Oklahoma State will kick off its season against visiting Central Arkansas on Saturday evening in Stillwater, Okla.
The Cowboys are eager to move on from a disappointing finish a season ago in the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma State won six of its first seven games but stumbled down the stretch with five losses in its last six games.
A new season brings a fresh approach for Mike Gundy and his Cowboys. Gundy is 156-75 as he enters his 19th year at the helm for Oklahoma State.
Gundy said he planned to rely upon multiple players at multiple positions, including quarterback, heading into the season opener and beyond.
“We will play multiple quarterbacks — maybe quite a while,” Gundy said this week. “Today I went in and looked at the roster and kind of where we’re at. We will have more players competing on game day for multiple games than ever before.
“The reason is we have so many new players, we don’t know a lot about them. We watch them in practice, but some guys play different in games than they do in practice. I think the fair thing is to let them play, put guys in games, see what they do.”
That means Alan Bowman and Garret Rangel each can expect playing time at quarterback. The Cowboys are moving on from former quarterback Spencer Sanders, who left for Ole Miss.
Central Arkansas is coming off a 5-6 record last season. The Bears hope to play the role of spoiler against Oklahoma State’s new-look roster.
One reason for optimism at Central Arkansas is the arrival of running back ShunDerrick Powell, a transfer from North Alabama. Powell rushed for 1,508 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and earned FCS All-American status.
Bears quarterback Will McElvain is entering his second year as the leader of the offense.
“He understands what (offensive coordinator Ken) Collums wants in his room, he understands what I want out of a quarterback as the head coach,” Bears head coach Nathan Brown said. “I think Will is poised to have a huge fall.”
