To make matters worse for Oklahoma State, star running back Ollie Gordon went down early in the second half. WVU was leading 31-7 after a monster first half at the time of Gordon’s injury.
Gordon was helped off the field and Seshi Vailahi took over as the Cowboys’ RB1 from that point on. Gordon ran for 50 yards on 13 carries for an average of 3.8 yards per touch prior to his exit.
Containing Gordon was an obvious focus for West Virginia entering the game based on his performance in Morgantown in 2023.
Saying Gordon ran all over the Mountaineers last season in the Cowboys’ 48-34 win would be an understatement. He rushed for 282 yards, with 141 coming in the fourth quarter alone, and scored four touchdowns in one of his best performances of his entire career. The win rebooted a struggling Oklahoma State team and sent them on a path that would reach the Big 12 Championship Game. Overall in 2023, Gordon totaled 1,732 yards with an average of 6.1 yards per carry and scored 21 touchdowns.
But despite Gordon’s monster 2023, he only registered 334 yards while averaging an average 3.8 yards per going into Saturday’s game in 2024. Similar to what happened last year, Gordon’s slow start has been partly caused by Oklahoma State’s issues as a team. Early-game deficits make it so the Cowboys can’t hand the ball off to their elite back. Gordon had only 15 carries against Kansas State and only 11 the week earlier in a loss to Utah.
WV Sports Now will provide more updates during and after the game.
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