Two Cowboys Land in ESPN's Top 100 College Football Players List
The Oklahoma State Cowboys had an incredible football season. They finished 10-4 with a Texas Bowl win and a Big 12 title game appearance. Along the way, plenty of storylines were filled, players had breakout years and the team set itself up nicely for next season.
One thing that helped the Cowboys to such an incredible season was having a player worthy of landing No. 7 in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and he wasn't under center. Ollie Gordon was the nation's leading rusher as he finished the season with 1,732 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns with 285 carries in 14 games played.
Gordon was an absolute tank and played a key closer role in games that were close in the fourth quarter. As each week rolled on -- given that Gordon hardly played in the first three weeks of the season -- he continued to garner more and more attention across college football media.
With ESPN releasing its college football top 100 players, it's fun to look at where they rank someone like Gordon. In their rankings, Gordon comes in as the 11th-best player in the sport for this past season.
"Gordon broke out this year, becoming a unanimous All-American, the Doak Walker Award winner and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year after running for 1,732 yards and 21 TDs in the season," ESPN wrote. "He had more than 250 scrimmage yards against Kansas, West Virginia and Cincinnati, the only FBS player in the past 10 years to do so in three straight games."
What Gordon did at Oklahoma State was special as he follows a rich history of talented running backs in Stillwater. He's returning for a 2024 campaign -- along with the rest of the offensive starters -- where he'll be able to compete for a Heisman Trophy in a better situation.
Gordon wasn't alone on the ESPN Top 100, though. His teammate and breakout linebacker Collin Oliver made the list.
Oliver was a crucial member of Bryan Nardo's 3-3-5 defense. He accrued 73 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and six sacks on the year, which included 14 games played. He also defended four passes and forced five fumbles on the season.
"After 11.5 sacks as a freshman in 2021, Oliver moved from the defensive line to linebacker in OSU's new 3-3-5 defense this year, becoming an every-down player with 73 tackles, 6 sacks, 5 passes defended and 4 forced fumbles, including 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in a 39-32 win over Kansas on Oct. 14. He was named to the All-Big 12 second team," ESPN wrote.
It'll be interesting to see how highly regarded these two players will be next season, as Oklahoma State as a team will be improved and both of these guys will have even more opportunity next season after an offseason of improvements.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022