STAT WATCH: Gophers call on little-used RB to carry the load. His 40 attempts are FBS season high

Updated Oct. 30, 2023 5:45 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Minnesota's Jordan Nubin began Saturday with just 15 career rushing attempts. He had 18 in the first half alone against Michigan State.

The third-year player became the fifth Minnesota running back since 2000 to carry the ball at least 40 times in a game, according to Sportradar. He piled up 204 yards and two touchdowns on a national season-high 40 runs in a 27-12 win.

Sean Tyler started at running back for the Gophers but fumbled on his first carry. Nubin entered on the second possession, and Tyler got just one more attempt.

Illinois’ Chase Brown, who had 41 attempts against the Gophers last season, was the previous FBS player with 40 carries.

BY GOLLY, OLLIE

Ollie Gordon is doing things that haven't been done at Oklahoma State since Barry Sanders' 1988 Heisman Trophy season.

Gordon owns two of the top four rushing performances of the season after running 25 times for 271 yards in a 45-13 win over Cincinnati. A week ago he went for a national season-high 282 yards on 29 attempts against West Virginia.

The sophomore joined Sanders as the only players in program history with back-to-back 250-yard rushing games and Boston College’s Andre Williams (2013) as the only FBS players in the last 20 seasons with 250 scrimmage yards in three straight games

Gordon's 553 yards rushing the last two games are the most for the Cowboys since Sanders combined for 625 against Iowa and Texas Tech in 1988.

Gordon went over 1,000 yards for the season and leads the country with 135.9 yards per game.

IT WORKED OUT OK

UCLA 's 28-16 victory over Colorado marked the first time since at least 2000 that the Bruins had won after committing four turnovers in a half, according to Sportradar. The Bruins had two fumbles and two interceptions in seven first-half possessions.

UCLA's previous win when it committed at least four turnovers in a game was a 37-6 victory over Houston in 2012. The Bruins gave the ball away five times that day.

KNOCKING IT LOOSE

Louisiana-Lafayette linebacker Cameron Whitfield forced three fumbles in the Ragin' Cajuns' 33-20 win over South Alabama, all on sacks of Carter Bradley. Michigan State's Jacoby Windmon was the last player to force three fumbles in a game, doing it against Akron early in the 2022 season.

Whitfield’s 3 1/2 sacks against the Jaguars are tied for third-most in a game this season.

DYNAMIC DUO

Eastern Michigan linebackers Joe Sparacio and Chase Kline combined for 42 tackles in a 45-21 loss to Western Michigan, with Sparcio making a national season-high 23. Kline's 19 tackles are tied for second most in an FBS game.

Sparcio and Kline are the top two tacklers in the Mid-American Conference. Sparcio is second in the nation with 106 and Kline is fifth with 94.

FUMBLE-FREE FRESNO

Fresno State is the only team in the FBS to have no lost fumbles this season. The Bulldogs have put just three balls on the ground through eight games and recovered them all. They beat UNLV 31-24 Saturday.

East Carolina's two fumbles are fewest in the nation, but the Pirates lost both.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football