Ollie Gordon is Putting Together a Historic Run

Don’t look now, but Oklahoma State has figured out this offense thing. It’s actually pretty simple, as it turns out. Feed No. 0 the ball and clear the way.

One week after Ollie Gordon racked up 284 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns in a win over Kansas, the Cowboys rode him again to even more impressive results.

On the road against a West Virginia defense that had not given up more than 160 rushing yards all season, Gordon racked up 282 yards and four scores, all on the ground. It was a back-and-forth affair most of the way, until Gordon broken the Mountaineers’ back, and then did it again. Three of those scores came in the fourth quarter.

Gordon’s 29 carries tied his career high from last week, but he grounded out 114 (!) more rushing yards. That ridiculous total was inflated by single run plays of 32, 34, 27, 46 and 53 yards. Those last two half-field runs were a pair of late coffin nails for the Mountaineers.

Mike Gundy credited the Cowboys’ run scheme, which they settled on before the Iowa State game, as well as Gordon’s big-play ability himself.

“Essentially, when we get him going down hill, he’s that type of runner,” Gundy said. “So we just want to get him going down hill and let him make cuts and use his strength.

“The other guys are doing well in it also, but we’ve been so fortunate. He’s so big and strong that he can stay in and get a lot of carries. I mean, he had 29 carries.”

Here are just some of the significant feats Gordon accomplished in Morgantown.

• Gordon’s four rushing touchdowns tied for second-most in a game in OSU history. Only Barry Sanders has scored more (five TDs, three times). The last Cowboy to rush for four was Rennie Childs in 2016.

• Gordon’s 282 rushing yards ranks ninth all-time in OSU history, slotting right beneath Thurman Thomas’ career high. That’s some pretty good company.

• Gordon is currently ranked second in the league in rushing at 816, averaging 116.6 yards per game. That’s a hair under Texas’ Jonathan Brooks at 117.9.

• If we look at the last four games — when OSU actually started feeding its best player — he’s averaging 176.8. If he were to do that the rest of the way, Gordon would be on pace for 1,700 yards in the regular season. That would be the highest since Chuba Hubbard’s historic 2019 season.

• Gordon is also on pace for 16 rushing touchdowns in 12 games. That would be the highest since Hubbard’s 21 in 2019.

• Another note on Gordon’s usage that Gundy talked about: Since the Iowa State game, Gordon has averaged 24.3 carries per game in four games. In Hubbard’s 2019 season, he averaged 25.2 carries per game.

I’m not saying Gordon will end up catching Hubbard in any of these, especially thanks to his limited early touches. But if he can stay healthy, there’s no reason Gordon shouldn’t be a frontrunner for an All-Big 12 selection, if not more.

And probably the most impressive thing about this whole outburst is the realization that Gordon is just a sophomore. There’s much more to come.