Melvin Gordon made a very strong case for the Heisman Trophy with his performance against Nebraska.
The Wisconsin Badgers went into a very difficult game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at home yesterday afternoon in what was expected to be a shootout to get to the top of the Big Ten, but the Badgers came out strong and blew them out. It was a slow start for Wisconsin, but just when his team needed him, Melvin Gordon stepped up and played a huge game.
Gordon has been one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy this year, and he made a very strong case for the award against Nebraska.
Wisconsin handed him the football 25 times for 408 yards and four touchdowns, and that set the single game record for most rushing yards that was previously held by LaDainian Tomlinson. Gordon took a major step forward in the Heisman conversation with that performance, and in fact he should be leading the way after that type of a game.
On the season, Gordon has carried the football 223 times for 1,909 yards and 23 touchdowns. Those numbers alone are absolutely ridiculous, not counting the fact that the Badgers’ quarterbacks have only combined for 1,351 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on the season.
There are not many running backs in the nation that could have that little help from the aerial attack and still keep putting up the workhorse running numbers that Gordon has. He has a great offensive line in front of him, but he has made play after play in the open field and broken tackles and made things out of nothing all year long. Without Gordon on the roster, the Badgers simply wouldn’t have any type of an offensive attack.
That being said, Gordon is going to have a very tough time beating out the rest of the Heisman Trophy candidates. Dak Prescott had a tough game today against Alabama, but is still going to be one of the top Heisman candidates. Marcus Mariota is also one of the top candidates for the award, and his Oregon Ducks are still going to play at a high level all season long. Both Trevone Boykin and Amari Cooper are going to be in the conversation as well.
Despite all of the stiff competition, Gordon is without a doubt the best choice for the award. He has meant the most to his teams success, and he has done so without much support from the rest of his team. Gordon’s offensive line is great, but the rest of the offense has been fairly bad to say the least.
Coming off of that type of a historic performance, there is no question that his stock will rise quickly. He broke a record that was set in 1999, and he did so while still having plenty of time to put up even bigger numbers if his team needed him to stay in the game. The Badgers are currently ranked #20 in the nation and will take a step forward after beating the #16 team in the country.
At the end of the day, there aren’t many players that can make the type of impact on a game that Gordon can. He has stayed consistent with his production each and every week, and has led the Badgers to contending for a very nice bowl game despite the lack of talent overall on the offense. Assuming he continues playing at the level that he has been, there is no question that he is the leading candidate to win the Heisman Trophy.
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