Washington Huskies' Bishop Sankey leads NCAA in rushing but is he the best RB?

Washington Huskies’ Bishop Sankey leads NCAA in rushing but is he the best RB?

By Josh Davis | Oct 15, 2013

Oct 12, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies running back Bishop Sankey (25) breaks a tackle by Oregon Ducks defensive back Brian Jackson (12) and safety Erick Dargan (4) and later scores a touchdown against the Oregon Ducks during the 2nd half at Husky Stadium. Oregon defeated Washington 45-24. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Huskies are far from leading the nation in rushing offense, but they do have the nation’s number one rusher in Bishop Sankey.

Sankey is averaging a total of 26 and a half attempts per game, while racking up an average of 149.83 yards per game. That’s good for a total of 899 yards on 159 attempts. The only problem with Sankey is his 5.65 average is only good enough for 99th best in the country. He’s a great back but that’s a pretty telling statistic.

Oct 12, 2013; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Melvin Gordon (25) rushes with the football as Northwestern Wildcats linebackers Eric Hauser (54) and Damien Proby (46) chase from behind during the second quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Antonio Andrews of Western Kentucky has only 17 less yards on 35 less carries. On 69 less attempts, Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon has only 29 less yards and David Fluellen of Toledo has just 53 less yards on 129 carries. All have played six games on the year. It would seem either of them could make a pretty compelling argument that they were the best back in the country.

Personally, I have Gordon as the best, Sankey 2nd, Andrews 3rd and Fluellen or perhaps even Ameer Abdullah of Nebraska 4th. Adbullah has 816 yards on only 114 carries, one of only three backs averaging over 7 yards per carry with at least 100 carries on the season.

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