Greg McElroy explains ranking Ollie Gordon as No. 1 running back in college football

Ollie Gordon broke out at Oklahoma State last year to become a leading back nationally. That sets him up to be even better this upcoming year as a junior in Stillwater.

Greg McElroy rated Gordon as the top running back in college football this year during a recent ranking on ‘Always College Football’. That’s due to the history that he could make with similar production for the ‘Pokes like the season prior.

“He’s going to try to join Jonathan Taylor, Darren McFadden, and Ricky Williams as the only running backs to ever win the Doak Walker Award twice,” McElroy said. “He was the obvious choice last year when looking at what he accomplished. He led the nation last year with over 1,700 rushing yards. Second in rushing touchdowns with 21 and second in yards after contact.”

However, as McElroy noted, Gordon could be even more impressive considering he didn’t truly get going until conference play. That leaves some extra games for this season where he could see his increased load, which should only bolster his numbers more than what they were.

“What’s amazing about all of that is he had just 19 carries in the first three games. He basically averaged over 150 yards in the final 11 games of the year,” said McElroy. “Just imagine where he’s going to be this year when they know what they have and they know the identity of the offense that Oklahoma State wants to run.”

On 285 carries, Gordon rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns. Those were the most and second most respectively in those statistics in the nation. That averages out to 6.1 yards per carry and 123.7 per game. Remove those first three games as part of a committee with Elijah Collins and Jaden Nixon and those sit at 5.8 yards per rush and at 147.5 per contest.

Gordon only had two games over his final 11 where he ran for less than 100 yards. That includes a pair of career performances in consecutive weekends. He ran for 282 yards and four touchdowns in a win over West Virginia. He then followed that with 271 yards and a pair of additional scores in a victory over Cincinnati.

All that led Gordon to winning the Doak Walker Award as the first player to do so in Cowboy history. He was also a Unanimous All-American and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He received votes for The Heisman Trophy too as he finished in seventh place.

Gordon is now back for year three with the Cowboys. The expectations are high for him after last year with On3’s Clark Brooks rating him as the No. 11 player in all of college football in 2024.

That resumé alone makes Gordon’s case as the top back in the sport going into the fall. Add in a few more games as a lead back and there’s no telling what he could end up doing on the ground this season at Oklahoma State.

“Ollie Gordon at number one, far and away, at running back here in college football heading into ’24,” said McElroy.