Oklahoma State Needs a Breakout Game From Ollie Gordon II
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are searching for anything that may flip this disappointing season around. They are still searching for their first Big 12 Conference win of the year and Friday’s showdown with the BYU Cougars may be bad timing for a team looking to swing the tide.
Oklahoma State has been almost forgettable during its 0-3 run in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys have averaged 91.2 rushing yards per game this season, which ranks 121st out of 134 college football teams in the country. O-State has yet to rush for over 150 yards in a game and its midseason offensive report card is far from a passing grade.
Many forget that the Cowboys still have one of the best pro-ready running backs in the game and Friday not only could be Ollie Gordon’s breakout game of the season, but it needs to be his breakout game of the season. Gordon has been virtually held in check during the first six games of the Oklahoma State schedule. He looks like he has been running in water while only averaging 3.8 yards per carry in 2024.
Gordon ran for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns a season ago on his way to countless NCAA awards. But Gordon didn’t get off to a blazing start in 2023. During his first six games of the season in 2023, Gordon ran for 534 yards and found the endzone four times. That means that Gordon ran for 1,198 yards and 17 touchdowns in the second half of the season. Fans of Oklahoma State football can only hope that is the case in 2024.
In honor of Ollie Gordon’s Doak Walker… enjoy this game winning TD against BYU and one of the best of the entire season 🔥👀 pic.twitter.com/XtR9KYUl1n
— Reagan Harris (OSU Mart) (@OKSTMart) December 9, 2023
In Gordon’s first six games this season he has rushed for 384 yards and four touchdowns, only 150 yards short of his phenomenal 2023 campaign. One of his best rushing games from last season came against the Cougars in a 40-34 double-overtime victory. He rushed for 166 yards and scored five touchdowns.
If Oklahoma State wishes to be in the game on Friday when the fourth quarter rolls around they need to get Ollie Gordon II going early and often. He has shown he is a second half player in the past and with the Cowboys needing a major momentum swing in 2024, Gordon may be just the answer the doctor ordered.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.