What Oklahoma State football's Alan Bowman had to say about first full game as Cowboys' QB

AMES, Iowa — Alan Bowman believed the 2:23 showing on the clock was plenty of time.

Enough to stage a comeback and at least force overtime.

Enough to really put an exclamation point on the end of his first complete game as the quarterback at Oklahoma State.

“I thought we definitely had it,” Bowman said. “We definitely had a huge chance. We practiced that exact drill all through fall camp.”

But promise turned into heartbreak.

After getting just past midfield with 103 seconds left, the drive stalled. On fourth-and-10, Bowman forced a throw to Talyn Shettron that Iowa State star T.J. Tampa jumped for an interception.

Game over.

“Gotta give the guy a chance, right?” Bowman said.

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On a day the Cowboys fell 34-27 to Iowa State to open Big 12 play, Bowman delivered a mostly up-and-down performance in his first full game with OSU. But he also rediscovered his full confidence.

The 23-year-old passer earned the starting position, putting an end for at least one game to a three-quarterback rotation that was utilized in the first three games of the season.

Bowman, a super-senior transfer from Michigan and Texas Tech, completed 23 of 48 passes for 278 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Big 12’s top defense. He also rushed for a touchdown.

“He looked like he played pretty good,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “Decision making, what I heard on the headphones, seemed to be good. I didn’t hear a lot of poor decisions, so I thought he played pretty good.”

Gundy would not commit to Bowman taking over the position after the upcoming bye week. But Bowman earned the job against the Cyclones for multiple reasons.

“He practiced really well and we thought that he gave us a good chance in this scheme,” Gundy said.

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For Bowman, it was finally a chance to find his own rhythm.

He had been limited to just four series in each of the first three games, starting the last two. That was a challenge.

“It definitely is hard when you know you only get an X amount of drives,” said Bowman, who spoke after the game with media for the first time at OSU. “But then to be able to say, ‘All right, it’s the first quarter. A punt is OK.’ I think kinda going through the first three games a punt wasn’t the best thing because you wanted to score as many points as you could because you only had a certain amount of plays.

“But getting a full game under your belt, kinda knowing what’s going on, I think you can be able to settle in and it’s been a lot better. I felt a lot more confident I could go out there and let it rip.”

OSU (2-2) began the day by feeding star running back Ollie Gordon II for the first five plays. Bowman did not complete his first pass until less than three minutes remained in the first.

He got more and more comfortable from there.

That showed early in the second quarter when he faked a snap as running back Jaden Nixon motioned to an outside receiver spot. Iowa State put linebacker Caleb Bacon on Nixon, who ran past him and caught a beautiful pass for a 60-yard score.

“We saw the linebacker run out and it was on,” Bowman said.

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It was the first touchdown pass for Bowman since Sept. 17, 2022 when he played at Michigan. It was also his longest TD pass since Sept. 8, 2018, with Texas Tech.

Bowman later orchestrated a seven-play, 44-yard drive in the final 43 seconds of the half that led to an Alex Hale field goal as time expired. OSU trailed 20-17.

That was the moment Bowman felt fully back.

“I felt really smooth, I felt really comfortable, I felt like I was seeing everything really well,” Bowman said. “We kinda got in a slump there in the third quarter, which hurt us.”

Bowman said there was miscommunication on a pass to tight end Josiah Johnson, leading to an interception on the first drive of the third quarter.

OSU later gave up two touchdowns in the quarter, putting the team in comeback mode.

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And despite Bowman throwing a 20-yard TD to Rashod Owens with 2:46 left and the Cowboys’ defense getting the ball back very quickly, there was just not enough steam to complete the comeback.

“We got 50% of it done,” Bowman said. “We just didn’t quite get the second half.”

Even with the loss, Bowman remained positive. He felt the best he had in possibly years as a quarterback.

That’s something to build off.

“I’m sure he felt better after the game, looking at it and trying to pinpoint things he could exploit defensively,” OSU offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said. “He made some great throws in there down the stretch. Gave us a chance. That touchdown throw towards the end was a fantastic ball.

“There’s some good things to take away from. Like every game, it’s never as good, never as bad. We have got to score more points, though. That’s what it is.”

Jacob Unruh covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jacob? He can be reached at junruh@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jacobunruh. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Jacob’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 turns to Alan Bowman as starting quarterback