Ollie Gordon Snubbed From Heisman Trophy Finalists
Ollie Gordon’s Heisman campaign is officially over.
Oklahoma State’s star running back was not named as a finalist for the Heisman on Monday. While he did not make the final cut, Gordon’s candidacy for the award was strong.
With 1,614 rushing yards, Gordon led the nation in rushing and added 20 touchdowns. Gordon also finished with eight 100-yard rushing yard games, including two of more than 270 yards.
Gordon missed the cut, as LSU's Jayden Daniels, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix and Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. got invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony. If Gordon were named a finalist, he would have been the first running back in the mix since Stanford’s Bryce Love in 2017.
The sophomore also had an undeniable case as one of the most important players for his team in the country. Gordon went for only 109 yards on 19 carries in his first three games before going to the coaching staff and pleading that he could produce if he got the opportunity.
An opportunity soon came his way with a breakout game in the Cowboys’ upset against Kansas State in early October. That game ignited a five-game winning streak for the Cowboys.
In that stretch, Gordon went for more than 200 total yards in three straight games. His first came against Kansas when he went for 168 rushing yards and 116 receiving yards.
He followed that up with perhaps his best performance of the season at West Virginia. While Gordon finished with an eye-catching 282 yards, the way he ended that game gave OSU a 5-2 record.
Gordon went for 149 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to push OSU to a 48-34 win in Morgantown.
“Toward the end of games, we get even stronger together, and teams get really tired,” Gordon said earlier this season. “So, I feel like if we just keep working together like that, teams won’t be able to hang with this toward the end of the game.”
That happened again in OSU’s final regular season game against BYU. Gordon scored every OSU touchdown, and he did so in some of the most intense situations this season.
Gordon scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of regulation, a game-tying touchdown in the first overtime and the eventual game-winning touchdown in the second overtime. He finished with 166 yards and five touchdowns.
While those performances were not enough for Gordon to get into the Heisman race, he remains in position to win at least one national award in the coming weeks.
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