Sep 2, 2023; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Fans fill the stands in the second quarter during a game between Oklahoma State and Central Arkansas at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan J. Fish-USA TODAY Sports

Fans fill the stands in the second quarter during a game between Oklahoma State and Central Arkansas at Boone Pickens Stadium. (Nathan J. Fish-USA TODAY Sports)

OSU fans’ social media response to the three-QB plan

Gauging the puls of fans on the Cowboys’ quarterback quandary.

By •Published On: September 9, 2023•

The analysis business puts fans in a difficult spot. Without access to the playbook, practice or postgame press conferences, it’s hard to know who was at fault for an incompletion or missed blocking assignment.

Oklahoma State’s quarterback conundrum is ripe for analysis. The Cowboys played three quarterbacks in the opener. Redshirt freshman Garret Rangel, senior Alan Bowman and redshirt sophomore Gunnar Gundy split snaps pretty evenly in the 27-13 win over Central Arkansas. No clear cut leader emerged. 

So what does OSU’s fanbase think of the potential starting quarterbacks? This week I used Twitter (X) to take the pulse of the portion active on that social media platform.

First, some disclaimers.

One segment of Oklahoma State fans speak don’t speak for everyone. People responding to polls on social media are just one demographic of Cowboy football fans. The sample size was solid, but not overwhelming. The first question received 1,135 votes and the other three questions had about 200 respondents each. 

That said, here’s how things shook out.

Who should start for OSU against Arizona State?

A relatively close poll with no majority winner is a good summation of the OSU quarterback battle. Almost half of respondents think Rangel should be OSU’s starter Saturday. He started against Central Arkansas and went 10-for-15 for 118 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Who was most impressive against Central Arkansas?

Finally mass agreement. Regardless of which quarterback OSU fans support, there is a strong consensus that OSU should find one player to settle on. The Cowboys last fielded a three-quarterback battle in 2012. That led to mixed results, with Clint Chelf, J.W. Walsh and Wes Lunt combining to go 8-5 and beat Purdue in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Who do you think is the best quarterback on OSU’s roster?

The ‘other’ option helps satisfy the fans who think Zane Flores, a true freshman out of Gretna, Nebraska who won a high school state championship in 2021, is OSU’s quarterback of the future. He may be, but the plan right now appears for him to take a redshirt year. ‘Other’ may also be a protest vote for fans unsatisfied with Rangel, Bowman and Gundy.

Conclusion

The only thing truly uniting a vast majority of fans is a disbelief in OSU’s multi-quarterback offense. OSU fans may have their differences about who should trot out first to lead the Cowboys offense on Saturday against the Sun Devils, but 89% of voters don’t think playing multiple quarterbacks will be a successful strategy. 

More fan feedback

 

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Sam Hutchens covers Oklahoma State sport for Sellout Crowd. He interned for The Stillwater News Press in 2021 and The Guthrie News Leader in 2022, where he won a first-place OPA award for in-depth reporting. He has also covered sports in southwest Oklahoma for The Lawton Constitution. He strives to tell you the OSU sports stories that you want to tell your friends about. You can email him at samhut[email protected] and connect on Twitter (X) @Sam_Hutchens_

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