Eric Bailey
Tulsa World OSU Sports Reporter
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TUCSON, Ariz. — Oklahoma State’s perseverance has been tested during the 2025 season.
This week’s firing of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and players departing to the transfer portal or choosing to redshirt took a toll in Saturday’s 41-13 loss at Arizona.
OSU had to weather changes with Clint Bowen being named interim DC and little-used players being thrust into action midway through the season.
What was the week like when guys are leaving, including three defensive starters?
“What do you think? It’s like a box of chocolates, you know what I’m saying? Not a ‘Forrest Gump’ reference or anything, but yeah, you gotta find foundational plays and you have to make quick decisions by Monday and go with what you got with the information you have at that time,” OSU interim head coach Doug Meacham said.
More bad news came during the third quarter of the loss.
Starting quarterback Zane Flores appeared to suffer a shoulder injury after being sacked and didn’t return. Meacham said he was told it wasn’t a season-ending ailment, but any changes at quarterback only amplifies OSU’s recovery time.
The Cowboys have lost 11 consecutive conference regular-season games. It’s 12 contests if you count the team’s setback to Texas in the Big 12 championship game to end the 2023 campaign.
Sam Jackson, a wide receiver who was a quarterback at Cal and TCU, could be asked to take a bigger role at the position. He took 11 snaps against Arizona before true freshman Banks Bowen ended in the fourth quarter.
What about Hauss Hejny, the starter who suffered a Jones fracture in his foot in the first quarter of the season opener?
“My last conversation with him, he wanted to play so we’ll see how it works out and when (his return) is going to occur,” Meacham said. “I think he’s walking now and I think he’s gonna try to improve the strength of his lower leg and see what he can do. I know that he told me that he wants to play. So, I’m all for it.”
Was this a chaotic week with all the news?
“It’s just the way it is. It’s the price of doing business, man, it’s what we do. You know those guys in New York, at NASDAQ, they’re on the floor trading stocks. That’s the way it goes. You just have to do the best you can,” Meacham said. “It’s a great job. There are a lot of people — when you think about it — there’s 130 Division I schools, 10 full-time coaches per, that’s 1,300 jobs in the whole world.
I’m very fortunate to be sitting right here and be a part of it. The workload and figuring out the portal and all that stuff, that’s just part of it, man. You know what I mean? That’s the job.”
Bowen saw good and bad during his first game calling the defense.
He took blame for the missed tackles and coverage busts.
Arizona threw for 433 yards and five touchdowns against the Cowboys and took advantage of many catch-and-run plays. The Wildcats had 205 yards after the catch.
Bowen blamed himself for introducing a new tackling style to the team as well as adding different coverages. He said the team hadn’t had enough repetitions and it showed against a veteran quarterback like UA’s Noah Fifita.
Bowen, a former Lawrence (Kan.) High School coach who joked he was getting ready for Olathe North at this point last year, did make sure to point out the team’s positives.
“I don’t care where it is in football, if you can’t stop the run, you still have problems. I look at (Arizona’s) 33 rush attempts for 45 yards. Our guys up front battled. They fought, they fit gaps, and we made some nice tackles in the holes,” Bowen said. “We get a Pick-6 (from LaDainian Fields) and we get three turnovers. That’s always a positive. Five-for-12 on third down with two sacks coming with a four-man pass rush. Guys were battling in the fourth quarter.”
Arizona (4-1, 1-1) had rushed for at least 100 years in their first four games.
OSU lost defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to a firing. They also didn’t have returning starters in defensive tackle De’Marion Thomas (redshirt) and defensive back Dylan Smith.
There are still more than two weeks left available for current players to hit the transfer portal following Mike Gundy’s dismissal.
Bowen isn’t worried about that. His focus is on players who want to remain in Stillwater.
“I’m not even going to worry about the portal. I told our guys, when our guys hit it, what’s the Confucius quote? I was complaining about having no shoes until I met a man with no feet? We ain’t worried about the portal,” Bowen said. “We have kids who want to play. That’s not even worth addressing. All we need is 11. If we have 11, we’ll go fight and then make Oklahoma State fans proud the way we compete.
“That’s going to be our mission.”
eric.bailey@tulsaworld.com
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Eric Bailey
Tulsa World OSU Sports Reporter
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