The Freshmen Running Backs Who Lit the World on Fire in 2014

The story of the Rose Bowl will be obvious. The Granddaddy of Them All will pair this year's likely Heisman winner, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, against the reigning Heisman winner, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. However, the outcome of one of the College Football Playoff's semifinal games may not specifically come down to either. 

Forget the passing games for a minute; running backs Royce Freeman of Oregon and Dalvin Cook at Florida State could be as important as Mariota or Winston. As far as impact freshmen go, you'd be hard-pressed to find a pair more crucial to their team's success in the playoff. 

Cook and Freeman were blue-chip, sought-after prospects. Specifically, Cook was a 5-star recruit and considered the No. 1 player in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. Freeman was a 4-star recruit, listed as the No. 6 running back nationally and No. 4 player in California. 

That's where the similarities end. Their paths to this point have been different, not to mention that they bring different elements to their respective team's offense.

Freeman is the production guy: Only two other freshman running backs—Oklahoma's Samaje Perine and Western Michigan's Jarvion Franklin—have more yards than Freeman's 1,299. Listed at 6'0" and 229 pounds on his official profile, Freeman is the bruising back that the Ducks have missed for some time. As B/R's Adam Kramer explained in October, Freeman is more Stanford than he is Oregon. 

“You see a young freshman running back not looking like a freshman running back,” Stanford coach David Shaw told Kramer. “He’s coming into his own as a really, really good college football player.”

Cook, interestingly enough, is the opposite. The track star who once ran a 10.92 in a 100-meter race provides the spark Florida State's offense has needed when struggling. He does lead the Seminoles in rushing with 905 yards, but Cook really emerged in the second half of the season over Karlos Williams. 

That's not to say Freeman lacks speed or that Cook lacks power, but their crisscrossed styles have made each offense more complete in the most unlikely ways. 

So, what can each do in the Rose Bowl?

Freeman has the chance to feast. It's no secret that Florida State's defense is less efficient than last year's group, according to Football Outsiders' FEI rankings. Specifically, the Seminoles have given up at least four yards per rush in eight games this season. Most recently, Georgia Tech ran all up and down the Seminoles in the ACC championship. 

Player	Rushing Yards	Touchdowns
Dalvin Cook	905	8
Royce Freeman	1,299	16

Of course, Georgia Tech's option offense is tough to prepare for in a week's time. Not to mention, it's a physically taxing offense to defend and shed blocks against. Furthermore, Florida State has gone up against some tough offenses. 

The question is whether the Ducks can continue to be physical against Florida State, as Oregon hasn't faced the toughest defensive strength of schedule this season. For what it's worth, though, the Ducks racked up 267 yards on 5.8 yards per carry against their toughest defensive opponent, Stanford. Freeman had 98 yards on 19 carries in that game. 

For Cook, it's about picking up where he left off. His breakout game came on Oct. 30 in a win over Louisville in which he had nine carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Four of his five games since have had double-digit carries. He surpassed the century mark in wins over Florida and Georgia Tech. Of Florida State's 32 rushes against the Yellow Jackets, Cook was responsible for 31. 

Florida State's offensive line has been better over the second half of the season, but Cook gives the Seminoles a speed element that Williams simply doesn't. 

The knock on Oregon, fair or not, is that it hasn't been able to match up well against physical teams like Stanford. That narrative was debunked, at least in part, in a convincing 45-16 win over the Cardinal in November. 

Oregon can debunk it for good against Florida State. However the Rose Bowl plays out, though, take a few minutes and look beyond the quarterback on each sideline. We know it could be Mariota and Winston's last college game. The future of each program could be lined up beside/behind them. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless noted elsewhere.