Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon Leaves vs. BYU, Returns in Fourth Quarter
Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State’s star running back, left the team’s bout against No. 13 BYU in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury. He would later return in the fourth quarter after coming back from the locker room.
He entered the game with his squad down just three points, with around nine minutes to play.
Prior to his exit, Gordon had been a man possessed, amassing 100 yards on the ground on just 13 carries. He scored three first-half touchdowns to help the Pokes to a 21-14 halftime lead. BYU eventually scored 14 unanswered before Gordon’s exit.
Garret Rangel, the team’s new starter in lieu of seventh-year Alan Bowman’s play this season, left the game earlier with an apparent should injury.
Earlier in the game, Gordon was tackled for a loss and came up very slowly. When tackled deep into the third quarter, Gordon remained down for awhile, eventually being helped up and off the field by the team’s medical staff.
Down 31-7 against West Virginia earlier in the season, Gordon exited the game due to injury then, too. ESPN analyst Kirk Morrison speculated then it might be Gordon’s last snaps with the team due to potential NFL success.
“I think for me, if I’m Ollie Gordon, I’m putting myself in his shoes, this is not him, this is me. I’ve probably played my last play at Oklahoma State,”Morrison said. “His ultimate goal is to get to the National Football League, he’s won a DOAK Walker, he’s won the Oftensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 last year. He wants to be in the National Football League, right now, my health is my concern. I gotta look out for Ollie, and that may be his last play at Oklahoma State.”
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Derek is co-founder of All Pokes and publisher for Draft Digest and Inside The Thunder for Fan Nation, powered by Sports Illustrated. He has been a sports writer in the Oklahoma market for five years now covering a variety of sports over the course of his career.