Having to prepare for two opposing quarterbacks is not that unusual in major college football.

Having to prepare for three, however, is something rare. That’s the task facing South Alabama this week, as the Jaguars (1-1) get set to meet Oklahoma State (2-0) on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.

The Cowboys have rotated redshirt freshman Garret Rangel, senior Alan Bowman and sophomore Gunnar Gundy at quarterback through their first two games, victories over Central Arkansas and Arizona State. Rangel started the season-opener, with Bowman getting the nod in Week 2 and Gundy (the son of Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy) also seeing extensive playing time in both games.

“I think they’re all very efficient,” Wommack said. “They all really understand the offense. They seem to know where to go with their eyes and with the ball, they’re efficient in the passing game, do their job. None of them are, I would say, more dynamic in the run game than the others are. They’re all pretty much the same athletically.

“I think what they’re trying to figure out is, who can separate himself from the other two, because they’re all operating at a pretty high level. It’s really impressive that three quarterbacks can be prepared. I think that’s part of why they try to keep their game plan simple on offense, so they can go execute.”

Rangel has arguably been the most-productive of the three thus far, completing 16 of 24 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, while also rushing for 20 yards on four carries. Bowman is 24-for-40 passing for 193 yards, while Gundy is 12-for-16 for 138 yards and a touchdown.

The Cowboys have switched up the order of appearance for the three quarterbacks in their two games, with it going Rangel-Bowman-Gundy vs. Central Arkansas and Bowman-Gundy-Rangel vs. Arizona State. It would stand to reason it might go Gundy-Rangel-Bowman vs. South Alabama, and Mike Gundy indicated when speaking to reporters Monday that he hasn’t yet ruled out any of the three.

“Who are the two that you would tell so far watching them play, ‘You’re not playing this game?’” Gundy said, via Pistols Firing Blog. “Just think about that for 30 seconds. OK, which two quarterbacks, after you watched Game 1 and Game 2, you’re saying, ‘You’re out. You’re out. You’re not playing?’ How come?

“So if they come in and sit down and say, ‘Hey coach, how come I didn’t get to play in this game based on Game 1 and 2?’ You have to have a good reason for that. Or you just have to say, ‘Hey look, I’m the boss. It is what it is.’ There’s a different side of it than that.”

Gundy also had high praise for South Alabama, calling the Jaguars “the most physical team we will play” and “the best team we’ll play up to this point.” Considering the Cowboys faced a team from the Pac-12 last week and have Texas, Kansas State and Oklahoma on their schedule this season, that’s high praise indeed.

• South Alabama will be without second-team Mike (strong inside) linebacker Khalil Jacobs for the first half on Saturday, as he serves a suspension after being ejected for targeting in the second half of Saturday’s win over Southeastern Louisiana.

Veteran Ke’Shun Brown will likely back up both starting linebackers — James Miller at Mike and Trey Kiser at Stinger — in the first half on Saturday, though youngsters Chrystyile Caldwell and Blayne Myrick could also get more playing time. Both redshirt freshmen, Caldwell and Myrick have played mostly on special teams in the Jaguars’ first two games.

“We’ll see Ke’Shun Brown primarily,” Wommack said. “Blayne and Chrystyile both kind of have their own areas — Blayne primarily on base downs, and Chrystyile on third downs. If we need them, we’ll see them in the game.”

Jacobs, a sophomore, will be eligible to return for the second half vs. Oklahoma State. He has five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble through two games.

• South Alabama entered the 2023 season with an open competition at punter between veteran walk-on Jack Martin, San Diego State transfer David Delgado and freshman Aleksi Pulkkinen after the unexpected offseason departure of four-year starter Jack Brooks, who retired from football.

Martin has handled punting chores through the season’s first two games, averaging 42.7 yards on three attempts (he’s also been the Jaguars’ holder on field goals and extra points). The highly-regarded Pulkkinen is eligible to play this week after sitting out the first two games as an NCAA penalty for playing on a club team in his native Finland, but Wommack said he sees no reason Martin won’t continue to be the first-team punter.

“I’m very pleased with Jack Martin,” Wommack said. “He has worked his tail off. He actually lost his grandfather a couple of weeks ago and he talked about how he wanted to win the (punting) job for his grandfather. And he went out and did it. We brought in some scholarship guys to compete with him, but he’s done a really nice job.”

Martin played his high school football at McGill-Toolen Catholic School in Mobile, then walked on at Alabama in 2019. After two years as a squad member with the Crimson Tide (including a national championship in 2020), he transferred “home” to South Alabama prior to the 2021 season.

• Saturday’s game completes a “2-for-1″ contract between Oklahoma State and South Alabama, with the teams also having met in 2017 in Mobile and 2018 in Stillwater.

The Cowboys won both of those games handily, 44-7 in 2017 and 55-13 in 2018. Oklahoma State is the third Power 5 program the Jaguars will have played at least three times in the program’s 15-year history.

South Alabama also faced both Mississippi State and North Carolina State three times, going 1-2 vs. the Bulldogs and 0-3 vs. the Wolfpack. The 21-20 victory over Mississippi State in 2017 is the Jaguars’ lone win in 15 all-time games vs. Power 5 opposition.

Oklahoma State is a 7-point favorite over South Alabama on Saturday, according to BetMGM.

• Kickoff Saturday for South Alabama-Oklahoma State is set for 6 p.m. at Boone Pickens Stadium. The game will stream live via ESPN+.