2 weeks Ago
WACO — Quarterback Alan Bowman was benched twice mid-game, re-inserted once, demoted to backup for two weeks, and came off the bench for what looked like a heroic turnaround only to suffer a heartbreaking defeat in the final seconds anyway, all as the Cowboys lost five consecutive games. That’s just a snapshot of Bowman’s life during the last six weeks, and it ignores the fact that for many fans, the quarterback has now become the face of what has to be the most disappointing season in the Mike Gundy era. What a rollercoaster.
“Kind of like, screw it. Who cares?” Bowman said when asked to reflect on the last five weeks. “Ups and downs, not played well, played well, thrown for a lot of yards, turnovers .
.. at this point now it's (just), you know what, let's go out there and throw it around the yard and have some fun.
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Despite experiencing setback after setback during the last month, Bowman made it clear he hasn't lost any enthusiasm for his remaining chances to step on the field and play the game he loves. “I cannot wait until Saturday,” Bowman said. “I mean, it has been too dang long, but we need to get in the win column.
” For a seventh-year quarterback who spent the majority of his career battling injuries or first-round NFL Draft picks on the depth chart, this wasn't how he imagined his career would end, trying to lead a 3-5 team to a bowl game, any bowl game. “No, that is not on the short list of outcomes for the 2024 season,” Bowman said. “But I think that there's still some positive we can go.
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.” Throughout his postgame interview session on Saturday, Bowman answered questions the same way he did back in August when everyone still had dreams of a Big 12 championship and a playoff appearance. He praised teammates like Brennan Presley and took responsibility for his own mistakes, such as the delay of game penalty.
“Miscommunication kind of came in a little late, yeah, just, I called it wrong,” Bowman said. “And I tried to fix it at the time, and we just had a lot of stuff going on at the time. We should have called a time out because it was third-and-1.
Probably could have run it and got a first down.” Regardless of the subject, Bowman took every question in stride with the same positive demeanor he’s carried with him throughout the season. “There's a lot of struggle that I've been through in my college career,” Bowman said when asked about the source of his positive attitude.
“And yeah, I just kind of look back and say, you know what, I got a beautiful fiancée, I got a home, I got a beautiful family, and football isn't everything in my life. “And I think you get a lot of hate from guys around social media and things like that, but at the end of the day, I get to go home to two beautiful dogs, a beautiful fiancée, I'm going to get married, so I got a great family. .
.. As anybody, they have a life other than their job.
And my job right now is to be the quarterback at Oklahoma State, but when I go home to my fiancée and two dogs, I am Alan and that's all that matters to them and even my teammates.” Bowman said there were times earlier in his career when a lack of success with football would have pulled him into a mental “lull.” “One of many lessons I've learned in seven years of college football, and hopefully everybody can just take (from this lesson) is, you know what, you're going to go through a lot,” Bowman said.
“I'm going to be honest with you. You're gonna go through a lot of s---, and if you can just say, 'You know what? I'm grateful for what I have,' and move on, at the end of the day, it's just a game. We all would die for the game, but it's just a game.
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