OK State rides surging RB Gordon into Bedlam
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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. — The final Bedlam for the foreseeable future looks markedly different for Oklahoma State than it did a month ago.
The Cowboys, who raced past Cincinnati 45-13 on Saturday thanks to a 35-point second half, have won four straight games, sit in a five-way tie atop the Big 12 standings and have a running back putting up Barry Sanders-like numbers.
“It’s great. The team chemistry, the team bonding … everything’s getting better, and as we grow closer to each other, nobody can stop us,” said Ollie Gordon II, who rushed for 271 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns.
The Cowboys (6-2, 4-1 in the Big 12) look nothing like they did to close out September when they lost back-to-back games to South Alabama and Iowa State. A bye week ensued, and the biggest difference once the calendar flipped to October was that Gordon became the Cowboys’ go-to running back.
And he took off.
“We saw a glimpse when we played West Virginia last November,” Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said about Gordon’s potential. “I kind of joke, but it’s like trying to tackle a giraffe. The guy is so long. He’s got limbs everywhere and he’s still really powerful. If you stand behind him and practice, there’s freaking muscles everywhere. I hate saying 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 like we saw tonight. So right now, he’s playing with a lot of confidence, and the offensive line’s blocking with a lot of confidence.”
Gordon, a 6-1, 211-pound sophomore, was coming off a 282-yard performance in the win over West Virginia a week ago. He and Sanders (1988) are the only two players in program history with back-to-back games of 250-plus rushing yards. Sanders’ 1988 season is widely regarded as the best individual season in college football history when he rushed for 2,850 yards, scored 44 touchdowns and broke 34 records.
Gordon, who carried the ball just 19 times in the first three games this season, is one of only two FBS players over the past 20 seasons with 250 scrimmage yards in three straight games. Boston College’s Andre Williams also did it in 2013. Two weeks ago in the 39-32 win over Kansas, Gordon had 168 rushing yards and 116 receiving yards.
He has had five straight 100-yard rushing performances and has piled up 978 yards in those five games while averaging 8.01 yards a carry during that stretch.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy played with Sanders and Thurman Thomas in college and delivered a stern message to Gordon in the first half after he lost a fumble and showed his frustration and emotion on the sideline.
“There’s a lot of pressure involved, and he’s a very prideful young man, and that’s good,” Gundy said. “But what I shared with him is that I’ve been around the greatest running backs to ever play this game. None of them did that. They all learn to keep their composure.”
That’s exactly what Gordon did in rushing for more than 200 yards in the second half for the second straight week.
“He’s still young, and 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,” Gundy said.
“He’s not arrived, but we have to give him credit for what he’s done. It’s not like it’s the first game he’s done this, but I’ve told him and I’ll tell him again when I see him tomorrow or Monday. He has to stay hungry, and he has to stay humble — period — or he’ll get his block knocked off.”
After the game, Gordon was holding a large bouquet of roses given to him by his mother and aunt. Chants of “Ollie, Ollie” filled a rainy Boone Pickens Stadium when he left the field.
Gordon said that hearing his name mentioned in the same sentence with Sanders is surreal, but he is not about to get ahead of himself. As much as anything, he wanted to talk about his offensive line late Saturday night.
“It’s great to be talked about with greats like Barry Sanders. I mean, he won a Heisman Trophy and is one of the best to ever do it,” Gordon said. “It’s a special feeling, but I couldn’t do any of it without the guys in front of me. They’re the ones who deserve all the praise.”
Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman said watching the entire running game click the way it has for the last month has been amazing.
“I’ve got the best seat in the house to watch it, and it’s been pretty cool,” Bowman said.
Nobody needs to tell Gordon or any of the Oklahoma State players that next Saturday’s game with Oklahoma will be the last chance they get at the Sooners, at least in the regular season. With Oklahoma, which has won 17 of the past 20 meetings in the series, moving to the SEC in 2024, the two rivals aren’t expected to meet again anytime soon.
Gordon, asked what he expected from the last Bedlam in a while, said simply, “I expect the Pokes to come out on top.”
WASHINGTON — Brayden Schenn played his 1,000th regular-season NHL game when he and the St. Louis Blues beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Thursday night.
Older brother Luke played his 1,000th game Oct. 17 with the Nashville Predators. The Schenns are the eighth set of brothers to each reach that milestone and the first to do so in the same season.
“I’ve always said you don’t get there without the help of tons of people,” Brayden said after his team’s morning skate. “Family being one and coaches and players and teammates and people in the organization. Obviously, you have to embrace the day-to-day grind of the ups and downs and just how hard this league is, but, yeah, pretty special that we have best buddies that push each other every day and get to do it in the same year.”
Blues players celebrated the occasion with Schenn shirts and hats with the captain’s No. 10 on them. Father Jeff gave a pregame speech in the locker room after coach Jim Montgomery said, “Schenner and his bro both getting 1,000 games in the same season is a tribute to the great family raised by Jeff and his wife.”
Jeff Schenn said Brayden was his favorite player on the Blues and tied for his favorite overall, of course, with Luke.
“Honored and privileged and very proud to be part of the big day and the big journey that goes along with it,” their dad said. “You see the hard work and the dedication and the bumps and the bruises and everything you guys put into it. … Just so excited and happy to be here and awful proud of him.”
Montgomery said after the win that Jeff Schenn looked very comfortable speaking in front of the group.
“Jeff and his wife, Brayden’s parents, they raised four great kids and two have played 1,000 games in the NHL,” Montgomery said. “His message was well-received, and you could tell by our start that we wanted to play for our captain.”
Dylan Holloway, who scored twice, said because it was Schenn’s 1,000th game, the Blues “wanted this one bad.”
The Capitals acknowledged the milestone with a message on arena videoboards and an announcement during the first period.
Brayden getting to 1,000 comes amid talk ahead of the March 7 trade deadline that teams are interested in acquiring both of them in separate moves. The Blues are on the fringe of the playoff race in the Western Conference, while the Predators are far out of contention.
“The times I’ve gotten traded, I didn’t expect to get traded, so you really never know,” Brayden said, adding he has loved his time with St. Louis. “It’s a business and that just comes with the flows of kind of where we’re positioned, five points out of the playoffs. But it’s the trade deadline, so some people make rumors. … You just take it a day at a time and just focus on your game and play.”
Brayden, 33, has three years left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $6.5 million. Luke, 35, has one more season left after this one at $2.75 million.
The Schenn brothers have played together in the NHL before, spending 3½ seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013 to 2015. Brayden won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, then Luke back to back with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
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