Elite Company: Ollie Gordon Became Seventh Cowboy to Earn National Award

STILLWATER- Ollie Gordon II's 2023 season will go down as one of the most explosive performances by an OSU running back in program history.

Gordon earned the Doak Walker National Collegiate Running Back Award last week and is the first Cowboy to do so. Leading up to it, he joined Cowboy all-timers Chuba Hubbard (2019) and Kendall Hunter (2010) to be named a finalist for the honor.

This season, Gordon became a unanimous All-America selection after leading the FBS in several major categories entering bowl season. He is the first Cowboy since Hubbard in 2019 to garner unanimous All-America honors.

He's the seventh Cowboy in program history to earn a national award and the first to win the Doak Walker. Likewise, he's the sixth different Cowboy to win a national award under head coach Mike Gundy since 2008.

Looking back at OSU's history of talented football players, few stood above the rest of the NCAA in taking home major awards. It all started with a kid from Wichita, Kansas.

Barry Sanders (1988) – OSU's first and only Heisman Award winner for top player in the nation belongs to Barry Sanders. He also took home the Maxwell Award for best all-around player in the NCAA and the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

There's not much to say about Sanders that hasn't already been said.

Known for his ability to maneuver his way out of tough situations, Sanders established 34 NCAA records in his first season as OSU's starting running back and posted what is arguably the greatest rushing season in college football history. He was a unanimous All-American, the third running back in OSU history to do so.

Among his most outrageous statistics from the 1988 season, he averaged 237.5 yards per game, scored 44 touchdowns and recorded 300 rushing yards four times. Additionally, he went on a remarkable three-game tear in which he recorded 937 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns against Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech.

Sanders is littered throughout OSU's record books, holding almost all its major running back records whether it's single game, season or career-wise. Put simply, Sanders was unstoppable in 1988.

He scored five touchdowns on three different occasions that season. One of those performances came in OSU's Holiday Bowl against Wyoming. He rushed for 222 yards on 29 carries to go along with his touchdowns, all of which were Holiday Bowl records. His touchdown mark remains a record.

The most recent OSU running back to reach five touchdowns in a single game is the Doak Walker Award winner, Ollie Gordon II.

Sanders scored 264 points in 1988, the most in OSU history by over 100 points. On average, he scored over three touchdowns per game. He's one of only two non-kickers in FBS history to reach over 200 points in a single season, and the only one to win a Heisman.

His 2,850 rushing yards is an FBS single-season record by over 200 yards. On several occasions that season, Sanders recorded over 100 yards in a single quarter and once hit 217 yards in the first half against Kansas. Not once did Sanders drop below 150 yards in a game in 1988.

Thanks to his impressive kick and punt return ability, Sanders is the only Cowboy to reach the 3,000 all-purpose yards, and he did so comfortably. He reached 3,526 all-purpose yards and averaged almost 300 a game. Sanders leads second-place Chuba Hubbard by almost 1,200 yards.

At the conclusion of Sanders time in Stillwater, he was OSU's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns, and in the top-three in rushing yards. He sits at No. 2 all-time in all-purpose yards.

Matt Fodge (2008) – The first major award winner under Gundy, Matt Fodge earned the Ray Guy Award as the nation's best punter. Fodge punted the ball only 36 times that season but accumulated over 1,500 yards and averaged 42.9 yards per punt. He beat Louie Sakoda of Utah and Pat McAfee of West Virginia.

At the time, Fodge's average placed him in the top-12 all-time for OSU punters, boosted by three punts over 60 yards. Against Texas Tech in week 10, Fodge blasted a 71-yard punt and finished the game with over 200 yards punting and one inside the 20-yard line. He finished the season with 17 total punts inside the 20 and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 second team for his efforts.

Unlike Sakoda and McAfee, Fodge focused solely on punting, whereas the former also served as placekickers for their respective squads. Fodge was the holder for fellow future national award winner Dan Bailey, who went a perfect 65-for-65 in extra points that season.

Fodge sits at No. 8 on OSU's average yards per punt, fifth in punt attempts and fourth in punt yards in a Cowboy career.

Dan Bailey (2010) – Bailey scored 149 points via 68 PATs and 27 field goals to etch his name as OSU's leading point scorer. At the time, his point total served as an NCAA record for a kicker in a single season. Currently, it stands as the fifth-most points scored by an OSU player in a single season.

His efforts earned him the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation's top kicker. Additionally, he earned second-team All-American status, Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year to go along with a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team.

Bailey's 2010 season is scattered throughout OSU's record books. His 68 PATs are the fifth most in OSU history while his 27 field goals is the second most among Cowboy kickers. He averaged over five PATs a game, paired with around two field goals.

During the season, Bailey had several standout performances including knocking down four field goals against Louisiana, coupled with his career-long 52-yarder. He also made a 50-yarder, making him the last Cowboy to kick two 50-plus yard field goals in a game. It's the second time he'd made four field goals in one game in his career. In that same game, he tacked on six extra points for 18 total on the day.

He scored at least 17 points twice that year, the other time coming against Tulsa. He stands tied at No. 2 and No. 4 in most points scored by kicking in a single game.

In the same vein, he set the second-longest streak in OSU history with 17 consecutive field goals made that season. At the time, it ranked as the best all-time.

Bailey made three field goals in OSU's 2010 Alamo Bowl game against Arizona, with all three sitting in the top 10 for longest field goals in a bowl game in program history. His longest went for 50 yards, which sits at No. 2 all-time. He then hit a 44-yarder and a 40-yarder for No. 5 and No. 10 all-time.

Bailey's senior season served as a benchmark for Quinn Sharp, Ben Grogan (who surpassed Bailey in career points in 2016) and Matt Amendola, who all excelled at the kicker position shortly after Bailey's departure to the NFL. Success at the kicker position has continued into the 2020s, with the likes of Alex Hale and Tanner Brown each becoming respective Groza Award semifinalists.

Bailey currently sits in the top 10 in 11 major career categories for OSU, landing in the top five in seven. He went on to have a successful 10-year NFL career primarily with the Cowboys, where he became the franchise's all-time leader in field goals made.

Justin Blackmon (2010-2011) – One of only two players to win the Biletnikoff Award for best wide receiver twice, Justin Blackmon is solidified as one of the best receivers to come through Stillwater.

He joined Bailey as OSU's two major award winners in 2010.

His historic 2010 campaign earned him his first Biletnikoff Award, as well as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Blackmon is the only receiver in OSU history to claim the title as the conference's best offensive player and he was the first receiver in Big 12 history to claim it. He also earned his first All-American season as a unanimous selection.

His best game of the season arguably came against Baylor on Nov. 6, when he grabbed 13 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. He also broke free on a designed run for a 69-yard touchdown, the only rushing touchdown of his OSU career.

In 2010, Blackmon began a streak no other college receiver has achieved. His game against Washington State was the first of 14 games, spanning two seasons and more than one calendar year, where he'd accumulate 100 or more yards receiving with at least one touchdown.

He became the first and only player in NCAA history to notch this accomplishment for an entire season.

He concluded the year with 1,782 receiving yards, 111 receptions and an NCAA-best 20 touchdowns. His yardage total set an NCAA sophomore record and OSU program record, while his 20 touchdowns served as the seventh-most ever at the time. Blackmon's 22 total touchdowns (20 receptions, one rushing, one return from a blocked punt,) is the fourth-most in a single season in OSU history.

His success continued into the postseason, where the No. 16 Cowboys took on Arizona in the Alamo Bowl. Blackmon's offensive MVP performance helped the Cowboys win, 36-10. He racked up 117 yards on nine receptions with a pair of touchdowns, including an electric 71-yard uncovered score in the first quarter. That long ball stood as the longest reception in OSU bowl game history for 12 seasons.

After a record-shattering sophomore season, Blackmon returned to campus for his junior year with more to prove.

Blackmon had more than 10 receptions in six games in the 2011 season and in two of those games he snagged 13. For OSU, that's the second highest for a receiver in a single game – Blackmon did it four times in his career between 2010-11.

Against Kansas State, Blackmon put up more than 200 yards in receptions for the second time in his career. With 13 catches, he averaged 15.8 yards per reception, the highest average among all his 13-catch games.

Blackmon concluded the season with an OSU record 122 catches, then ranked 13th-best in FBS history and still in the top 20 today. His 18 touchdowns once again placed him on OSU's leaderboard for single-season mark, sitting at eighth. Blackmon and Thurman Thomas are the only two Cowboys with multiple top 10 single season touchdown marks in OSU history.

For the second year in a row, Blackmon took home the Biletnikoff Award.

Blackmon once again totaled over 1,500 yards in receptions and averaged almost double-digit catches every week while putting up 12.6 yards per catch that season.

Blackmon once again demonstrated his bowl game prowess against No. 4 Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, going for nine catches for 186 yards. His three touchdowns, including a 67-yarder in the second quarter, tied a Fiesta Bowl record. Blackmon once again earned offensive MVP for his performance, as he walked off the field for the field for the final time in Cowboy gear.

Mason Rudolph and James Washington (2017) – This dynamic All-American duo led OSU to its third-straight 10-win season, with both taking home national awards.

Mason Rudolph, OSU's all-time winningest quarterback, took home the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. The award is given to the college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with his class who, in addition to accomplishments on the field, is judged on character, citizenship, scholastic achievement and leadership qualities.

Meanwhile, James Washington became the second player in OSU history to earn the Biletnikoff Award, presented the top wide receiver in the nation.

These two all-timers will forever be synonymous with each other for their quarterback-receiver chemistry, much like Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. In their final season together at OSU, they each went out with a bang.

Rudolph is known for his rocket arm and home run play ability. In his career, he owns three of the top 10 longest passing plays in OSU history, two of which he shares with Washington. His playstyle translated well with Washington's blazing speed and jump ball ability.

That season, Rudolph set OSU single-season records in passing yards (4,904), pass efficiency (170.6), average yards per pass attempt (10.0 yards) and passing yards per game (377.2). Additionally, he tied Weeden for most passing touchdowns in a season with 37. These numbers still place highly in the Big 12 record book, with his yardage total at No. 6 and his touchdowns thrown at No. 16 with three other players.

He also set program marks in total offensive yards (4,393) and touchdowns responsible for (47) among other advanced stat records. These both sit in the top 10 for single season Big 12 players.

He led all FBS quarterbacks in yards that season and had five 400-plus yard passing performances that year. Four of those games sit in the top 10 on OSU's single game record list. In fact, Rudolph fell below 300 or more passing yards twice in 2017.

Washington, Rudolph's far-and-away favorite target, recorded at least 100 yards in nine of 13 games.

Washington etched his name next to OSU all-time great receivers Blackmon and Rashaun Woods after his special 2017 season. Most career receiving records for OSU have those three on the podium.

Washington was a unanimous All-American who recorded 1,549 yards his senior season, good enough for No. 3 in OSU history and best in the FBS that season. He's just the second OSU receiver to earn unanimous All-American status, the other being Blackmon. He also sits at No. 7 in single-season receiving touchdowns with 13.

Rudolph and Washington connected on 74 passes that season, the longest of which was an 86-yard bomb against TCU. Another example of their deep ball prowess came in 2017's Camping World Bowl against Virginia Tech, where they connected on a 65-yard bomb for a score.

After that game, Washington concluded his outstanding career as a Cowboy with the most career receiving yards over Woods and Blackmon and ranked No. 3 in receptions and touchdown receptions with 39. Rudolph became OSU's career passing leader in almost every major statistical category (mostly by a wide margin), highlighted by most passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offensive yards.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Elite Company: Ollie Gordon Became Seventh Cowboy to Earn National Award

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