Oklahoma State football opens Big 12 Media Days: What to know about Ollie Gordon, Cowboys
Scott WrightLAS VEGAS — Oklahoma State football will be feeling some heat at Big 12 Media Days — and not just the Nevada temperatures that are expected to exceed 115 degrees all week.
Oklahoma State’s star running back Ollie Gordon II is on the list to appear among the Cowboys’ four players in attendance at the event, which begins Tuesday at Allegiant Stadium.
Gordon was arrested just over a week ago under suspicion of driving under the influence, transporting an open container, speeding and other offenses.
Last year's Doak Walker Award winner after rushing for a nation-best 1,732 yards, Gordon is expected to accompany coach Mike Gundy, quarterback Alan Bowman and linebackers Collin Oliver and Nick Martin.
Whether he’s there won’t matter all that much. Gordon and his arrest will be a constant topic of conversation for the Cowboys, and in particular, Gundy, who has not spoken publicly on the incident.
Here’s a look at that and a couple other topics that will be frequently brought up to the Cowboys on Tuesday:
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Ollie Gordon speaks
Gordon, who apologized for his arrest on Monday via social media, will make his scheduled appearance with the other OSU players in Vegas.
Letting Gordon speak Tuesday would expedite the process of putting the incident in the past, rather than putting it off until August.
Gordon will be asked at every media station about the arrest, so the OSU sports information staff will have to prepare him for what’s coming.
But Gordon has always been good in the media spotlight, so he should be able to handle himself effectively.
Similarly, Gundy will be asked about the issue and his punishment of Gordon.
Based on past situations, it’s unlikely Gundy will share any punishment for Gordon, and instead choose to keep that information in-house. That is how he has handled other previous DUI incidents, and Gundy seems to prefer keeping such things private.
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The need for defensive improvements
If you’re confused as to why sportsbooks have a low level of confidence in the Cowboys — BetMGM.com set the OSU win total at 7.5 — the defense is the reason.
The Cowboys ranked 122nd out of 130 programs in total defense, allowing 441.8 yards per game, as well as 89th in scoring defense (28.57 points per game), 96th in rushing defense (166.8 yards per game), 99th in third-down defense (41.8%) and 123rd in passing defense (275.0 yards per game).
But that was the first year of a new defensive scheme, which coordinator Bryan Nardo was brought in to install. The first season had its hiccups, as expected, but Year 2 needs to be smoother.
The two key areas for improvement will be pass rush and pass coverage as the Cowboys build around their linebacker group anchored by Oliver and Martin.
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Alan Bowman’s age
While some college football fans around the country have voiced their displeasure with the age of players like Bowman, who turned 24 in March and is entering his seventh season of college football, it’s a reality of the current landscape.
Bowman isn’t even the oldest player expected to be at the event this week.
Utah quarterback, also a seventh-year senior, is nearly 10 months older, having turned 25 in May.
Regardless of anyone’s displeasure with seventh-year seniors, Bowman’s experience will be a key bonus for the Cowboys this season. With an offense that features Gordon and receivers like Brennan Presley, De’Zhaun Stribling and Rashod Owens, plus an offensive line that was named by CBS Sports as the best in college football this season, a veteran presence at quarterback will be vital.
Some OSU fans desire to see more playmaking out of their quarterback, but Bowman’s job is getting the ball to the stars and not making catastrophic mistakes.
In the 11 games when Bowman was the full-time quarterback, he averaged 293.2 passing yards with 15 touchdowns, completing 61.0% of his passes.
He threw 14 interceptions for the season, or one per 35.7 attempts, so if anything needs to improve in his final season, that’s the area.