page_title: Ezekiel Elliott
section_title: College career
hierarchical_section_title: Ezekiel Elliott / College career
caption_attribution_description: English: A picture of during an interview.
context_page_description: Ezekiel Elijah Elliott is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned second-team All-America honors in 2015. He was drafted by the Cowboys fourth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Elliott led the league in rushing yards in 2016 and 2018.
context_section_description: As a true freshman at Ohio State University in 2013, Elliott rushed for 262 yards on 30 carries with two touchdowns as a backup to starter Carlos Hyde, mostly playing as a gunner on special teams.
  In 2014, with the departure of Hyde to the NFL, Elliott took over as the starter for the Buckeyes. During the season, Elliott was named to the Academic All-Big Ten Conference team. Elliott rushed over 100 yards six times during the scheduled season. In the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers, Elliott ran for 220 yards on 20 carries for two touchdowns. This win qualified Ohio State for the first-ever College Football Playoff. In the 2015 Sugar Bowl against #1 Alabama, Elliott ran for 230 yards on 20 carries in a hard-fought 42–35 win where he was named the Offensive Player of the Game. He then capped the Buckeyes' championship season by rushing for 246 yards on 36 carries and scoring four touchdowns against the Oregon Ducks. He was named the Offensive MVP of that game as well; it was the third most rushing yards ever by an Ohio State player.
  In 2015, Elliott began the season by rushing for over 100 yards in 10 straight wins, including 274 against Indiana on October 3 (the second most all-time by an Ohio State player). However, the team suffered a 14–17 loss to Michigan State on November 21, 2015, and Elliott announced that he would enter the 2016 NFL Draft. The following week, Elliott ran for 214 yards on 30 carries in a 42–13 Ohio State victory over rival Michigan in Ann Arbor, his fifth 200+ yard game. He ended his collegiate career with 149 yards and four touchdowns in a Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame.
  Elliott finished his career at Ohio State on several leaderboards. He was second in career rushing yards with 3,961 and yards per game with 101.6 (both behind only Archie Griffin), had the second and third most rushing yards in a season, and five of the top 20 rushing yards in a game. His 43 rushing touchdowns was fourth most all time, and his 23 in 2015 was third most in a season. His twelve 100-yard rushing games in the 2015 season tied Eddie George for a school record, and the 22 he amassed over his career was again second only to Griffin (as was his streak of 15 consecutive 100-yard games from 2014–2015). He and George are the only Ohio State players with five 200-yard rushing games.
caption: Elliott in 2014
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