Oklahoma State fans can make a solid case that Chuba Hubbard is the best running back in the nation.
Maybe he’s the best overall player in the country, too. ESPN.com lists Hubbard at No. 7 in their list of current Heisman Trophy favorites.
“When Chuba gets through there, nobody can catch him,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “That makes him different than other players.”
Oklahoma State hosts Kansas at 11 a.m. on November 16.
Before being off last week, Hubbard led the nation in rushing yards and rushing yards per game and he ranked second in rushing touchdowns. Here’s an interesting statistic: Hubbard leads the nation in total rushing yards against AP top-25 opponents and in rushing yards per game against AP top-25 opponents.
Hubbard’s 296 rushing yards in Oklahoma State’s win over Kansas State represents the largest single-game output for any player in the country this year. The Wildcats were ranked No. 16 in the first College Football Playoff poll.
Against TCU, which entered the OSU game ranked 15th in the FBS by allowing only 103.7 rushing yards per game, Hubbard rushed for 223 yards on 20 carries (11.1 yards per carry). He rushed for 192 yards in the second half and scored the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Hubbard became the first player to rush for more than 200 yards against TCU in Gary Patterson’s 19 years as head coach.
Through nine games, Hubbard has 1,604 rushing yards. That is higher than the nine-game totals of three of the last four running backs to win the Heisman. With three regular season games and a bowl game left, he is on pace to finish with 2,317 rushing yards, which would rank fifth in FBS history and set a Big 12 Conference record. His 1,604 rushing yards through nine games this year is the third-highest nine-game total in the FBS since 2000, trailing only TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson in 2000 and Tulane’s Matt Forte in 2007.
Hubbard is in good company at OSU.
Barry Sanders’ 1988 season was judged by ESPN as being the greatest season of all time and Sanders was recently selected as the greatest college player ever by USA Today.
Hubbard needs 284 yards in his last four games to pass Terry Miller for second place on the OSU single-season list. Terry Miller was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1977.
Hubbard is averaging 178.2 yards per game. Only Sanders had a higher per-game average. Hubbard’s mark puts him immediately ahead of third-place Ernest Anderson, who led the nation in rushing in 1982 by averaging 170.6 yards per game.
With 18 scores, Hubbard needs four rushing touchdowns to pass the 21 touchdowns scored by College and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Thurman Thomas during 1987.
Hubbard is averaging 6.8 yards per carry – second only to Sanders’ 7.64 yards per attempt from 1988.
Hubbard leads the nation with four 200-yard rushing games. Nobody else has more than two. Hubbard has the nation’s longest active streak with seven consecutive games with more than 100 rushing yards. He leads college football in rushes of 20 yards or longer, 30 yards or longer, 40 yards or longer, 50 yards or longer, 60 yards or longer, 70 yards or longer, 80 yards or longer and 90 yards or longer.
Nation’s leading rushers (before last weekend’s games)
Total rushing yards
- Chuba Hubbard, OSU – 1,604
- A.J. Dillion, Boston College – 1,286
- Levante Bellamy, W. Michigan – 1,212
Rushing yards per game
- Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State – 178.2
- A.J. Dillon, Boston College – 142.9
- J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State – 138.8
Rushing Touchdowns
- Levante Bellamy, W. Michigan – 20
- Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State – 18
- Malcolm Perry, Navy – 16
(Bellamy has played one more game than Hubbard).