MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ollie Gordon hasn’t started his junior season in the fashion he wanted to.
West Virginia’s coaching staff hopes that trend continues another week and through the Cowboys’ sixth game this season, which takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday against the Mountaineers inside Boone Pickens Stadium.
However, if history is to repeat itself, Gordon could be in store for a breakout performance against a program he had the most memorable showing of his career against just last season.
It was during the Cowboys’ 48-34 victory in Morgantown in 2023 that Gordon rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries, while saving his best for last with 145 yards and three TDs in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve watched that game a lot,” WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “It’s tough, because with 9 minutes to go in the game, there’s way more good than bad up to that point.”
Gordon took over down the stretch to key the Cowboys to a road win, and the following week in a victory against Cincinnati, he nearly duplicated the production with 271 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“We didn’t fit the split zone a couple times,” West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said. “That’s what hit us. He hit three explosive runs and two of them were on split zone and we just didn’t fit it very well.”
It was part of a Doak Walker Award-winning season for Gordon that featured a FBS-leading 1,732 rushing yards on 285 carries with 21 touchdowns.
Through five games in 2024, Gordon has surpassed 100 yards on the ground once, that coming in the season opener against South Dakota State. In four games since against FBS competition, gordon has 60 carries for 208 yards and one touchdown. All four of his TDs came over Oklahoma State’s first two games.
“I watched a lot in the off week and I know there’s some questions around why he hasn’t had the statistics,” Lesley said. “I put zero stock into that. I’ve seen that kid at his best. He’s an elite player. It was about this time last year they figured out a way to get him going.”
In two career games against West Virginia, Gordon has 46 carries for 418 yards and five touchdowns.
“He’s a great player. He’s going to be a NFL player,” Brown said. “The thing that makes him is he has great size and speed. We have to make sure we get multiple hats to the ball. We can’t ask our guys to be 1-on-1 situations and always get him down. He’s played well this season. I don’t think his numbers completely tell the story. He’s going to have breakout games. I just hope it’s not against us.”
At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Gordon remains a a tough tackle running behind an offensive line that’s surrendered one sack for the season.
West Virginia has the luxury of two weeks of preparation in an effort to slow Gordon, though in the Mountaineers’ most recent contest, they allowed a season-high 247 yards on the ground against Kansas.
West Virginia will need a better showing in its third matchup with Gordon if it hopes for a fourth victory in 13 meetings with the Cowboys since joining the Big 12 Conference.
“It starts with Ollie Gordon. He’s special,” Gordon said. “I don’t know if we tackled him yet from last year’s fourth quarter, but he’s a special player.“