LaMichael James vs. Marcus Lattimore: Who's Better and Why

College football is a game that is built on speed and power and in 2011 two running backs have shown us why. Through the first four games of the season LaMichael James and Marcus Lattimore put up rushing numbers that are garnering Heisman Trophy talk.

Both of the running backs are extremely talented, but they each play the position very differently.

James is a small back who excels in Oregon’s wide open spread offense while Lattimore is a big powerful runner who bulldozes defenders up the middle at South Carolina.

As a true freshman last season, Marcus Lattimore burst onto the scene at South Carolina, helping them win the SEC East.  At 6'1" 230 pounds, Lattimore is a hard man to take down especially when he gets into the secondary.

Lattimore is a very patient runner who does a good job waiting for his blockers to set up before hitting the hole.  Head Coach Steve Spurrier has used Lattimore as a workhorse back ever since he arrived on campus and will continue to do so until he leaves.

Across the country LaMichael James has been setting records at the University of Oregon since he first took over as the starting running back for LeGarrette Blount. Now a Redshirt Junior, LaMichael is Oregon's all-time leading rusher and ranks in the top ten of Pac-12 running backs all-time.

James is one of the fastest players in the nation and has thrived in Chip Kelly's spread offense, breaking off big run after big run.

Both have already had fabulous college careers and should flourish in the NFL, but at this point in time who is better?

They are difficult to compare because they play the position so differently and against very different opponents. Before breaking down the actual players it is important to level the playing field. 

The SEC has better defenses than the Pac-12, plain and simple. For that reason it could be argued that if Lattimore puts up similar numbers to James, he is a better running back because of the competition. However I think it is also safe to say that South Carolina's offensive line is bigger and better than Oregon's O-line. At the end of the day both of these backs could start for almost any team in the country regardless of the supporting cast.

Since LaMichael has played an entire season more than Lattimore it is unfair to compare career statistics. Instead we can just look at their stats from this season and last season when Lattimore was a freshman.

From 2010 to today LaMichael James has rushed for 2,344 yards on 359 carries and 28 touchdowns.  In that same time frame Marcus Lattimore ran for 1,808 yards on 356 carries and scored 25 touchdowns.  James beats Lattimore in every category including yards and touchdowns.  What stands out the most though is the yard differencial of 536 yards while James only carried the ball three more times.

In that time span, the only team Oregon and South Carolina both played was Auburn.  In their games against Auburn both running backs averaged less than 60 yards per game and couldn't find their rhythm.

Both Lattimore and James have had plenty of non-conference experience where they have run all over the smaller school.  However they have not had the same success in conference as the featured back for their team.

Since 2010 LaMichael has run for 1,609 yards while Lattimore rushed for just 1,150. James did get more carries than Lattimore, but he also averaged almost a yard more per carry.  Most importantly, James had 20 rushing touchdowns over that span compared to Lattimore's 13 TDs.

When it all shakes out they will both end their college careers as two of the best running backs of the past decade and will likely go on to have solid professional careers. I would bet that Lattimore is going to end up having a better pro career, but right now LaMichael James is the best running back in college football.