Running back Ollie Gordon showcased his talent on Friday night against Kansas State, as his play led the Cowboys offense downfield when they needed it most.

The sophomore back had 136 yards and scored a touchdown on the ground, doing so in 21 rushing attempts. On the night, he averaged an impressive 6.5 yards per attempt.

Gordon's stellar performance overshadowed the Cowboys' ongoing quarterback carousel, even though Alan Bowman has seemingly won the job as the main signal-caller.

Despite the explosive runs potentially opening up passing opportunities, Bowman had an average day throwing the ball, as he went 19/35 for 235 yards.

Only completing 54.3% of his passes wasn't great, and neither was recording a passer rating of 75.3, but considering the strength and productivity of the team's running game, this can be considered a serviceable passing performance from Bowman.

It wasn't just the ground attack that led Oklahoma State to victory in this game, though. Senior kicker Alex Hale was responsible for 17 of the Cowboys' 29 points in total, as he matched the school record of five field goals, with one of them being from 53 yards out.

On top of Hale's performance, the Cowboys defense stepped up when the team needed them the most. Redshirt freshman linebacker Nick Martin led the defense's production as he recorded 17 total tackles, a sack, and an interception.

The stats back-up the defensive dominance displayed by the Cowboys, as Kansas State quarterback Will Howard struggled throwing the ball all night. He went 15/34 for 152 yards, throwing a touchdown and 3 interceptions along the way.

Although Kansas State rallied back after being down 23-7 in the middle of the third quarter, Oklahoma State held firm, going on to win 29-21.

First Takeaway: Running Game Can Win Games For The Cowboys

Oklahoma State's inadequacies on offense have been identified and criticized at length since the beginning of the season, but in this game, they proved that they can operate an extremely productive running game.

Ollie Gordon has proven himself to be the feature back for the Cowboys, as he had over four times as many rushing attempts as the next closest back against the Wildcats.

If Kasey Dunn and the rest of the Cowboys offense can help Ollie Gordon maintain this level of production consistently, the Cowboys can potentially get back on track offensively this season.

Second Takeaway: Passing Game, Bowman Must Improve

As previously pointed out, the Cowboys' passing game has not lived up to expectations so far this season, and is potentially to blame for OSU's rough start to the season so far.

Although the Cowboys exercised a rotation of three quarterbacks to begin the season, after seeing little success, they have decided that Alan Bowman will be the starter going forward.

Bowman's main advantage over both Gunnar Gundy and Garret Rangel is experience, as he is in his sixth season of college football currently, having played for Texas Tech and Michigan previously.

However, this trait hasn't exactly shown itself on the field up to this point, as Bowman has gone 42/83 for 513 yards in his two starts, as well as throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions over that span.

Even though Bowman has been selected to be the main signal-caller this season, a 50.6% completion rate is extremely underwhelming to say the least. This could greatly harm the Cowboys' offensive production when facing the Big 12's better defenses.

Image provided by: Associated Press

These poor passing performances also keep the ball out of the hands of the team's most talented skill position players, such as junior wide receiver Brennan Presley, who only had 3 receptions for 34 yards against the Wildcats.

Rebuilding the passing game will help the Cowboys create a much more balanced offense moving forward, which is something they have lacked in recent games.

Third Takeaway: Defensive Production Will Lead To More Wins

The Cowboys dominated the game defensively, and it showed in both the outcome of the game, as well as the team's strong performance overall.

With an adequate amount of offensive output, this Cowboys defense can single-handedly win games.

Players such as Collin Oliver, Nick Martin and others have stepped up in recent games, and a lot of results can change from losses to wins when the Pokes defense performs at this level.

Image provided by: Associated Press

BIG 12 STANDINGS:

1. Oklahoma
2. West Virginia
3. Texas
4. Iowa State
5. Kansas
6. Texas Tech
7. BYU
8. Kansas State
9. Oklahoma State
10. TCU
11. Baylor
12. Cincinnati
13. Houston
14. UCF