Oklahoma State's receiving corps got off to a slow start

NORMAN — The Oklahoma State receiving corps looked very different in warm-ups than it did in the first quarter Saturday afternoon.

Senior Adarius Bowman, his replacement Damian Davis and freshman Dez Bryant all warmed up but weren't in the starting lineup. Bryant and Davis were serving one-quarter suspensions and Bowman wasn't quite ready to play after injuring his knee against Kansas.

Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant caught five passes for 69 yards to pace the Cowboys' receivers. He sat out the first quarter for disciplinary reasons. By STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

"He had an issue with me,” head coach Mike Gundy said of Bryant. He said the same was true of Davis.

Bowman, who injured his knee against Kansas and was not expected to play Saturday, turned some heads when he warmed up in full uniform. He told coaches before the game that he felt good enough to play, but they disagreed.

"He hadn't had a rep,” OSU offensive coordinator Larry Fedora said. "He hadn't practiced or done anything. He had a lot of adrenaline going and right before the game and he said, ‘Coach, I can go.' Believe me, I thought about it. But it wouldn't have been right. It wouldn't have been right for him, to put him in that situation.”

Missing three major playmakers in the first quarter made it difficult to get the passing game going, OSU offensive coordinator Larry Fedora said. Quarterback Zac Robinson completed just two passes — both to running back Dantrell Savage — in the opening quarter.

"Makes it tough,” Fedora said. "Real tough. But that's the hand that was dealt. That's what we had to do and we did the best we could.”

Bryant was OSU's leading receiver despite the one-quarter suspension, catching five passes for 69 yards. Robinson and backup Bobby Reid were just 9-of-23 on the day.

"We ran the ball pretty efficiently throughout the game,” Fedora said. "We just didn't make any big plays in the passing game. That hurt us. Obviously we didn't have some of the bullets we needed and we didn't make enough plays in the passing game.”