Oklahoma State RB Recap: Ollie Gordon's Struggles Headline Tough Year
Oklahoma State’s top position going into the season never panned out.
Entering 2024, OSU had the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. That was no surprise, given that Ollie Gordon won the 2023 award. Gordon was ready to have another spectacular year after rushing for an FBS-leading 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns in his sophomore campaign.
Considering Gordon’s scarce usage throughout the first three contests in 2023, a 2,000-yard season seemed like a possibility this season. However, the Cowboys wanted to have some balance at the position and not make Gordon carry such a heavy load.
While Arkansas transfer AJ Green’s injury before the season kept him on the sideline, Indiana transfer Trent Howland and Sesi Vailahi were set to carry some of the load.
Gordon began the season where he left off in 2023, rushing for 126 yards and five touchdowns in the season opener against South Dakota State. While it seemed like another day at the office for Gordon, OSU shouldn’t have taken his performance for granted, as it was one of his only four 100-yard games.
Throughout the season, Gordon rushed 50 or fewer yards in six games. OSU’s inability to get the run game going throughout the year led to a stagnant offense, with Gordon rushing for only 880 yards.
No one on the Cowboys ever found a rhythm in the running game. Howland finished second on the team in rushing with 230 yards, albeit he rarely got an opportunity to run outside of garbage time. Vailahi was typically the second back alongside or in place of Gordon, but his 99 yards throughout the year was another example of OSU’s struggles.
True freshman Rodney Fields Jr. made his season debut at BYU and gave the Cowboys at least some reason for optimism about the future. While he finished the year with only 99 yards across four appearances, his 4.7 yards per carry were second on the team, even above Gordon.
Coming into 2024, the running back position was supposed to be one of the biggest bright spots for the Cowboys. As the season progressed, it became the most disappointing. While it was not necessarily the fault of Gordon or any of the other rushers, OSU’s disappointments all stemmed from its poor rushing game to some degree.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.