Mizzou WR Donovan Olugbode named to Biletnikoff Award Watch List
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Mizzou wide receiver Donovan Olugbode was honored on Thursday by being named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, an iconic annual honor that is given to college football’s most outstanding FBS receiver at any position.
The award, which was created in 1994, is named for the great Fred Biletnikoff, who starred on the collegiate level at Florida State and went on to a legendary NFL career with the Oakland Raiders between 1965-78. Biletnikoff is one of the truly elite wide receivers in football history, being inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
That alone automatically puts Olugbode in select company without even winning the award. The Mizzou sophomore stud has already piled up 35 catches for 534 yards and 6 touchdowns this season.
The Biletnikoff Award Watch List honor for Olugbode is obviously based only on what he’s done so far this season, but the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder also put up strong numbers as a freshman in 2025, catching 30 passes for 401 yards and 2 touchdowns.
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Olugbode has taken it to another level in 2026, already surpassing those first-year totals by midseason, and now he’s firmly in the mix for a special award reserved for only the best wide receivers in the history of college football.
His strong first half of the season has helped Mizzou to a 5-2 overall record and a No. 22 ranking in the latest AP Poll.
With Olugbode and the Tigers on their bye week in Week 8, Mizzou’s pursuit of wins will resume in Week 9. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Tigers’ potential victory total for the 2026 season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
