How can Ollie Gordon get even better for Oklahoma State football? Mike Gundy has a thought

STILLWATER — With a cameraman following him to the sideline, Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II had a statement to make.

He had just scored a 75-yard touchdown to cap his third straight game with at least 250 yards from scrimmage, carrying the Cowboys to a 45-13 win over Cincinnati in Saturday night’s cold and rainy homecoming celebration at Boone Pickens Stadium.

A week ahead of the Bedlam rivalry game, Gordon had yet another monster performance that should at least get him on the fringe of the Heisman Trophy conversation, and he wasn’t going to miss the perfect opportunity.

So the sophomore mugged for the camera.

His image popped up on the stadium’s massive video board as he flashed the broad smile that has grown quite familiar in Cowboy country — then he pointed to the offensive linemen standing behind him.

“They don’t get to carry the ball, so they don’t really get the recognition they need,” Gordon said in his postgame interview. “Without them, none of this would be possible, so I try to get them as much recognition as I can.”

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On a night when everyone in the stadium knew he’d be getting regular handoffs, Gordon still found a way to have his most productive game of the year.

“He’s good at football,” OSU quarterback Alan Bowman deadpanned, stalling as he tried to find a way to accurately describe Gordon’s recent explosion.

Gordon touched the ball 19 times in three non-conference games, but in five games since being saddled up as the workhorse, he has rushed for 982 yards, with 1,138 scrimmage yards when you add in his receiving — each week essentially better than the last.

Here are Gordon’s last five weeks:

● At Iowa State: 135 scrimmage yards (121 rushing).

● Against Kansas State: 145 scrimmage yards (140 rushing).

● Against Kansas: 284 scrimmage yards (168 rushing).

● At West Virginia: 282 scrimmage yards (all rushing).

● Against Cincinnati: 292 scrimmage yards (271 rushing).

Gordon’s 553 yards over the last two games are the second-most yards by an OSU back in a two-game span, behind only the legendary Barry Sanders, who had 625 yards in the last two games of his magical 1988 season.

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“I’m very fortunate to have been around some great backs,” said Cowboy coach Mike Gundy, who played with or coached eight of the top 10 all-time rushers in OSU history, including Hall of Famers Sanders and Thurman Thomas. “So I can legitimately express some things to Ollie from experience. Ollie’s still young. He’s got a long ways to go in his career. But he has changed considerably over the last five weeks with us condensing our running game down.

“He’s not arrived, but we have to give him credit for what he’s done. It’s not like this is the first game he’s done this. He has to stay hungry and he has to stay humble, or you’ll get your block knocked off.”

Cincinnati came into the game as a top-20 run defense, giving up just 100.7 yards per game. No team had surpassed 125 yards in a game. Yet when the Cowboys were done, they had rushed for more yards (315) than any Cincy opponent since Navy went for 569 against the Bearcats in 2017.

Gordon produced with quality and quantity. He had eight carries of at least 10 yards, and his 9-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was as impressive as anything he did all night, breaking two tackles and spinning out of another on his way to the goal line.

“It’s like trying to tackle a giraffe,” offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said. “He’s so long and he’s got limbs everywhere and he’s still really powerful. I hate saying it’s awkward, but he’s got this awkwardness that it’s hard to tackle, and then he’s got enough speed to put it in the end zone.”

Gordon was a bit slow to get going. His first eight carries produced just 21 yards and on the last of those, he fumbled for the first time all year.

But late in the second quarter, with the game tied at 7, the Cowboy offensive line began to adjust to all the movement Cincinnati’s defensive front was showing. And the creases grew wider.

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“We made a couple adjustments in our run game concepts, and there was places for him to run,” Gundy said. “We’re blocking, creating some holes and he’s running. When he gets through there, he’s running physical, he’s running away. His vision’s really good right now.”

Gordon was four yards shy of 200 when he ran onto the field with 4:54 to play as OSU started a drive at its 25-yard line. Bowman handed Gordon the ball, he slipped through the opening and outran everyone for his second touchdown of the night.

Perhaps his most awe-inspiring play of the game.

But not the most important. That came a couple hours earlier.

Early in the second quarter, Gordon ran up the middle and took a powerful pop from a defender, causing him to fumble. The emotional Gordon came to the sideline visibly upset with himself, slamming his helmet down.

“It hurt me that I let the ball go for all our big guys and all my other teammates,” Gordon said. “It just really hurt me, but I can’t lose my composure like that.”

Gundy got in front of his young star to chat about the power of his negative behavior.

“I’ve been around the greatest running backs to ever play this game. None of ‘em did that,” Gundy told Gordon. “They all learned to keep their composure. … If he wants to play this game for a long time, he’ll learn to keep composure, because all that’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of energy, a waste of effort and it becomes negative for the football team.

“He said, ‘Coach, I apologize, I’ll do better,’ and I said, 'I’m glad to see that. That means we’re gonna be better and you’re gonna be better for the rest of your career.' And that’s what he chose to do.”

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How can Ollie Gordon get even better for Oklahoma State football?