Here are some quick facts about redshirt sophomore running back Melvin Gordon.
He leads the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing yards with 624. He has done this on 53 attempts, making him the only member of the top ten with less than 60.
He leads the FBS in yards per rush attempt with 11.8 yards per carry. He is tied for third in rushing touchdowns with seven.
He has more rushing yards than 58 FBS teams.
Gordon has done this despite splitting carries fairly evenly with senior running back James White, who also happens to be tenth on the FBS rushing yards list, and freshman Corey Clement, who is thirty-sixth.
Basically, Gordon has been having one of the most statistically extraordinary seasons in college football. It may be wildly early, but the time has come for the Heisman conversation.
Yes, this could be a little premature, and yes, Gordon hasn’t exactly played cream of the crop defenses this year, but Gordon had his best game against the best defense the Badgers have played, hanging 193 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 attempts against Arizona State.
Looking down the Badgers’ schedule, which teams have better defenses than Arizona State?
Ohio State, Northwestern and possibly BYU. Wisconsin has arguably the easiest conference schedule in the Big Ten when it comes to defense, most notably skipping both Michigan teams.
Unfortunately, the Badgers also miss Nebraska, and we all remember what happened in the Big Ten Championship game against the Huskers (words like trample, obliterate and pillage have been used), but that’s only one opponent lost in a Big Ten this year that continues to look underwhelming, especially looking past Ohio State.
Is it hard to believe Gordon can put up 200+ yard games against the likes of Minnesota, Indiana and Iowa?
It’s not like what Gordon has been doing is truly unsustainable. Last year, Gordon, had 621 yards on 62 carries. Numbers like that scream regression, but now, with an expanded role on offense, Gordon has produced virtually the same numbers (624 on 53).
For the last several years, Wisconsin running backs had their campaigns hollowed by the fact they are playing behind an almost NFL-caliber offensive line, against a fairly soft Big Ten in a system that benefits running backs more than any program north of Alabama. How else can you explain Montee Ball’s 2011 season placing merely fourth in the Heisman voting, despite tying what was thought to be a previously unbreakable touchdown record.
While this extra benefit seems at least partially true this year, as evidenced by White and Clement’s places on the FBS rushing list, it’s worth wondering if the narrative has been overblown.
Trent Richardson placed ahead of Ball in Heisman voting and won the Doak Walker award for best running back in 2011, despite playing behind an offensive line that featured an Outland trophy winner and two future first round picks.
Richardson was supposedly an otherworldly talent, but considering his very unremarkable NFL career so far (3.5 yards per carry behind a good Cleveland O-line), it wouldn’t be too out there to say that Ball was robbed, especially of the Doak.
In the end, Gordon will need to put up similarly remarkable numbers in the upcoming games to overcome the anti-Wisconsin running back bias, but he’s already doing it, and his future opponents indicate that it’s possible to keep it going.
Next on the to-do list is for Gordon to have a signature, high exposure game, like an upset against Ohio State.
Just imagine what could happen if Gordon has a big game next weekend. It’s a primetime game on ABC, the biggest stage you can get during college football’s regular season. There will be national eyes, an opponent that hasn’t lost since 2011 and Kirk Herbstreit there to laud Gordon’s speed, change of direction and surprising power for the audience.
If Gordon leads the Badgers to victory in Columbus and does it in a visible way that catches the Heisman voters’ eyes, watch out. Gordon stands to rocket up Heisman lists and place him squarely in line for a trip to New York.
