All Three Cowboys Perform Well in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

Oklahoma State had three players in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calf. The National defeated the American in come from behind fashion and former Oklahoma State All-American safety Kolby Harvell-Peel was on the winning side. The American squad scored 22 points in the second half including a late touchdown and two-point conversion to win 25-24. The National team came back with All-Big 12 Cowboy Josh Sills on the field playing left guard on the potential game winning drive. The American offense got to the 30-yard-line but the their kicker James McCourt of Illinois pushed the field goal wide on the final play of the game.

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Josh Sills (72) against Kansas.

Sills, wearing the same number 72 he wore at Oklahoma State, split the snaps at left guard and from what we saw had a solid game. He did not give up a sack and it appeared he took care of his assignment in the run game. The American offense played better when he was in the contest.

The same goes on defense where Oklahoma State All-American Malcolm Rodriguez wore number 50 and played weak-side linebacker. I had Rodriguez, who also split time with four tackles. He was mentioned prominently in the broadcast on the NFL Network when he tip a pass away at the six-yard-line as the National team was threatening to score before halftime. His pass breakup helped force a field goal on that drive instead of a touchdown.

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Malcolm Rodriguez

Early in the third quarter, Rodriguez made a tackle on the running back and just as he did on numerous occasions in his career at Oklahoma State, he pried the ball loose for a fumble, but the ball was recovered by the National offense.

The biggest play of the game for a Cowboy belonged to Harvell-Peel, who wore number 28 for the red-jerseys of the winning National team. In the first half, California’s Cameron Good came up and stripped his college teammate Jake Tonges, who had caught a pass playing tight end for the American squad. Harvell-Peel came up and scooped the ball at his own 40 and returned it 44-yards to the American 16-yard-line. Unfortunately, the National offense fumbled the ball right back to the American team and blew the scoring opportunity that Harvell-Peel helped to set up.

All three of the Cowboys were wearing the black helmets with the script Cowboys logo that they wore in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame. I also like that they did not trade logos and put them on their helmets. They repped the Pokes well.

The next Cowboy to play in an All-Statr game will be wide receiver Tay Martin, who will play in the East-West Shrine Game that has moved to Las Vegas and will be played Thursday night, Feb. 3.