Wisconsin’s junior running back does it all. He runs hard, he’s quick, he can pick up a blitz, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. And Montee Ball has done it all while being overshadowed by his quarterback, Russell Wilson. While Wilson deserves much of the attention because of his pure playmaking ability and level of play rarely seen from a Badger quarterback, Ball has been the consistent, driving force behind the offense.
Wilson continues to receive votes in ESPN’s Heisman preview, even after the two losses that doomed Wisconsin’s national title hopes. At one point, he was considered one of the top two or three players in the race for the award given to college football’s best player. But what those losses confirmed was that the key to the offense’s success is Ball, and when he is getting carries both the offense and defense fare better.
The only other running backs in the mix right now for the Heisman are Alabama’s Trent Richardson and Oregon’s LaMichael James. Here is a comparison of Ball’s stats with these two players:
———————Ball Richardson James—————————
Ball's stats say it. He's near the top in every category and compares favorably to other running backs in the Heisman race.
Rushing Yds 1076 1078 1061
Rushing TDs 21 17 9
Yds per carry 6.6 6.3 8.0
Receiving Yds 229 292 165
Receiving TDs 3 1 1
Team Record 7-2 8-1 8-1
Clearly, Ball’s stats are as good, if not better, than Richardson’s and James’. One could argue that touchdowns are the most important part of the game, and Ball leads the country in total touchdowns (24) with four more than the next closest player (Joseph Randall, RB, OK St.)
This is where the team losses hurt Ball. That is the only category where he’s significantly behind Richardson and James. It’s just one more loss, but Wisconsin lost to an unranked team (Ohio State), while Alabama and Oregon both suffered their only loss to LSU (No. 1 when Alabama lost, No. 4 when Oregon lost). Team success is usually one of the best predictors of Heisman potential, and maybe that would keep Ball from winning the award. But he at least needs to be in the conversation, and I’m sure he will be if the Badgers manage to win the Big Ten.
