Melvin Gordon snubbed from ranking of Top 25 college football players of the 2000s

It was bad enough when Melvin Gordon was denied the Heisman Trophy in 2014. Now, the Wisconsin Badgers legend is being overlooked again in a new ranking of the top players in the sport.

Wisconsin Badgers running back Melvin Gordon picks up three yards, leaping over Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Greg Mabin during Wisconsin's 26-24 win over Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa, City, Iowa, Saturday, November 22, 2014. | Rick Wood / USA TODAY NETWORK

It was bad enough when Melvin Gordon was denied the Heisman Trophy in 2014.

Now, he again isn't being properly recognized for his record-breaking career with the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman put together a ranking of the Top 25 college football player of the 2000s, and Gordon was noticeably absent from the list.

Ranking college football’s top 25 players of the 2000s: who should be No. 1? Reggie Bush? Cam Newton? Joe Burrow? How high is Ndamukong Suh? Tim Tebow? Travis Hunter? Ed Reed?https://t.co/S4mnUfKl6N

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) May 20, 2025

He said he reached out to coaches, scouts and media analysts, but somehow his group of experts didn't find Gordon's 2,587 yards in 2014 enough to crack the ranking.

No one is saying he should be in the Top 5 or even the Top 10, but he belongs right in the conversation with the other players that made the list.

Offensive lineman Quentin Nelson had a great career at Notre Dame, but it's tough to put a guard on the list at No. 25 ahead of one of the greatest runners of the era.

Stanford's Christian McCaffrey was the lowest running back at No. 17, in large part due to his receiving and kick return ability, but he had almost 1,000 fewer rushing yards in his college career and barely cracked the 2,000 yard mark in 2015.

The only other RB on the list was USC's Reggie Bush, whose Heisman Trophy lands him at No. 2.

It's the latest example of Gordon being overlooked for his legendary career with the Badgers. He should be used to it by now, but that doesn't make it any more fair.

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