Oklahoma State Star Finishes Top Five in AP Player of the Year Voting
Oklahoma State’s superstar was a top-five player this season, according to the latest award result.
Running back Ollie Gordon II finished fifth in the AP’s Player of the Year voting. This falls directly in line with the Heisman finalists list, as the four players ahead of him in the AP’s voting are the same ones invited to New York City for the Heisman ceremony.
LSU QB Jayden Daniels named AP Player of Year
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 7, 2023
Top 5 in the voting of @AP_Top25 voters:
Jayden Daniels, LSU
Michael Penix, Washington
Bo Nix, Oregon
Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State
Heisman favorite Jayden Daniels won the AP’s Player of the Year. LSU’s quarterback threw for 3,812 yards and rushed for 1,134 while scoring 50 total touchdowns.
While he missed out on this award, Gordon has a strong case to come away with some hardware for his 2023 season. In 13 games, he is the nation’s leading rusher with 1,614 yards on the ground.
The Cowboys’ star in the backfield also scored 20 rushing touchdowns, including a five-touchdown performance in the regular season finale. Against BYU, Gordon was the only Cowboy to find the end zone in a must-win game to get into the Big 12 Championship.
He scored three times after the clock went under a minute in the fourth quarter. His two overtime scores were a testament to his season-long trend of getting stronger as games progressed.
He did most of his damage in the fourth quarter in his 282-yard game at West Virginia. He scored three touchdowns and racked up 149 yards in the final frame in Morgantown in the middle of OSU’s five-game winning streak.
That winning streak included three consecutive games with at least 200 total yards from Gordon. The Doak Walker Award finalist also played a significant role in OSU’s most memorable game of the season, a 27-24 upset against Oklahoma in the final scheduled meeting between the rivals.
Gordon went for 138 yards on the ground with two touchdowns in Bedlam, including the go-ahead score in the middle of the fourth quarter. He will have a chance to get OSU to 10 wins in the Texas Bowl in a few weeks.
While Gordon may not win every award this season, as only a sophomore, he has an opportunity to make a lasting mark on the college football world as he continues his career in Stillwater.
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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.