HOUSTON — Rashod Owens had a career-high 164 yards receiving with two touchdowns and Brennan Presley tied a school record with 16 receptions and had 152 yards receiving in No. 22 Oklahoma State’s 31-23 victory over Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl on Wednesday night.
Ollie Gordon II, the Doak Walker Award winner, added 118 yards rushing to finish the season with 2,062 yards of offense and help Oklahoma State (10-4) reach double-digit wins for the second time in three seasons after finishing 12-2 in 2021. Alan Bowman had 402 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Oklahoma State led by 18 at halftime but a 51-yard field goal by Randy Bond got the Aggies to 31-23 with about five minutes to go. The Cowboys missed a 47-yard field goal with 17 seconds to go and the Aggies (7-6) had another chance to score. But Marcel Reed’s pass was intercepted near the end zone by Kendal Daniels on the last play of the game.
Jaylen Henderson started at quarterback for the Aggies but left after being injured on the first play. His legs were taken out from under him when he was tackled after throwing a short pass.
Reed, a freshman who had thrown just three passes all season, took over and threw for 361 yards with an interception.
Texas A&M (7-6) hired former Duke coach Mike Elko late last month to replace Jimbo Fisher, who was fired with two games left in the regular season. But he didn’t coach the Aggies Wednesday night, with interim coach Elijah Robinson handling the bowl game before leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Syracuse.
Elko was in the building though and did a short interview on the television broadcast in the first half.
The Aggies were playing short-handed after more than a dozen players entered the transfer portal and several more, including star receiver Ainias Smith, were out with injuries.
Bowman’s pass was intercepted by Dalton Brooks on the first drive of the second half. The Aggies cashed in on the error when Daniels scored on a 2-yard run tot cut it to 24-13.
The second touchdown catch by Owens came on an 18-yard grab later in the third quarter that made it 31-13.
Reed dashed 20 yards for a touchdown on A&M’s next drive to get the Aggies within 31-20.
A&M was driving early in the fourth quarter when Amari Daniels lost a fumble on the 1-yard line after a 34-yard reception early in the fourth quarter.
But the Cowboys gave it back a few plays later when Bowman’s pass was intercepted by Sam Mathews.
The game was tied after early field goals by both teams when Owens grabbed a 13-yard touchdown reception late in the first to put Oklahoma State up 10-3.
The Aggies made another field goal before Gunnar Gundy scrambled 10 yards for a touchdown that pushed the lead to 17-6 with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the second. That score was set up when receiver Presley threw a 34-yard pass to Owens.
Oklahoma State made it 24-6 when Gordon scored on a 1-yard run just before halftime.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas A&M: The Aggies now begin the Elko era, where he’ll try to help them contend for a national title after Fisher failed to even lead them to an SEC West championship in six disappointing seasons.
Oklahoma State: The offense should be in good shape in 2024 with Gordon saying recently that he’d return next season after he had considered exploring transfer options.
