Wisconsin Football: Top 10 Running Backs since Ron Dayne
Melvin Gordon
Years played: 2011-2014
Career rushing yards: 4,915
Career rushing touchdowns: 45
Honors/Awards: Second team All-Big Ten (2013), First team All-American (2014), First team All-Big Ten (2014), Big Ten offensive player of the year (2014), Second in Heisman Trophy voting (2014), Doak Walker Award (2014)
Notes: Second in Big Ten in rushing yards (1,609) in 2013. Led Big Ten in yards per carry (7.8 and 7.5) in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Career yards per carry (7.8) leads Big Ten all-time. Led NCAA in rushing touchdowns (29), and total touchdowns (32) in 2014. Led NCAA in rushing yards (2,587) in 2014. Rushing yards in 2014 is second all-time in NCAA for a single season. Broke record for rushing yards in a single game with 408 against Nebraska in 2014. Career rushing yards (4,915) ranks seventh all-time in the Big Ten.
Gordon’s Game
Gordon was a home run hitter and is the most explosive running back on this list. He had track-like speed and if he ever got into the open field, nobody was going to catch him. Any run could go the distance with Gordon. He was more than just fast, though. He was also a technically-sound back. He waited for his holes to open up, and he was able to power through contact with his big frame. But the most exciting part of his game always was his speed. You could just tell he was faster than everybody else. He made running look easy.
Gordon’s best performance came during the 2014 season against Nebraska where he broke the NCAA single-game rushing record. He put up 408 yards in that game, but needed only three quarters to do it. Gordon sat the entire fourth quarter of the blowout. Who knows where that record could be if he continued to play. Nebraska certainly wouldn’t have been able to stop him.
Gordon’s Legacy
Gordon carried the tradition of great Wisconsin running backs into the modern era. A lot of the backs on this list were known for powering between the tackles. That’s a great way to produce in college, but it doesn’t always work at the next level. Gordon is seeing a very productive NFL career at the moment and is showing that Wisconsin running backs don’t have to be bruisers. James White is helping this cause too by developing into one of the best receiving backs in the league.
Gordon helped open the door for backs like Corey Clement and Jonathan Taylor to come to Wisconsin. He proved that you could be effective in Wisconsin’s system by being an electric runner. The game did evolve a bit, and Wisconsin did have to change, but it’s guys like Gordon that were able to help the Badgers stay close to their roots.