justin Wright also left the game and did not return because of an unspecified injury.

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football beats Central Arkansas in opener with QB trio