Alan Bowman's Seventh Year Might Have Damaged Oklahoma State QB Situation

Oklahoma State’s quarterback room in 2025 might have looked much different without a 2024 mistake.

Last season, the Cowboys were among the worst teams in college football. A year after winning 10 games and earning a spot in the Big 12 Championship, OSU failed to win a single conference game in 2024 and snapped 18-year streaks of winning seasons and bowl appearances.

Throughout the season, OSU’s issues were significant on both sides of the ball. Injuries somewhat depleted the entire team, leading to one of the nation’s worst defenses and an incredibly stagnant offense.

While the Cowboys have made strides in the offseason to change their fortune for next season, one of their potential problems this season is beyond fixing now. OSU might have been able to fire its coordinators and bring in plenty of outside talent at most positions to fill any holes, but the quarterback position is nearly impossible to get perfect.

Last season, OSU began the year starting Alan Bowman. After playing for OSU and earning the starting job in 2023, Bowman secured a waiver to return for his seventh season of college football.

While that was a clear positive for Bowman’s career, it was a huge mistake for the Cowboys to bring him back to Stillwater. At his best in 2024, Bowman was average. Throughout the season, all of Bowman’s shortcomings throughout his career showed up again, with little of his gunslinging upside shining through.

Despite losing the first three Big 12 games in uncompetitive contests, the Cowboys didn’t change their attitude on starting Bowman until the bye week. While OSU went with Garret Rangel against BYU in the seventh game, it might have already been too late to instill confidence in Rangel, who had been inserted but quickly pulled against Utah.

His injury against BYU put Bowman back into the starting role for the next three games, leaving true freshman Maealiuaki Smith on the bench and getting limited playing time until finally getting a start against Texas Tech in a meaningless game.

OSU’s refusal to move away from Bowman and allow those other players to have a true shot at the starting job in meaningful moments also might have pushed them away from the program. While the Cowboys might be fine with Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny running the show, any big games from Rangel at Virginia Tech or Smith at Ole Miss will trigger some big what-ifs from OSU.