Tramel: Oklahoma State football has a tailback it can count on in Dominic Richardson
Berry TramelOklahoman
STILLWATER — Dominic Richardson took a screen pass from Spencer Sanders, turned upfield to find a head of steam and quickly encountered a low-flying Sun Devil intent on disrupting the play.
Richardson leapfrogged the would-be tackler and sped down the sideline for a 23-yard gain.
Boone Pickens Stadium and the Cowboy side of an ESPN2 audience had the same reaction. Didn’t know Richardson had that in him.
But we found out a lot about OSU’s junior tailback Saturday night as the 11th-ranked Cowboys beat Arizona State 34-17. Mainly, that OSU has a tailback it can count on.
OSU's best teams almost always have an NFL-caliber tailback. Jaylen Warren. Chuba Hubbard. Justice Hill. Chris Carson. Joe Randle. Kendall Hunter.
Too early to tell if Richardson joins that club. But he certainly showed against Arizona State that he's not a stopgap. Richardson is capable of impacting big games.
Too early to tell the quality of this ASU team. But the Sun Devil defense was big and athletic and coached by guys who know what they're doing. And Richardson carried 27 times for 131 yards. He also caught five passes for 44 yards.
And that leapfrog play not only showed a level of ability that was a wee bit surprising, it ignited a quick, four-play touchdown drive that gave OSU a 27-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“I can’t always run over somebody, run through somebody,” said Richardson, a Bishop McGuinness product in his third OSU season. “I’ve got to save my body. I’m trying to be more elusive this year.”
No fret. Richardson’s trademark between-the-tackles running was in style, too. He’s a bruising runner, and he seemed to wear down the Sun Devils in each half.
Richardson had 52 yards on 10 second-quarter carries, then 48 yards on eight fourth-quarter carries. All that despite an ankle injury he suffered late in the second quarter, that carried over to the early part of the third period.
“I knew I had to run hard,” Richardson said. “ASU is a great opponent. They was ready to go. They attacked us first quarter, and I just knew I had to keep the momentum going.”
The Cowboy offense had its moments but also sputtered at times. Sanders produced big plays but also was flummoxed on occasion a Sun Devil defense that in part is led by Marvin Lewis, whose defensive acumen led to 16 seasons as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, with whom he had a winning record.
But on this rainy night, OSU had a tough-running, hard-charging tailback who came up big when it mattered most and who also showed some talent reminiscent of past Cowboy stars.
“Much, much better rushing the football,” Mike Gundy said. “Dominic played well, the second half especially. We need Dominic to do that. That’s the type of back he is. Ran through some tackles, did good job of taking care of the football.”
Richardson came up big at opportune times. Three drives in particular stood out:
➤ After OSU was held scoreless on its first five possessions, the Cowboys took over at the ASU 37-yard line early, courtesy of a fumble caused by Brock Martin’s hard hit.
OSU went full-bore on physicality, scoring in five plays, all running plays, four by Richardson on gains of seven, 13, four and three, the latter for the TD.
“We just kind of migrated into rushing the football,” Gundy said.
➤ In the fourth quarter, with a 27-17 lead, OSU embarked on an 80-yard, 14-play drive that sealed the game and consumed 5:19 of the clock. Richardson had three runs and three catches on the drive.
➤ And with the game in hand, Richardson milked the clock with five straight runs, including gains of seven, 19 and eight in the final minutes.
“Particularly pleased with the last 10 minutes of the game, when they knew we were going to run it, and we were able to run it,” Gundy said.
More good news on the tailback front – when Richardson needed a breather, freshman Ollie Gordon seemed quite up to the task. In the fourth quarter, on third-and-2 from the ASU 20-yard line, Gordon broke a tackle and bulled to a six-yard gain. On the next play, Gordon took a short pass from Sanders and produced a 14-yard touchdown play.
Richardson emerged as Warren’s backup last season. In the Cowboys‘ 63-17 rout of Texas Christian, Richardson had 134 yards on 12 carries.
“He played really well for us last year at TCU,” said offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn. “Every time he goes out and takes the field, that’s the guy I expect to see.
“He’s a talented guy. I expect to give him the football. He’s got to be the guy for us.”
OSU found its 2021 tailback, Warren, in Game 3, at Boise State. The Cowboys seemed to find their 2022 tailback in Game 2, against Arizona State.
This was a game that could have gone to the wire, like some of those squeakers last September. But OSU put away this game, with help from Richardson, who showed a lot of what we knew he had and a little of what we had no idea.
