What Mike Gundy Told Ollie Gordon After His Fumble vs. Cincinnati
Ollie Gordon got off to a relatively slow start on Saturday night vs. Cincinnati. At least by his own standards, as he came into the match up with four-straight 100-yard rushing games.
And when he fumbled in the first half. inside the Cincinnati 20-yard line, Gordon came over to the sidelines and slammed his helmet down and was visibly upset.
Head coach Mike Gundy was asked about this moment after the win against the Bearcats, and said, “What I shared with him was that I’ve been around the greatest running backs to ever play this game and none of them did that. That’s what I told him. I said, ‘It’s a choice you make, not me. It’s our time and your career. Our team. Your career. Your choice. That is going to get you nowhere. That isn’t going to get us anywhere. So, the six, eight or 10 backs I’ve been around that are really really really really good, two or three of them that are best ever, don’t do that.’ He had a choice to make then. He could get mad at me and sulk, feel sorry for himself and try to make a statement or he can say ‘I’m sorry, I apologize and I’ll do better.’ That’s the choice he had to make at that particular time. Either way that’s his choice.”
Gordon exploded in the second half with 211 rushing yards and finished with 271 on the night with 24 carries as the Cowboys steamrolled Cincinnati 45-13.
Now speaking of those “greatest running backs” Mike Gundy referenced playing with, Gordon did something Saturday night that hadn’t been done at Oklahoma State since Barry Sanders in the late 80’s, and that’s rush for more than 250 yards in back-to-back games. He’s one of six players in Oklahoma State history to top 200 rushing yards in consecutive games.
“It’s just great when you’re mentioned with the OSU greats,” Gordon said. “It’s great to be in that talk with him (Barry Sanders) because if you look at it: Heisman winner and just a great running back altogether. A great guy. It’s great.”
Oklahoma State is now 4-1 in Big 12 play and in a five-way tie atop the Big 12 standings. Next week, the Pokes host Oklahoma in what is expected to be the last Bedlam game for at least several years.
