BTN.com staff, August 1, 2014
A season ago, Ameer Abdullah and Melvin Gordon battled for the rushing yards crown. Abdullah, in the end, finished on top, albeit on 75 more carries than his rival in Madison. This season, the way the Big Ten's loaded at running back, it might be more than a two-man race. Will Abdullah be able to hold off the deep pool?
See Tom Dienhart, Sean Merriman and Brent Yarina's predictions in this post.
RUSHING YARDS
2013 leader: Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska - 1,690
2014 returning leader: Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska - 1,690
Tom Dienhart: Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska. He didn?t come back for his senior season to be a secondary player. Abdullah will be the centerpiece of a good, and deep, Huskers attack after averaging 130.0 yards rushing last year en route to compiling a Big Ten-leading 1,690 yards on the ground. What about all the depth in Nebraska's backfield? It's there, but I see it affecting Abdullah's TD total more than his yards.
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Sean Merriman: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin. You really can?t go wrong with Gordon or Nebraska?s Ameer Abdullah. But, I?m going to give a slight edge to Gordon, just because of the departure of James White, which should mean even more carries. This is a guy who carried the ball 206 times for 1,609 yards last season, an average of nearly 8 yards per carry. With White off to the NFL, Corey Clement becomes the second option for the Badgers, but Gordon will be this team?s workhorse. In fact, if he is able to stay healthy, I wouldn?t be surprised if Gordon led all of college football in rushing yards.
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Brent Yarina: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin. Gordon rushed for 1,609 yards last season, just 81 yards off Abdullah, and that was on 75 fewer attempts and in an offense that boasted James White and star pass-catchers Jared Abbrederis and Jacob Pedersen. Corey Clement is going to be a very nice back, no doubt, and some receiver figures to step up and be the go-to guy, but Gordon's carries will certainly increase. That's a nice situation for a running back with a career 8.1 yards per carry average.
