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Would You Consider Us "Runningback U"?

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Are We "Runningback U"?

  • Yes

    Votes: 14 18.9%

  • No

    Votes: 60 81.1%
  • Total voters
    74
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I think Miami shouldn't be in this conversation, they are top 10, maybe top 5 but the top 3 are USC, Texas, and tOSU IMO.

My biased facts (source: tOSU Encyclopedia)

All 1000 yard rushers since 1947:
Jim Otis ('69 1,027)
Brockington ('70 1,142)
Archie ('73-75 1,577; 1,695; 1,450)
Jeff Logan ('76 1,248)
Ron Springs ('77 1,166)
Calvin Murray ('80 1,267)
Tim Spencer ('81-82 1,217; 1,538)
Keith Byars ('83-84 1,199; 1,764)
Vince Workman ('86 1,030)
Robert Smith ('90 1,126)
Raymont Harris ('93 1,344)
Eddie George ('94-95 1,442; 1,927)
Pepe Pearson ('96 1,484)
Wiley ('98 1,235)
Clarett ('02 1,237)
Pittman ('05 1,331)

(16 players, 21 1,000 yard seasons)
^I wonder how many MoC woulda wound up with.. fucker

Career Yards:
Archie: 5,589 ('72-75)
Eddie: 3,668 ('92-95)
Spencer: 3,553 ('79-82)
Byars: 3,200 ('82-85)

Heisman winners and finalist:
'95 Eddie
'84 Byars (2nd, Flutie won with the hail mary..)
'75 Griffin
'74 Griffin
'73 Griffin (5th, John Cappelletti from PSU won it, we had 3 finalist.. archie, John Hicks was 2nd (OL and a real cool guy), and Gradishar was 6th)

'69 Otis[FB] (7th, Steve Owens of OU won.. we had 3 finalist this painful year: Kern, Otis, and Tatum)

'61 Ferguson[FB] (2nd, Ernie Davis of Syracuse won)
'58 Bob White[FB] (4th, Pete Dawkins of Army won)
'55 Hopalong
'54 Hopalong (3rd, Alan Ameche of UW won)
'50 Janowicz
(4 Heisman winning running backs, 5 trophies and 2 runner-ups)
 
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If you are really talking about through the history of college football, Miami is NOT in that conversation, because they've only been producing backs for 20 years, and they really didn't produce many in the 80's (it was QBU then). And complicating matters further is that 1000 yard backs is a nice little stat and all, but is completely irrelevant back in the days of only playing 6-8 games.
 
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Dublin Buckeyes said:
I concur, but I also put Miami ahead of UGA. Hey, and EngineerHorn, Emmitt Smith is the ONLY good NFL player to come out of UF, so don't give him to Miami :wink:

1. USC
2. Texas
3. OSU
4. Auburn
5. Miami

My other votes for different position U's are:
Ohio State: LB U.
Nebraska: Scrambler QB U.
FSU: WR U.

Notre Dame: Over rated, over hyped U.
Click to expand...

Bettis, Watters! Over hyped ?? HMM UH YEAH.....
 
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Bucklion said:
And complicating matters further is that 1000 yard backs is a nice little stat and all, but is completely irrelevant back in the days of only playing 6-8 games.
Click to expand...
yes your right, thats why we had heismans winners not hitting even a 1,000.. they were down near the 600-800 yard range whih is why i included that stat.. 1,000 yards isn't the only judge of a great back, MoC had 1,000+ and wasn't healthy for the year.. the purpose of that post was not to say that OSU is the best but rather to throw some more names besides archie, eddie, pittman and clarett.

I think in almost any sport it's becomes near immpossible to compare era's to era's. You mentioned the 1000 yard stat.. but lets not forget the different styles of play, competition (from the beginning of college ball to probably what, the 50's/60's we couldn't fly teams around the country like now.. for the smaller programs perhaps even longer), and hell even the athlete itself.
 
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barlow1802 said:
yes your right, thats why we had heismans winners not hitting even a 1,000.. they were down near the 600-800 yard range whih is why i included that stat.. 1,000 yards isn't the only judge of a great back, MoC had 1,000+ and wasn't healthy for the year.. the purpose of that post was not to say that OSU is the best but rather to throw some more names besides archie, eddie, pittman and clarett.

I think in almost any sport it's becomes near immpossible to compare era's to era's. You mentioned the 1000 yard stat.. but lets not forget the different styles of play, competition (from the beginning of college ball to probably what, the 50's/60's we couldn't fly teams around the country like now.. for the smaller programs perhaps even longer), and hell even the athlete itself.
Click to expand...

Oh I agree, and I wasn't talking against you...your post made sense, there have been some in this thread that have used the 1000 yard stat as the measuring stick, which it isn't. It is also why Miami isn't in the equation if one is talking about the history of college football, which has to be pointed out to Miami fans all the time. This is the era of the gaudy stats and the "feature" back, something that hasn't always been the case...lots of teams used more than one player quite frequently before the 90's, especially at tailback, when everyone ran the ball more.
 
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NOTREDAMECHIEF said:
ND has 2 of the NFL's all time rushing top 15 and they do not make the list??
Click to expand...

I think it's because Bettis (the only ND player I've always liked a lot) is kind of like a Carl Yastremzski, who put up very good numbers for a long time, while rarely being truly spectacular, because people just don't like Ricky Watters, and because it's hard to even think of another really good ND RB, although IMO Allen Pinkett was better than people give him credit for.
 
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CFN Article has OSU as Runningback U. #1

This is the article by Richard Cirminello where he factors in both pro and college performance. Pete Fiutek had us at #5 (behind USC, Auburn, Texas and Georgia) only considering college performance. Both of those guys had OSU as the top 4 in offensive line. We also had pretty good marks on the receivers.

The only placement completely sans-bucks is Quarterback U.

1. Ohio State
The Flag-Bearer – Eddie George
The Ensemble – Archie Griffin, Keith Byars, Pete Johnson, Robert Smith, Jim Otis, John Brockington, Tim Spencer, Pepe Pearson, Raymont Harris, Michael Wiley, Calvin Murray, Maurice Clarett, Leo Hayden, Ron Springs, Vince Workman and Jonathan Wells

Consistency, dotted with periodic episodes of brilliance, is what separates the Buckeyes from every other NCAA program seeking the title of Running Back U. And unlike most other schools, Ohio State backs haven’t endured any serious dry spells. In the 1970s, there was two-time Heisman winner Griffin and pile-driving fullbacks Otis, Brockington and Johnson. The 1980s gave us Spencer and Heisman runner-up Byars. The 1990s were highlighted by Eddie George and his 1,927-yard Heisman season. After a stellar rookie season, Clarett looked poised to carry the torch early in the 21<SUP>st</SUP> century torch before his life spun out of control.

Since 1969, 17 different Buckeyes have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a college season. Six hit the milestone in the NFL. Again, a model of consistency. From 1969-1981, no one was better than USC. Not even close. However, since that time, the Trojans slipped before Reggie Bush and LenDale White arrived, and the Buckeyes have stayed the course, passing them at some point in the late 1990s. With both teams recruiting so well these days, expect them to jockey for the pole position for the foreseeable future.

2. USC
The Flag-Bearer – O.J. Simpson
The Ensemble – Marcus Allen, Charles White, Ricky Bell, Reggie Bush, Anthony Davis, Clarence Davis, Sam Cunningham, Mosi Tatupu, LenDale White, Ricky Ervins, Chad Morton, Sultan McCoullough and Lynn Cain

Until the 2003 arrival of Bush, it had been ages since USC had the kind of dynamic, Heisman-contending back, who enhanced the school’s reputation as Tailback U. To be specific, it’s been 24 years since Marcus Allen lit up the Pac-10 and became the first player in NCAA history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Of course, Allen was preceded by a parade of all-time greats, like Simpson, Anthony Davis, Bell and White, each of whom was a first-team All-American. However, it was after 1981 that the Trojans began to lose their stranglehold on the top spot. Since then, and before Bush and White, the newest generation of Trojan horses, the school had pinned its hopes on a menagerie of mediocre talent, none of whom ever bridged the gap to yesteryear or came close to being tabbed an All-American.

3. Penn State
The Flag-Bearer – Curt Warner
The Ensemble – Lydell Mitchell, Franco Harris, John Cappelletti, Matt Suhey, Larry Johnson, Richie Anderson, Ki-Jana Carter, Blair Thomas, Curtis Enis, D.J. Dozier, Sam Gash, Charlie Pittman, Booker Moore, Gary Brown, Steve Smith and Mike Guman

It’s been well-documented that Penn State’s recent history with first-round draft choices has been horrid. Dozier, Thomas, Carter, Enis. Flop, flop, flop, flop. Injuries have been a factor, but that makes each no less of a colossal bust. Still, all that can’t diminish what that quartet accomplished in State College. Nor does it take away from the fact that ten Lions have been plucked in the first round draft since 1972, eight were selected to someone’s All-American squad, Cappelletti won the 1973 Heisman Trophy, Harris is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame or Johnson ran for more 2,000 yards in 2002. The point being that despite all the bad press, few programs have spawned more top backs over the last 35 years than the Nittany Lions.
 
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