10 College Football Players Who Are Much Better Than Their Statistics Show
With 479 passing yards per game—the most in the FBS—is Washington State’s Connor Halliday really the best quarterback in the nation?
And with 170 rushing yards per game—also No. 1 in the nation—is Indiana’s Tevin Coleman the best running back?
You have to wonder if quantity really does equal quality and if the numbers that underscore our understanding of college football really tell us which players are the best.
Here are 10 guys who may not be all-world in the major statistical categories we hold so dear, but who are proving themselves to be elite players outside of the box.
Since the possibilities are endless, we’ll limit the discussion to just a handful of athletes from each side of the ball.
Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas
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While Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon and Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah are rightly heralded as the top rushers in college football, don’t forget the dynamic duo from Arkansas.
With 103.75 yards per game, junior running back Jonathan Williams ranks No. 25 in the FBS. His partner in crime, sophomore Alex Collins, comes in at No. 40 with 93.38.
The two combine to anchor what is the No. 16 rushing offense in the FBS.
The difference between Williams and Collins and guys like Gordon and Abdullah is that they are part of a two-man attack, as opposed to one with a single featured rusher.
So, where Gordon and Abdullah both average 22 carries per game, Williams and Collins share the load, averaging 15.
Given that both of the Razorbacks’ leaders average 6.5 yards per carry, seven additional carries would mean 45 more yards. This would put Williams’ and Collins’ average yards per game in the 150 range, among the top 10 backs in the FBS.
Though neither of these two names will be mentioned for the Heisman, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t two of the best backs in college football.
Shaun Wilson, RB, Duke
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With only 485 yards in his first seven games, true-freshman running back Shaun Wilson ranks an unimpressive No. 85 in the FBS in yards per game with 69.29.
Digging a bit deeper, Wilson has carried the ball a mere 47 times, meaning that he’s averaging 10.3 yards every time he touches the ball. That's the highest mark in the country.
It’s better than Tevin Coleman’s (Indiana) 8.8, Todd Gurley’s (Georgia) 8.2 and Melvin Gordon’s (Wisconsin) 7.6—all ranked in the top 15 in yards per attempt.
The only guy who has come close to the mark in the last decade is Houston’s Anthony Alridge, who finished the 2006 season with an average of 10.1 yards per carry.
Wilson is Duke’s leading rusher this season and the anchor on an offense that ranks No. 32 in rushing yards per game versus No. 90 in passing.
All this for a Blue Devil team that is 6-1 and ranked No. 24 in the latest AP poll.
Bryce Treggs, WR, Cal
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The reason we’ve heard less about Cal wide receiver Bryce Treggs than Amari Cooper (Alabama) and Kevin White (West Virginia) is because the Golden Bears share the receiving love.
Where Cooper is Blake Sims’ primary target (71 receptions versus No. 2 receiver DeAndrew White’s 23), Treggs has 37 receptions versus No. 2 Kenny Lawler’s 29 and No. 3 Chris Harper’s 28.
In fact, Cal quarterback Jared Goff has six targets with 20-plus receptions this season. This is remarkable for an offense that ranks No. 4 in the FBS in passing yards.
In West Virginia’s case, White is Clint Trickett’s No. 1 guy with 72 receptions versus 45 by No. 2 Mario Alford.
This goes a long way in answering the question, “How can Cal’s No. 1 receiver, Treggs, rank out of the top 100 in receiving yards?”
If Treggs got more touches, he would be a top-10 guy.
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Jordan Payton, WR, UCLA
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Junior wide receiver Jordan Payton is UCLA’s No. 1 receiver this season, with 664 yards and six touchdowns on 47 catches.
Though these stats are high marks for the Bruins, they aren’t worthy of celebration from an all-FBS standpoint: Payton ranks No. 32 in yards per game (83), No. 29 in total yards and No. 23 in touchdowns.
That said, Payton has had his best days against the stiffest opposition, performing unbelievably well in UCLA’s string of games against opponents now ranked in the Top 25.
Where he averaged 83 receiving yards in all eight games this season, Payton averaged 95.3 against No. 15 Arizona State, No. 18 Utah and No. 5 Oregon. Only four receivers in the FBS have performed better against ranked foes.
If that weren’t enough, Payton scored four of his six touchdowns against the ranked trio—two against Arizona State and two against Oregon.
This ties him with West Virginia’s Kevin White for the most passing touchdowns against ranked opponents in 2014.
Grant Hedrick, QB, Boise State
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Boise State quarterback Grant Hedrick has performed well enough to be ranked No. 23 in passer rating (151.08) in 2014, but he has also thrown 11 interceptions, tying him for the fifth most in the FBS.
That’s more picks than any Bronco quarterback has thrown since Taylor Tharp coughed up 11 in 2007. Only Tharp did it in 13 games, while Hedrick still has four regular-season games and a bowl appearance to go.
What also knocks Hedrick down a notch is Boise State’s 6-2 start—not bad in light of the 8-5 finish last season, but miles away from the string of double-digit win campaigns it posted from 2006-12.
What makes Hedrick better than his 11 interceptions is his 72.5 completion percentage, going 190-of-262 this season.
How good is it?
How about No. 1 in the nation? Better than Jameis Winston’s 70.6 percent (No. 3), Marcus Mariota’s 68.8 (No. 9) and Clint Trickett’s 68.3 (No. 10).
It’s also better than any Boise State quarterback since Kellen Moore completed 74.3 percent of his passes in 2011, the same season he finished No. 8 in the Heisman vote.
Travis Wilson, QB, Utah
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With 1,027 passing yards (146.7 per game), Utah quarterback Travis Wilson doesn’t even rank among the top 100 quarterbacks this season.
His passer rating of 135.43 ranks No. 59, his eight touchdown passes rank No. 85 and his 56.6 completion percentage ranks No. 92.
What makes up for his subpar stat sheet is Wilson’s zero interceptions in 143 attempts, the best performance of any quarterback in college football this season.
The next closest competitor is Ball State’s Jack Milas, a freshman with only three starts who hasn’t thrown a pick in 116 attempts.
Wilson, who has played in all seven games this year, had led Utah to a 6-1 record and a No. 18 ranking in the latest AP poll.
Nigel Harris, LB, South Florida
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When you play linebacker for the scoring defense ranked No. 86 in the country, it’s unlikely that your name is going to be plastered all over the internet.
Especially when your team is 3-5.
Flying way under the national radar at South Florida, sophomore linebacker Nigel Harris isn’t necessarily lighting up the statistics. With 52 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and two sacks, he ranks out of the top 100 in every major category this season (his second as a starter).
What he does have going for him is five forced fumbles, tying him for the most in the nation with fellow sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright of Arizona.
This puts Harris and Wright five forced fumbles away from tying the NCAA FBS record of 10 (since defensive records began being kept in 2000), set by Louisville’s Elvis Dumervil in 2005.
Stephone Anthony, LB, Clemson
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When you think of Clemson’s No. 3-ranked total defense this season, it's likely defensive end Vic Beasley who first comes to mind. Beasley is ranked No. 5 in the nation in sacks and No. 10 in tackles for a loss.
Beasley garners the kind of accolades that make it hard for another individual to shine from a national standpoint.
But shine is precisely what senior middle linebacker Stephone Anthony has done this season. Though his numbers aren’t all-world, he’s on track to have the best season of his career.
With 49 tackles, Anthony doesn’t even rank in the top 100 among FBS defenders, but he is the No. 1 tackler on a defense that ranks No. 11 in scoring.
Compare this to the nation’s leading tackler, Texas State linebacker David Mayo with 105, who plays for the No. 75-ranked scoring defense.
Anthony is also No. 2 on the team in tackles for a loss (8.5), No. 3 in sacks (2.5) and No. 1 in quarterback hurries (four).
Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State
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The difference between Oklahoma State sophomore DE Emmanuel Ogbah and some of the other guys on this list is that he does look good on paper.
Ogbah ranks No. 5 in the nation in sacks (eight) and No. 6 in tackles for a loss (12.5), making him one of the best defenders in the land.
What makes him even better than his stat line is how he’s performed against the best-of-the-best: Ogbah ranks No. 1 in the FBS in sacks against ranked opponents with five.
This is a stunning achievement for a guy who plays for a defense that ranks only No. 77 in scoring.
He registered two sacks in the Cowboys’ 37-31 loss to No. 1 Florida State, two more in the 42-9 loss to No. 12 TCU and one in last weekend’s 34-10 defeat to No. 22 West Virginia.
In Ogbah’s case, he’s even better than his gaudy numbers—and the Cowboys’ three losses—say he is.
Darryl Roberts, CB, Marshall
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Though Rakeem Cato and Marshall’s offense get plenty of credit for the 8-0 start and No. 23 AP ranking, don’t forget about the No. 8-ranked Thundering Herd scoring defense.
This is a unit that ranks No. 43 versus the run and No. 24 against the pass.
Hidden somewhere beneath a pile of defensive stats is senior cornerback Darryl Roberts, who is ranked out of the top 100 in both interceptions (one) and tackles (47). What he does have is 13 broken-up passes, tying him for the most in the FBS ranks.
Roberts has broken up a pass in each of Marshall’s eight wins, with the exception of the 48-7 win over FCS Rhode Island. He’s had two or more on four occasions and tied his career-high mark of three in last weekend’s 35-16 win over Florida Atlantic.
With four regular season games and a bowl appearance still to be played, Roberts is only seven shy of tying Tim Bennett (Indiana, 2013) and Dee Milliner (Alabama, 2012) for the most broken-up passes since 2008 (20).
Statistics courtesy of CFBStats. Records courtesy of the NCAA FBS Record Book.
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