Power Ranking College Football's Top RBs Post Week 8
Todd Gurley's suspension for allegedly selling autographs has opened a power vacuum atop the college football running back hierarchy. If and when the Georgia star is reinstated, he is the easy choice for No. 1. Until then, four or five players have a legitimate claim to the throne.
The bottom half of this top 10 has been shuffled after eight weeks of the season, too. Preseason darlings such as Karlos Williams of Florida State have flopped, but others have tossed their hats into the ring.
The ranking that follows placed a heavy (but not an absolute) emphasis on what has happened in 2014. It also took contextual factors such as scheme, schedule and offensive line into account.
The 10 running backs with the best stats were not necessarily the 10 running backs selected.
It was simply the 10 best running backs.
Just Missed the Cut
1 of 11
Regrettably, this list only had 10 openings, which means more than a few great running backs did not make the cut. Here is a list of players who came just short of making the top 10. We'll keep an eye on them for the rest of the season to see if they can leapfrog anybody.
- Jay Ajayi, Boise State
- Devontae Booker, Utah
- David Cobb, Minnesota
- James Conner, Pittsburgh
- Royce Freeman, Oregon
- Dee Hart, Colorado State
- Devon Johnson, Marshall
- Samaje Perine, Oklahoma
10. Alex Collins/Jonathan Williams, Arkansas
2 of 11
Collins: 103 carries, 665 yards, 8 TD; 3 receptions, 9 yards
Williams: 104 carries, 677 yards, 9 TD; 8 receptions, 29 yards
Is this cheating? Maybe. But it's hard to pick between Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, whose numbers are for the most part identical.
Collins is shiftier than Williams, but both backs know how to make people miss. More than that, they know how to finish runs, giving the Razorbacks offense a patent identity. They are as good as any one-two punch Bret Bielema ever coached at Wisconsin.
Crazier still, Williams is only a junior, and Collins is only a sophomore, which means there's a good chance these two are just getting started. However good they and Arkansas' ground game have looked this season, everything will probably look even better in 2015.
Even though Arkansas has a 3-4 record, there's a lot to look forward to in Fayetteville.
9. Josh Robinson, Mississippi State
3 of 11
98 carries, 689 yards, 8 TD; 11 receptions, 148 yards
Dak Prescott isn't the only big-bodied star in Mississippi State's backfield. His running mate, 5'9", 215-pound running back Josh Robinson, is also playing All-SEC-caliber football.
Robinson isn't the fastest cat in the league, but he's stout and squat and knows how to run through contact. He and Prescott form an imposing tandem on zone-read option plays, during which defenses are forced to choose between a pair of equally strong downhill runners.
Running back was thought to be the weakest part of Mississippi State's offense after the loss of senior LaDarius Perkins, but Robinson has been just as good as, if not better than, his predecessor.
He is one of the biggest reasons for MSU's success.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
8. D.J. Foster, Arizona State
4 of 11
97 carries, 612 yards, 6 TD; 26 receptions, 372 yards, 2 TD
D.J. Foster is the best pass-catching running back in the country, which is unfair since he's basically a receiver. Last season, when Arizona State still had Marion Grice in the backfield, Foster finished second on the team with 63 catches and 653 receiving yards.
This year, though, he has proved that he can handle the load of a No. 1 running back without compromising his effectiveness as a receiver. He is equally adept at both facets of the position, giving the Sun Devils a weapon whom few defenses have the personnel to account for.
"He’s the best football player I’ve ever coached," said ASU head coach Todd Graham of his running back, per Brian Hamilton of SI.com.
High praise? Sure.
But Foster has earned it.
7. Mike Davis, South Carolina
5 of 11
121 carries, 662 yards, 8 TD; 15 receptions, 138 yards
South Carolina has not been very good this year, but its running back, Mike Davis, has at least managed to keep his personal stock high.
Davis barely played in the Week 1 upset against Texas A&M but returned strong from a rib injury the following week to help the Gamecocks avoid dropping to 0-2 against East Carolina—a team that has won every other game on its schedule and is now ranked in the Top 20.
Built like Maurice Jones-Drew (5'9", 223 pounds), Davis has a quick burst through the hole and bounces off tacklers like a bowling ball off a pin. There is nothing on the field he cannot do.
6. Javorius "Buck" Allen, USC
6 of 11
150 carries, 909 yards, 8 TD; 24 catches, 290 yards, 1 TD
Javorius "Buck" Allen is the best USC running back since Reggie Bush in 2005, and he's making a case to join the likes of Bush, Marcus Allen, Charles White and O.J. Simpson in a long line of great Trojans runners.
Is it too early to put Allen on that list? Yes. But if he keeps producing as he has been since the end of last season, when he became the primary ball-carrier, it's hard to say how good he can be.
Allen has a big body (6'1", 220 pounds) but is shifty enough to run past defenders in open space. He has great vision and hands, and he's done some of his best work in the biggest moments of the season (even though USC's defense let him down against Arizona State).
5. Tevin Coleman, Indiana
7 of 11
135 carries, 1,192 yards, 11 TD; 17 receptions, 140 yards
Tevin Coleman has been one of the top five running backs in college football this season, a fact that either surprises you or vindicates you depending on how closely you watched him play in 2013.
Football Study Hall developed an explosiveness metric called "Highlight Yards per Opportunity" for running backs, and Coleman, who missed the final three games of last season with an ankle injury, finished not just first in the country but by far first in the country, as FSH editor Bill Connelly explained in his Indiana team preview:
"Of the 199 FBS players with at least 100 carries in 2013, only seven averaged 8.0 highlight yards per opportunity or greater. Boston College's Andre Williams and Missouri's Henry Josey averaged 8.0, Maryland's C.J. Brown and Ohio State's Braxton Miller averaged 8.4, West Virginia's Dreamius Smith and UL-Lafayette's Elijah McGuire averaged 8.6 ... and Tevin Coleman averaged 12.0. His average was 40 percent better than the second best. He had 14 carries of at least 20 yards (only 12 players had more), and he had eight of at least 40 (most in the country). He is unlit dynamite every play he's on the field.
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Coleman is not a one-year wonder. He has been doing this over a more-than-adequate sample. He is the best big-play running back in college football, and his stats would be even better if not for Indiana falling behind and abandoning the run on multiple occasions this season.
Seriously. Coleman is the truth.
4. Duke Johnson, Miami
8 of 11
139 carries, 1,036 yards, 7 TD; 19 receptions, 224 yards, 1 TD
Duke Johnson would have made the top five even before Thursday night's game; he took 31 touches for 286 yards and two touchdowns against a Virginia Tech defense that entered the week ranked No. 1 in Football Outsiders' defensive F/+ ratings.
Only now, the decision was easy.
Johnson missed the final five games of last season with an injury but has not let that impede his development. He was Miami's best offensive player as a true freshman in 2012 and is exactly as good as a junior as we expected he would be back then. He is the ideal scatback, capable of making plays both as a runner and as a receiver.
The Hurricanes as a whole are playing pretty well right now, too.
3. T.J. Yeldon, Alabama
9 of 11
106 carries, 556 yards, 4 TD; 10 receptions, 143 yards, 1 TD
T.J. Yeldon does not have the third-best stats in the country, but he has been the third-best running back. With Gurley out of the picture for the time being, Yeldon is the class of the SEC.
The previous point was reinforced during Alabama's 59-0 win over Texas A&M, a game in which Yeldon was the best player on the field. His footwork, speed and vision made Aggies defenders look hapless. Yeldon finished the game with 169 yards on 14 touches.
Sophomore Derrick Henry is around to poach carries, which in large part explains why Yeldon's numbers do not mesh with the rest of this list. But do not let the raw data fool you. His three 100-yard games have come against Alabama's three hardest opponents: West Virginia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. And that Yeldon held off Henry from becoming the No. 1 back in the first place was an impressive feat.
Everything Yeldon has done this year has been impressive.
2. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska
10 of 11
161 carries, 1,024 yards, 14 TD; 11 receptions, 143 yards, 2 TD
Ameer Abdullah is the beating heart of a 6-1 Nebraska team whose only loss came on the road against a Top 10 opponent (Michigan State).
That combined with his low-to-the-ground, do-it-all running style makes him one of the most singular talents in college football and gives him a genuine case for postseason honors such as the All-America first team, the Doak Walker Award and even—yes—the Heisman Trophy.
Abdullah feels like he has been around forever and is on pace to finish No. 7 in FBS history with 7,419 career all-purpose yards, the second highest total from a player in a power-five conference.
Only C.J. Spiller of Clemson would have gained more.
1. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin
11 of 11
132 carries, 1,046 yards, 13 TD; 6 receptions, 27 yards, 1 TD
Melvin Gordon is getting his highest usage rate and playing his best football for what unfortunately is the worst Wisconsin team of his career.
But he might be good enough to right the ship single-handedly.
In his last four games alone, Gordon has 99 carries for 868 yards and 11 touchdowns. For many players, numbers such as those would constitute a quality season. For Gordon, it's a quality third.
Gordon is 6'1" and sturdier between the tackles than people give him credit for, but his manifest skill is the ability to break long runs. He's a long-strider who makes getting to the second level look easy—something that will not be lost on NFL scouts this offseason.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
