The Daily O’Collegian

The X-factor.

The lightning rod.

The sparkplug.

The missing piece to the puzzle.

All of these acronyms could be said for multiple players on the Oklahoma State football team this season.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly which player is the x-factor.

Is it Dantrell Savage, Adarius Bowman, Brandon Pettigrew or Zac Robinson?

Everyone has a case. Savage’s is a strong one.

The Cowboys started the season off with a 1-2 record and have since recorded a 4-1 record. That turnaround could be attributed to the senior running back.

Savage barely played in the season opener against Georgia and missed the following two games against Florida Atlantic and Troy. Since his return, Savage has carried the Cowboys to victory.

Savage has rushed for more than 100 yards for five consecutive games. He leads the conference in yards per game with an average of 124.3.

So could Savage be the ‘x-factor’?

“Having Savage back is huge,” sophomore quarterback Zac Robinson said. “I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.”

Offensive coordinator Larry Fedora said he agreed.

“Dantrell is a major piece of [the team],” Fedora said. “So are all those other guys. They are all spokes in the wheel.

“The offense revolves around all those guys and when you take one of those players out, it effects the entire unit.”

Savage may have been the factor early on in bringing the Cowboys back to winning ways. But senior receiver Adarius Bowman or junior tight end Brandon Pettigrew or even the guy that has been distributing the ball to all of them, Zac Robinson have all contributed.

Bowman’s case is strong as well.

He may not have a 300-yard game like last season, but Bowman is not lagging in production this year.

Bowman has 802 receiving yards. That’s good for an average of 100.2 yards per game; he also has six touchdowns this season.

The thing that the coaching staff raves about Bowman this season is not his receiving abilities, but his blocking abilities.

“Bowman has made some plays,” head coach, Mike Gundy said. “But he has made bigger plays without the ball in his hands.”

So could Bowman be the x-factor?

“He puts a lot of pressure on defenses,” Robinson said. “So we need him for this offense to move.”

Don’t forget Pettigrew.

Cowboy coaches talk about how he just loves to line up against another team and just wants to hit them.

Pettigrew may not be one looking to shine, but he sure has made his case over the last few games. With time winding down, and the Cowboys needing to score to essentially salvage the season against Texas Tech, Pettigrew had no catches going into the fourth quarter. With time running out, Pettigrew hauled in his one catch of the day for a 54-yard touchdown.

That’s not all. He struck again when the Cowboys needed it most against Kansas State. Again Pettigrew had no catches through three quarters.

When the Cowboys needed a big play, he brought out his Superman cape for the second time. With about four minutes remaining, Pettigrew made a catch for a 39-yard touchdown grab.

“Pettigrew only gets the ball a couple times a game,” wide receiver Tommy Devereaux said. “But when he gets the ball he makes big plays. He makes top-10 plays in one play.”

No matter the case you make for each player, each one brings a different element to the team. If you take one of them away from the team, then the Cowboys essentially would not be where they are right now.

“We would have to change the style of offense if we didn’t have [Savage, Bowman, Pettigrew],” Gundy said. “We wouldn’t be able to do some of the things we do without those guys.”