Throwback Thursday: Remember When Our Run Game Rocked?

Mark Cooper wrote in the Tulsa World today about when, you know, OSU rolled on the ground. It gave me the sadz. Here’s what Cooper noted.

When Oklahoma State last won the Big 12 in 2011, it averaged more than 160 yards rushing per game and 5.4 yards per carry. Its running backs — a group led by Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith — received, on average, 27 rushes per game. Randle, the bell cow, averaged 16 carries a week. Two weeks into this season, Hill and Carson lead OSU with 12 carries. That’s 12 carries total — not per game.

And then this.

OSU’s run game has yet to provide a spark to the Cowboys’ offense. It ranks 116th out of 128 FBS programs in rushing yards per game. It’s 114th in yards per carry.

Even in 2012, when OSU was average, its yards-per-carry average was 5.39. Five point three nine! Per carry! So your Throwback Thursday today is Joe Randle lighting Bevo on fire in that controversial 2012 Texas game at home.

It was arguably the best game of Randle’s career.

A good memory and a good reminder of how well OSU used to run the rock. Hopefully that will happen again at some point.