Oklahoma State Ends FCS Champ South Dakota State’s 29-Game Winning Streak With 44-20 Victory

Alan Bowman threw three touchdown passes, Ollie Gordon II scored three times and No. 17 Oklahoma State ended two-time defending FCS national champion South Dakota State’s 29-game winning streak with a 44-20 victory Saturday.

Bowman, beginning his seventh year of eligibility at age 24, completed 25 of 34 passes for 265 yards in the opener for both teams. He threw scoring passes of 6 yards to Brennan Presley, 22 yards to Ollie Gordon II and 58 yards to Rashod Owens.

“Overall, I was pleased with the performance from a discipline standpoint,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “We only had one penalty, which is really good, and I thought we were good in special teams. Defensively, we played good and then gave up big plays.”

Gordon, a junior who won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back last season, carried 27 times for 104 yards and two scores. His second touchdown, on a short pass from Bowman, covered 22 yards for a 24-6 lead with 10:46 left in the third.

“I thought he ran very well today, made guys miss, guys bounce off of him,” Gundy said. “He made big runs at key times today and he looks better physically running than he even did last year.”

South Dakota State answered behind quarterback Mark Gronowski, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner as the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. He took the Jackrabbits 75 yards in three plays, capping the drive with a 21-yard scoring pass to Grahm Goering to make it 24-13.

Oklahoma State responded with 17 straight points to make it 41-13.

“Congratulations to Coach Gundy and Oklahoma State,” South Dakota State coach Jimmy Rogers said. “I thought they played really well, I thought they were as good as advertised. They did a lot of really, really good things offensively. And then defensively, at times they just kind of took the wind out of our sails.

“We’ll respond. This isn’t the end of the world to me. We have 11 more games to play and we’re going to give it our best.”

The Cowboys led 17-6 at the half, limiting the Jackrabbits to two field goals.

Gronowski completed 20 of 37 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns.

South Dakota State’s 29-game winning streak, which spanned nearly two years, was the third-longest in Football Championship Subdivision history. North Dakota State won 39 straight games between 2017 and 2020 and 33 in a row between 2012 and 2014. The Jackrabbits’ last loss before Saturday came against Iowa on Sept. 3, 2022. The Hawkeyes won 7-3.

TAKEAWAY

South Dakota State moved the ball, compiling 388 yards of total offense and 17 first downs. But the Jackrabbits failed to convert in key situations, including their first two possessions of the game. They were stopped on fourth down and then Gronowski was intercepted by Kobie Black. Oklahoma State converted the turnover into points on Presley’s score.

STEPPING UP

Oklahoma State safety Trey Rucker had 15 tackles while linebacker Nick Martin contributed 10 tackles and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage that resulted in a 9-yard loss. Adam Bock led the Jackrabbits with 12 tackles.

BOTH SIDES

Former Oklahoma player Gavin Freeman, who joined Oklahoma State via the transfer portal, caught his first two passes for the Cowboys, returned a punt for 2 yards and a kickoff for 17 yards.

UP NEXT

South Dakota State: Hosts Incarnate Word on Sept. 7.

Oklahoma State: Hosts Arkansas on Sept. 7.

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