page_title: Melvin Gordon
section_title: 2014 season
hierarchical_section_title: Melvin Gordon / College career / 2014 season
caption_attribution_description: The Wisconsin Badgers offensive team blocking for rusher w:Melvin Gordon] III (#25) against the Western Illinois Leathernecks
context_page_description: Melvin Gordon III is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
  Gordon briefly held the NCAA Division I FBS single-game rushing yards record with 408 yards, set playing in three quarters against Nebraska in November 2014, until it was broken the following week by Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine against Kansas with 427 yards. He became the second all-time single-season rusher in FBS history with 2,587 yards, falling 41 yards shy of Barry Sanders record of 2,628 yards set in 1988.
context_section_description: Prior to the season, Gordon was widely viewed as a Heisman Trophy contender. He was also on preseason watchlists for the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award, and Walter Camp Award. 2014 was the first year where Gordon was Wisconsin's featured running back; in 2012, he was behind both Montee Ball and James White, and 2013 he was behind James White with Corey Clement as the third string running back after Gordon.
  Gordon began the season with 16 carries for 140 yards against #13 LSU on August 30 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. LSU came back from a 7–24 deficit to win the game by a score of 28–24. Wisconsin's head coach, Gary Andersen, was criticized for him only having three carries in the second half and when questioned Anderson stated he "didn't know why Gordon had limited carries". Gordon stated to the media after the game that he wasn't injured. However, two days later Andersen stated that Gordon strained his hip-flexor on the last play in the second quarter of the game against LSU and "we were trying to be smart with him as the rest of the game went on". In the second game of the season against the Western Illinois Leathernecks (FCS), Gordon was held to a season-low 38 rushing yards on 17 rushing attempts.
  On September 20 against Bowling Green, Gordon had a career-high five rushing touchdowns and 253 rushing yards. Just two weeks later, Gordon surpassed his 253-yard game rushing against Bowling Green when he reached 259 yards rushing against Northwestern at Ryan Field in a losing effort. After week six Gordon was named to the CBSSports.com Midseason College Football All-America Team. Gordon was one of 20 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award.
  On November 15, Gordon set the FBS single game rushing record with 408 yards versus the #16 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Gordon accomplished this, as well as scoring four rushing touchdowns, on only 25 carries in three quarters of play.  The previous mark of 406 yards was set by TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson and had stood as a record since 1999. In addition, he broke the 339-yard school record, held by Ron Dayne since 1996, and the 377-yard Big Ten Conference record, held by Indiana running back Anthony Thompson since 1989.  Gordon garnered multiple Player of the Week awards for his performance against the Huskers. The Walter Camp Football Foundation, Athlon Sports, and CBSSports.com named him National Offensive Player of the Week, and the Big Ten named him the conference Offensive Player of the Week.
  On November 19, Gordon was named one of ten semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award and the Walter Camp Foundation listed him as one of the fifteen "Players to Watch" for the Walter Camp Award.  The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will release a list of three finalists on November 25 and the Walter Camp Foundation will release a list of five finalists on December 3.
  On November 22, against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, Gordon rushed for 200 yards and had four receptions for 64 yards, leading the team in both categories.  Gordon went over 2,000 yards rushing for the season, only the 17th player in FBS history to do so.  He reached the 2,000 yard mark faster than any of his predecessors, on just 241 carries. The previous holder for fastest 2,000 yards was Penn State running back Larry Johnson who accomplished the feat on 251 carries in 2002. However, Gordon's single game rushing record was broken by Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine, who gained 427 yards in a game against Kansas.  When Gordon learned that his record had been broken after only one week, he commented: "That's disappointing, to have that. But congrats to that guy; that's really not easy to do." Gordon was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season as a result of his performance at Kinnick Stadium.
  On November 25, Gordon was named as a finalist for the Maxwell Award with quarterbacks Marcus Mariota (Oregon) and Dak Prescott (Mississippi State). Gordon and fellow Big Ten running backs Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska) and Tevin Coleman (Indiana) were named the three finalists for the Doak Wal
caption: Rushing against Western Illinois
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