The ground game is an imperative part of a well-rounded offense that hopes to vye for a title seemingly every season in college football. This season is no different, with some teams relying on multiple back while other having stallions in the stable.
One of those leading stallions is Kenneth Walker III. The Michigan State running back is a train that didn’t even go off the track in the Spartans’ loss to Purdue this past weekend. He had 146 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 23 carries. His total yardage on the season sits at an FBS best 1,340 yards, along with 15 touchdowns, third-best this season.
He still has a little ways to go to break the Michigan State all-time single-season rushing record set by Lorenzo White back in 1985, when he rushed for 2,066 yards. 727 yards more are needed if Walker III is to break that record. To get into the top-5 of the NCAA all-time single-season rushing ranks, he will need 846 yards more to pass Troy Davis of Iowa State, who sits 5th all-time after his 2,185-yard performance in 1996.
Here is the full breakdown of leaders in the ground game.
Rushing Yards
1.) Kenneth Walker III (Michigan State) – 1,340
2.) Sean Tucker (Syracuse) – 1,267
3.) Tyler Allgeier (BYU) – 1,167
4.) Breece Hall (Iowa State) – 1,121
5.) Lew Nichols III (Central Michigan) – 1,082
Rushing Touchdowns
1T.) Tyler Allgeier (BYU) – 17
1T.) Rasheen Ali (Marshall) – 17
3T.) Malik Cunningham (Louisville) – 15
3T.) Jerome Ford (Cincinnati) – 15
3T.) Kenneth Walker III (Michigan State) – 15
