College Football Countdown: 97 Days
By Matt Green
With 97 days remaining on the College Football Countdown, today’s number is focused on one SEC player potentially reaching the top of the SEC record books.
Running the football has always been a staple of SEC football, and they’ve had some of the best of the best totin’ the rock. That leads us to today’s number on the College Football Countdown, which is all about running the football.
97
Yards per game Georgia’s Nick Chubb needs to average to move into second place on the all-time SEC rushing list.
It’s actually 97.25, but who’s counting? Oh yeah, we are. Nick Chubb is currently 17th in SEC history with 3,424 career rushing yards. Darren McFadden is currently second with 4,590 career rushing yards.
If you’re wondering why we’re only discussing second place, that’s because Herschel Walker’s all-time record of 5,259 yards seems a bit out of reach. Even though Walker set that record in three years, Chubb, now in his senior year, would need to average 152.9 yards per game to break his record.
It’s not inconceivable for Chubb to average 152.9 yards per game. In his 13 career starts before his knee injury, Chubb rushed for 2,068 yards and 19 touchdowns, an average of 159.1 yards per game. While he was still effective in 2016, he just didn’t look like the pre-injury Chubb that made him one of the best running backs in college football.
Chubb will of course have to share the backfield with fellow senior, Sony Michel, which might make breaking Herschel’s record doubtful. Michel, in his own right, has 2,411 career rushing yards, and could also end up in the top 20 in SEC history.
Georgia is a team that wants to run the football, and even though Chubb will be splitting carries, I fully expect him to be the second leading rusher in SEC history by the time his career is over.