Ollie Gordon II Carries Oklahoma State to 48-34 Win Over West Virginia

Sophomore Ollie Gordon showed why he’s one of the best running backs in the country yet again as he carried Oklahoma State to a 48-34 win over West Virginia for the Pokes’ fifth win in a row up in Morgantown, WV.

With the win, the Cowboys moved to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 play.

“The thing that’s been good is we’ve gone on several weeks now that when we have to rush the ball in the fourth quarter we can run it,” head coach Gundy said on the Cowboy Radio Network. “We’re blocking and we’re going downhill and we’re running the same plays. We’re not trying to get out of our box. After the South Alabama game, I made a suggestion to the offense, ‘I might be right or wrong, but Ollie [Gordon] needs to run straight ahead.’ Fortunately, it’s worked. We’ve built the system around that and what’s interesting with him, he almost gets stronger as the game goes on. You see that with some backs, but it’s pretty rare. His power and running and cutting and stiff arming, I’m really impressed with what he’s done in the fourth quarter these past few games.”

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Ollie Gordon recorded his fourth-straight game with 100+ rushing yards as he rushed his way to a career-high 282 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries, an average of 9.7 yards per carry. Two of his four scores came late in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach of the Mountaineers.

He became the first OSU running back with four-plus touchdowns in a game since Sept. 17, 2016, when Rennie Childs did it against Pitt. He also posted the most rushing yards since Chubba Hubbard put up 296 against Kansas State on Sept. 28, 2019.

“Funny story: in high school, we played Blaine [Green] and Bryson [Green’s] high school [Allen] and I went for 456 [yards],” said Ollie Gordon. “I can’t even think [the offensive line] enough because every time I touched that ball they created a huge hole and it was just money every time.”

Quarterback Alan Bowman had a solid day as he went 24-of-36 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

The Pokes had three defenders in double-digit tackles, with linebacker Nick Martin leading the way with 17 total tackles, 10 of which were solo stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry.

Safety Kendal Daniels finished with 11 total tackles, eight of which were solo stops, one forced fumble and recovery and one tackle for loss. Edge/LB Collin Oliver finished with 10 total tackles, four of which were solo stops, 0.5 sacks and one tackle for loss.

This was a tight game from start to finish and a game which featured multiple turnovers on both sides of the field. The game started with the Pokes coming up with a big stop to force a punt from the Mountaineers. The Cowboys were rather fortunate as Brennan Presley muffed the punt to give the Mountaineers the ball back near mid-field. It marked OSU’s first turnover in three games.

But it was Kendal Daniels supplying the fortune as he stripped the ball away from Kole Taylor, leading to a 37-yard field goal from Alex Hale to put the Pokes on top 3-0.

The key word was turnovers as the Cowboys were able to take advantage of the same situation the Mountaineers were in to start the game. Trailing 24-20 with just over 14 minutes left in the game, Parker Robertson recovered a muffed punt following a failed offensive drive to get the Pokes the ball back. Three plays later, Gordon was rushing into the end zone from 16 yards out to put the Pokes back on top, 27-24, with just over 13 minutes remaining.

While it wasn’t following a turnover, the Cowboys’ offense came up big with just under 10 minutes left in the game. The Pokes went on a five play, 74-yard drive, which was capped by a 29-yard touchdown reception by Presley, his first touchdown of the game, putting the Pokes on top by seven, 34-27.

On the next drive, Kendal Daniels came up clutch once again as he dropped WVU QB Greene for a turnover-on-downs with just over four minutes remaining in the game. It marked Pokes’ ninth tackle for loss of the game.

The Pokes took over on the WVU 46-yard line. On the very next play, Ollie Gordon rushed for 46 yards and got into the end zone to give the Pokes their largest lead of the game, 41-27.

After a quick rushing touchdown by WVU’s CJ Donaldson, the Cowboys recovered an onside kick, leading to a 53-yard rushing touchdown by Ollie Gordon, his fourth score of the day, putting the Pokes on top 48-34.

Korie Black came up with his first interception of the season on WVU’s second drive of the game on a 3rd and 1, leading to an Ollie Gordon two-yard touchdown run, putting the Pokes on top 10-0 less than 10 minutes into the first quarter.