How Rashod Owens sparked Oklahoma State football rally vs. BYU impromptu halftime speech

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn walked toward the center of the locker room at halftime of the Cowboys’ game against BYU.

“I was fixin’ to start chewing some ---,” he said.

But Dunn’s services weren’t needed. Receiver Rashod Owens was already on the case.

The Cowboys trailed by 18 points at halftime Saturday in a game that could catapult them to a Big 12 Championship Game appearance and they had done nothing to suggest they deserved such a lofty distinction.

But Owens — like he had done a week earlier at halftime in Houston — gathered his teammates to address them.

He spoke not from a position of disappointment in them, but as part of the problem also hoping to be part of the solution.

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Owens had not caught a pass in the first half, but had three big ones in the second half, helping the Cowboys rally for a 40-34 double-overtime victory against BYU, sealing that spot in the Big 12 Championship Game against Texas next weekend.

Dunn, like head coach Mike Gundy, saw Owens had taken control of the situation and went to their own meeting with other coaches, so they didn’t even hear what the redshirt junior said.

“We got a head-start on what to do for the second half and Rashod took over,” Dunn said. “He’s vocal. He’s one of those kids who stands up and speaks his mind.”

From the sound of it, Owens has been that way all season, even before he was a starter. He has given a pregame speech before virtually every game this season and values his role as a leader, particularly as he saw such roles dissipate last season when things got tough for that team.

“With what happened last year, leadership kinda died down throughout the year when everything started going left,” Owens said.

“Going into halftime, people are trying to keep everybody up, but we need somebody to take the role of getting everybody called in and speaking about what they seen, trying to motivate everybody to keep going.”

Players said Owens’ speech was a mix of emotion and calm. It had unique value because it was a player rather than a coach.

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“He got us all together and said we need to stop allowing them to capitalize on things we’ve given them,” redshirt sophomore linebacker Nick Martin said. “Coming from your peers, it hits home quicker and harder. Coaches, sometimes it can be repetitive.

“He’s been really good keeping us going on and off the field, and he’s a leader that shows up on the field, so guys are gonna listen to him.”

Owens had two of his three catches on the touchdown drive that got OSU within one score, adding the two-point conversion catch that made it 24-21.

Since taking over the starting job after De’Zhaun Stribling was injured in the fourth game of the season, he has had at least 40 receiving yards in eight straight games and 65 or more in five of them. His 51 yards Saturday put him over 1,000 for his career.

But more importantly, his teammates look to him as a voice of reason and a player they’re willing to follow.

“He said we’re not playing up to our standard,” redshirt sophomore Kendal Daniels said of Owens’ speech. “A leader like that, he has the right to say whatever he wants to the team. He’s earned that right.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football rally sparked by Rashod Owens' halftime speech