How Cowboys adjusted to Reed’s speed in Texas Bowl
HOUSTON — One play into the game, Oklahoma State dealt itself a curveball following a hit from safety Cameron Epps.
He upended Texas A&M quarterback Jaylen Henderson, who landed hard on his arm. He was transported to the hospital and never returned.
Enter true freshman Marcel Reed, a dual-threat with great speed.
“We hadn’t worked on a running quarterback at all in the last three-and-a-half weeks,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said.
While adjusting on the fly against a new-look offense and an unexpected quarterback, things got dicey at times and things went OSU’s way at times. Still, the No. 20-ranked Cowboys did just enough defensively in a 31-23 win over the Aggies in the Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium late Wednesday.
Reed passed for 361 yards. He rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception on the game’s final play.
“The challenge was just gameplanning them being that so much changed with their offense,” OSU linebacker Nick Martin said. “But we did play a lot of running quarterbacks this season, so I think that ultimately put us in position to make plays against him.”
Texas A&M had just shy of 50 scholarship players available following the coaching staff changes, transfer portal, NFL opt-outs and injuries.
But Reed was the biggest challenge. “He’s a hell of a player,” OSU safety Kendal Daniels said. “He did a good job and we just had to adjust to the speed of him. Throughout the game we adjusted.”
Brennan Presley ‘on my own time’ for 2024 decision
OSU receiver Brennan Presley wanted badly to laugh at his own joke.
But after getting his cheek cut during the third quarter Wednesday night, he had to receive stitches, which resulted in the left side of his face being numb during postgame interviews.
Asked if he had made a decision on whether he would return to OSU for his super-senior season, Presley stole his answer from what Ollie Gordon II said a couple weeks ago when asked about 2024.
“I’m on my own time,” Presley said, trying to offer a joking grin. “I can’t smile, my face is numb.”
Presley caught a school-record-tying 16 passes for 152 yards, bringing his season totals to 101 receptions for 991 yards. The 101 catches is tied for the fourth-most in a season in OSU history.
Alan Bowman avoids disaster on early touchdown
On a first-and-10 play from the Texas A&M 13-yard line, OSU was set to run a play the offense has practiced several times over the last six weeks.
The play was designed to try to catch the defense off guard with a quick snap.
“You see it all the time where the quarterback claps like he’s gonna get the snap, then looks to the sideline, then catches it really quick,” Bowman said. “The defense will start to look and (the receiver) runs right by his guy.”
Yet every time when the Cowboys ran the play in practice, the OSU sideline had been to his right. In the first quarter Wednesday, the sideline was to his left. So after he clapped, Bowman habitually looked right, toward the Texas A&M sideline.
“I clapped and I looked to the right and I was like, ‘Well, this isn’t our sideline,’” Bowman said. “For six weeks on that exact play, I’ve always turned right. And then of course, in the game, it’s to the left.”
Alan Bowman sets bowl records
Bowman completed 34 of 49 passes for 402 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions.
It was his best performance with the Cowboys. It came in his first appearance in a bowl game.
And it also set some bowl marks. His 34 completions tied Spencer Sanders’ mark set in the Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame to cap the 2021 season.
Bowman’s 402 passing yards also passed the 399 by Brandon Weeden in the Fiesta Bowl win over Stanford to end the 2011 season.
Xavier Benson on playing final game
OSU linebacker Xavier Benson ended his collegiate career on a high note with a forced fumble that prevented a touchdown.
Now, he is turning his attention to preparing for a pro career.
But he also reflected on how things ended.
“I’m happy,” Benson said. “It means a lot for me because I was here last year. I hated how it went last year. All of this drama, I’m just like, ‘We’re men. We’re not supposed to be going through all of this.’ But the guys that stayed reaped the harvest. You ain’t going to suffer for no reason.”
Final OSU captains named
OSU named its final captains of the season ahead of the bowl game.
The five included Martin, Presley, Collin Oliver, Joe Michalski and Parker Robertson. Each wore a badge with a “C” on the chest of their jersey.