Throwback Thursday: When Barry Refused a Record at Kansas State

Barry Sanders rushed 37 times for 320 yards and three TDs in 1988 at Kansas State as Oklahoma State thrashed the Wildcats 45-27. The Cowboys have beaten KSU just once in Manhattan since that game. It was a special game, too, as Mike Gundy and Pat Jones recall.

“It was another man among boys deal,” said Pat Jones. “It was always big when Barry went back to Kansas. Because more of his family was around him. He is a native of Kansas. Once it started with him, he just literally ran wild.”

Barry’s numbers are astonishing no matter how you look at them, but Gundy said what left a lasting impression on him that day was something Barry didn’t do.

How good was Barry Sanders?

2016 #okstate team: 304 rushes for 1,091 yards

1988 Barry: 373 rushes for 2,850 yards

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) November 3, 2016

“In the middle of the third quarter there were 8-10 minutes left,” said Gundy. “We were way ahead, and they came over and told him if he went back out he could break George Rogers rushing record at South Carolina.”

Note: I don’t know what record Gundy is talking about here. Rogers didn’t even hold the single-game record at his own school much less the NCAA. And Sanders had already surpassed Rogers’ best single-game total by 80 yards. Maybe it was a single-season mark? Rogers ran for 1,894 yards in 1980, but that certainly wasn’t a NCAA record. Anyway …

“We were so far ahead he said he didn’t want to go back in the game, just let the other guys play,” added Gundy. “Records didn’t mean anything to him. Individual accomplishments weren’t important to him.

“All he had to do was go back out for one more series and he would have gained another 50 or 60 years because they hadn’t been able to tackle him the entire game. He didn’t even go back out or he would have broken George Rogers’ record at that time.”

The highlights are amazing. The GIFs even better. Hopefully it’s a Throwback Thursday that will stir OSU’s chances in Manhattan this weekend a little bit. It is 1-8 since that day.