In the ground level of McLain Stadium after Oklahoma State’s 38-28 loss to Baylor last weekend, Alan Bowman was disappointed in the outcome but stuck to his customary positive self.
No, the seventh-year quarterback wasn’t happy with the result of the game — a fifth straight loss for the Cowboys, dropping them to 3-5 overall and 0-5 in Big 12 Conference play — but instead was looking forward to one thing: Homecoming.
“We can still have a winning season, we can still make a bowl game, so we can still kind of leave the legacy on (and) at least kind of send the program going with the boat floating, and I think that’s what we have to fight for,” Bowman said.
“So I’m excited to get back home — Homecoming night game should be a great atmosphere, so it should be a lot of fun to be able to play in front of our fans and hopefully get one and get back in the win column.”
For an OSU team that’s closer to its season ending after a Black Friday game in Boulder than a 19th straight bowl game appearance for head coach Mike Gundy, the positives, the things to look forward to, have been sparse.
Even when they have come, they’ve come crashing down.
A top-14 home matchup against Utah ended in a 22-19 loss, the Cowboys’ first of the Big 12 season.
When backup quarterback Garret Rangel got the starting nod against BYU, he played great, until he broke his collarbone.
So Saturday’s 6 p.m. Homecoming matchup against Arizona State is another opportunity to right the ship, to at least conjure up some sort of momentum and direction.
Some Cowboys, like linebacker Justin Wright, aren’t focusing on the theatrics of the weekend. All Night Pomp and Homecoming and Hoops, be damned.
Not because the Tulsa transfer doesn’t find the traditions important, but because he recognizes what OSU needs — a win.
“I’m treating this game like I would any other, honestly,” Wright said. “Head down, just working all week. All week, we’re gonna be kicking butt, running to the ball, being very, very physical… It’s gonna be a great week; that way, it translates onto the field.”
Wright’s mindset is valid, especially for a Cowboy defender. After the Baylor loss, Gundy said he told his players they needed to do some “soul searching,” and for the first time this season, he was disappointed with his team’s effort.
A large part of that fell on the defense, which allowed 567 total yards — 345 were on the ground; a season-high mark for the Bears.
And with running back Cam Skattebo headling the Sun Devils heading into Saturday, the Cowboys certainly have their hands full, hence why Wright is putting his head down and focusing on the grind.
But like Bowman, other OSU players know what Homecoming means to Stillwater, the university and its alumni.
So when letting down those things and people is at stake, it means more.
“Oklahoma State is known for a huge Homecoming — America’s Greatest Homecoming, at that — but I feel like it does have a point; I feel like it gives us even more of a reason to go out and play harder than what we have been doing,” running back Ollie Gordon II said.
“…Defending the house during Homecoming week, I feel like that’s huge. And it’s under the lights? I feel like that’ll be huge.”
sports.ed@ocolly.com