AUSTIN (KXAN) — Coming into the season, Texas and Oklahoma State both had questions about who would emerge in the offensive backfield. It's safe to say that both teams answered them, and then some.
Both teams had to replace production from the previous year — the Longhorns had two outstanding runners taken in the NFL Draft and the Cowboys graduated dynamic quarterback Spencer Sanders while 2022 leading rusher Dominic Richardson transferred to Baylor — and neither team was quite sure how to go about that.
For Texas, it ended up being a committee led by Jonathon Brooks until his knee injury, and now CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue among others are chewing up yards. For Oklahoma State, it was a sophomore who turned into the nation's leader in rushing yards this season, Ollie Gordon II.
A four-star recruit from Fort Worth, Gordon burst onto the scene in Stillwater once Big 12 play began. The sophomore has rushed for more than 100 yards in every Big 12 game except in a 45-3 loss to Central Florida, and he's topped 200 yards twice. The Cowboys leaned on him heavily to help come back from a 24-6 deficit to heart BYU 40-34 in double overtime to get them into the Big 12 title game with 166 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns, so he's certainly not a mystery anymore.
"He signifies who their team is," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said of Gordon, who leads the country with 1,580 rushing yards. "He gets stronger as the game goes on like a lot of big, physical back do. He gets hard yards in between the tackles and has the big play ability to create long runs."
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In back-to-back games this season, Gordon tore through West Virginia and Cincinnati for a combined 553 yards and six touchdowns. He ran for 282 yards on 29 carries against the Mountaineers and 271 yards on 25 carries against the Bearcats to help fuel their run to the Big 12 title game.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said Gordon has "competitive speed."
"He feels guys behind him and weaves, then takes off," Gundy said. "He's a big strider in the open field, so people have a hard time catching him from behind."
Gordon rushed for 138 yards on 33 carries with two touchdowns in the Bedlam game against Oklahoma, a 27-24 win that ended up the deciding win to send them to the Big 12 title game. Both the Cowboys and Sooners finished the Big 12 season tied for second at 7-2 and that win broke the tie.
Sarkisian said the key to containing a physical runner like Gordon is to get several people to the ball as early as possible.
"One guy isn't enough to bring him down," Sarkisian said. "We have to populate the ball Saturday and make sure we fit those runs right. That will be critical."
Sarkisian said defensive backs Ryan Watts and Austin Jordan are questionable for the Big 12 title game. Xavior Worthy and Maalik Murphy, who was hurt on the sideline while Keilan Robinson returned a kick 95 yards for a touchdown against Texas Tech, both practiced Monday and will be available.
Sarkisian will hold another media availability around 11 a.m. Thursday before the team travels to Arlington for the Big 12 title game.
