Oklahoma State 27 - Central Arkansas 13: Postgame Notes

Oklahoma State vs. Central Arkansas

September 2, 2023 | Stillwater, Okla. (Boone Pickens Stadium) | Attendance: 53,855

Final Score: Oklahoma State 27, Central Arkansas 13

Updates Records: Oklahoma State 1-0 overall; Central Arkansas 0-1 overall

Postgame Notes

• Oklahoma State has won 28 consecutive home openers, the longest streak in school history. Only Florida (33) has a longer active streak among all FBS teams.
• OSU’s win made it nine consecutive wins in season openers, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.
• Tonight’s game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 53,855 fans.
• The Cowboys have won 82 consecutive games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to September 13, 2003 – the longest active stretch of time in the FBS and longest since at least 1980.
• The Cowboy defense sacked Central Arkansas five times, tied for most in a game since OSU posted five sacks against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on September 17, 2022.
• Oklahoma State recorded nine tackles for loss against the Bears. Since 2020, the Cowboys boast 310 tackles for loss, currently second-most among FBS teams.
• Garret Rangel threw for 118 yards tonight, while Gunnar Gundy posted 106 yards through the air. It is the first time since two Cowboys reached 100 passing yards in the same game since Spencer Sanders and Gundy did so against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on September 17, 2022.
• The three Cowboy quarterbacks combined for 30 total completions, the most in a game since the game against Texas Tech on October 8, 2022.
• Ollie Gordon found the end zone for his third career rushing touchdown and led the Cowboys with 44 yards on the ground.
• Elijah Collins scored the first touchdown his Cowboy career with a 17-yard rush at the 10:44 mark in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 41 yards on eight carries.
• Brennan Presley reeled in six receptions against the Bears, while Jaden Bray and Jaden Nixon each added five. It marked the first time three players caught at least five passes since October 22, 2022, against Texas.
• Jaden Bray hauled in a career-best five receptions tonight, including his longest as a Cowboy with a 39-yard catch in the fourth quarter.
• Nathan Latu led the Cowboys with a career-best 1.5 sacks against Central Arkansas.
• Nickolas Martin recorded two tackles for loss, the first and second of his career, in tonight’s game.
• D.J. McKinney set a pair of new career-highs with five tackles and two pass breakups tonight.
• Oklahoma State’s game captains were Xavier Benson, Alex Hale, Brennan Presley and Braden Cassity.
• Three transfers made their first starts for Oklahoma State against the Bears – Josiah Johnson, De’Zhaun Stribling and Trey Rucker.
• Nathan Latu, Nickolas Martin and Lyrik Rawls all made the first start of their careers against Central Arkansas. Cole Birmingham also recorded his first start since the Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2022, after missing the entire 2022 season due to injury.
• Eleven Cowboys appeared in their first game for Oklahoma State – Lardarius Webb Jr., Alan Bowman, Leon Johnson III, Kenneth Harris, Elijah Collins, Justin Wright, Dalton Cooper, Wes Pahl, Ian Edenfield, Anthony Goodlow and Justin Kirkland – while Hudson Kaak, Shea Freibaum and Noah McKinney all saw action for the first time in their collegiate careers.
• Oklahoma State blocked a Central Arkansas field goal attempt in the first quarter and PAT attempt in the fourth quarter. It marked the Cowboys’ first time blocking multiple kicks since September 17, 2022, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, when they blocked both a field goal and punt. The Cowboys have blocked 32 since 2013, second-most in the nation.
• Korie Black’s blocked field goal in the first quarter was the second of his career, with the first coming on December 4, 2021, against Baylor in the Big 12 Championship. Meanwhile, Kody Walterscheid also recorded the second blocked kick of his career, with the first coming against Missouri State on September 4, 2021.
• Garret Rangel made his fourth career start at quarterback tonight before Alan Bowman entered the game at the 9:33 mark in the second quarter, while Gunnar Gundy saw his first action at the 4:32 mark in the third quarter.
• Alex Hale nailed his first field goal attempt at the 5:34 mark in the second quarter, his first made field goal since October 30, 2021, versus Kansas.
• Oklahoma State shut out Central Arkansas in the first half, its first time doing so since November 20, 2021, against Texas Tech. It also marked the first time Oklahoma State held its opponent scoreless in the first half of the season opener since doing so against Savannah State on September 1, 2012.
• In the third quarter, the Cowboys forced their first turnover of the season with a fumble forced by Korie Black and recovered Kendal Daniels. It was Black’s second career forced fumble (November 12, 2022 vs. Iowa State), while Daniels’ 25-yard return was the longest since Brock Martin’s 42-yard return against TCU on December 5, 2020.
• A year after leading the nation with 3.54 penalty yards against in 2022, Oklahoma State won the penalty battle once again in the season opener. The Cowboys finished the game with five penalties for 41 yards, while the Bears were flagged nine times for 63 yards.

The Oklahoma State win…

• Gave it 28 consecutive wins in home openers, increasing the longest streak in school history. Only Florida (33) has a longer active streak among all FBS teams.
• Set a school record with nine consecutive wins in season openers. In addition to the active streak, there were also eight straight wins in season openers from 1981-88 and from 1928-35.
• Improved its non-conference home winning streak to 13 games, improving the third-longest streak in school history and the longest since the 15-game streak from Sept. 19, 2009 - Sept. 3, 2016.
• Gave it wins in nine straight, 15 of its past 16, 18 of its past 20 and 35 of its past 43 season openers.
• Gave it 11 straight wins in September games, dating to 2019.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in September games to 55-12.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record against non-Power Five teams to 43-4.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in season openers to 17-2 and his record in home openers to 19-0.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in non-conference games to 62-14.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record against FCS teams to 15-0.
• Improved its all-time record against Central Arkansas to 2-0.
• Improved its record in season openers to 78-40-6 and its record in home season openers to 55-5-5.
• Made it 89-29-5 in home openers.
• Gave it wins in 48 of its past 54 home openers.
• Made it 23-3 in its past 26 non-conference games and 45-9 in its past 53 non-conference games.
• Gave it wins in nine of its past 12 and in 22 of its past 28 games following a loss.
• Made it 22-8 in its past 30 games overall, dating back to the 2020 season.
• Made it 87-21 in its past 108 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating to 2010.

Notable Streaks and Trends

• OSU has won nine consecutive season openers and 28 consecutive home openers, both OSU records.
• OSU has held 30 of its past 33 Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average entering the game.
• OSU has won 82 consecutive games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003  – the longest active stretch of time in the FBS and longest since at least 1980.
• OSU has held its opponent scoreless on its game-opening drive in 31 of its past 45 games.
• OSU has held its opponent to less than a 50% third down conversion rate in 38 of its past 39 games.
• OSU is 34-15 in its past 49 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
• OSU is 45-8 in its past 53 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 45-4 when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 74-8 when winning the turnover battle.
• OSU has won three of its past five overtime games.
• Over the past 38 games, OSU has held opponents to 163-for-586 (27.8%) on third down.