Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II (offensive), BYU’s Eddie Heckard (defensive), Oklahoma’s Nic Anderson (newcomer) and Baylor’s Isaiah Hankins (special teams) picked up Big 12 football awards for week eight.
Gordon earned his second consecutive accolade while Anderson was also recognized for the second time this season. Additionally, Gordon collected his second straight Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week award.
Gordon rushed for career-highs of 282 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries in OSU's 48-34 win at West Virginia. The performance marks the most rushing yards for an FBS player in a game this season. Three of his scores came in the fourth quarter on 16-, 46- and 53-yard rushes. Gordon had five runs that gained more than 25 yards, with his longest carries on the day going for 53, 46, 34, 32 and 27 yards. He is the first Cowboy with four rushing touchdowns in a game since Rennie Childs did so on September 17, 2016, against Pittsburgh. It is the most rushing yards by a Cowboy since All-American Chuba Hubbard scampered for 296 yards against Kansas State on September 28, 2019. Gordon is the first OSU player with four straight 100+ yard rushing games since Jaylen Warren during the 2021 season. The sophomore has eight rushing touchdowns on the season and 10 in his career. He has found the end zone in three consecutive games, with seven total touchdowns during the span.
Heckard led the BYU defense with two takeaways in the Cougars’ 27-14 win over Texas Tech. The senior grad transfer recovered a fumble in the end zone with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter to give BYU a 14-0 early lead. With 2:33 remaining in the second quarter Heckard intercepted a Red Raider pass at the BYU 22-yard line and returned it 38 yards to the TTU 40. Six plays later, BYU kicked a field goal for a 24-7 advantage right before the half. The CB also recorded four tackles, including a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Heckard earned his bachelor’s degree with a double major of professional sales and mechanical engineering.
Anderson caught five passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns in No. 6/7 Oklahoma's 31-29 come-from-behind win over UCF. His scores came from 29 and 42 yards as he helped the Sooners improve to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 play. The redshirt freshman has eight touchdown catches this season on 16 total receptions. The 50% rate of receiving scores is the highest nationally (min. 5 receiving TDs). Only one FBS player since at least the start of the 1996 campaign finished a season with a higher rate of receiving TDs (min. 8 receiving TDs). Anderson ranks second nationally this year with his 24.2 yards per catch and leads the Big 12 with his eight touchdown receptions.
Hankins was outstanding for the Bears in their 32-29 victory at Cincinnati, making all four of his field goal attempts and adding two PATs. The sophomore Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation major hit a career-long 54-yarder in addition to makes from 43, 46 and 43 yards. He became the ninth kicker in school history to connect on four FGs in one game, tying for the Baylor record. His 14 points scored were a career-high, and he also handled kickoff duties for the first time this season, recording three touchbacks in eight attempts.
