The Wisconsin Badgers’ stud running back, Montee Ball, sits just five touchdowns back of the legendary Barry Sanders’ single-season collegiate touchdown record. Ball’s four touchdown performance versus Penn State gave the junior 34 on the season.
With two games left, can the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year eclipse the 39 touchdowns Sanders accumulated for Oklahoma State in the 1988 season?
Ball has already broken one of Sanders touchdowns records this season when the elusive and powerful back scored at least two touchdowns in 12 straight games, passing Sanders’ record of 11 games.
Granted, Barry played in only 11 games that season, it’s still a record which hasn’t been touched in 23 years. Just to put in perspective how historic of a year it was for Sanders; in 11 games, he rushed for 2,638 yards on 344 carries (238.9 yards per game). Those are two records which may never be broken.
In contrast, Ball has 1,622 yards on 248 carries through 12 games this season. That’s good for an average of 135.2 yards per game. On a yard-per attempt comparison, Sanders is ahead 7.7 to 6.5, but we’re not here to talk about yards, we’re discussing touchdowns.
Ball has two more games, one against a great defense and the other potentially coming against a Pac-12 school such as Stanford or Oregon, both of which rank well below (24th and 64th respectably) what the Badgers have come accustomed to in the Big Ten.
That’s assuming the Badgers win in Indianapolis this weekend. Otherwise, they could end up in the Capital One Bowl against an SEC team with a better defense (five teams in the top ten). This is excluding Arkansas who ranks 51st nationally.
In the Big Ten Championship, Ball and the Badgers will face off with Michigan State’s third ranked defense. In their last meeting, Montee carried the ball 18 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two balls for 24 yards and another touchdown. It’s not crazy to think the Championship game will be low-scoring, so let’s say Montee Ball scores two touchdowns because he has done at least that in every game this season.
In order to break the record, he will need four touchdowns in the Badgers bowl game. This is something Ball has done three times this season, against UNLV, Nebraska and Penn State. The Nittany Lions rank 11th in defense, Nebraska is 36th and UNLV is a dreadful 106th. However, all three of these games were at Camp Randall, a luxury the Badgers do not have in the postseason.
Analyzing the numbers and odds, I would say it’s probably unlikely that Montee Ball breaks Barry Sanders’ impressive single-season touchdown record. And even if he did, because anything is possible, it wouldn’t come close to the dominance Sanders layed down during that special 1988 season.
You know it’s been a long time since that 1988 season when reporters ask whether or not Montee Ball remembers watching Sanders during his youth only to find out he’s too young. Sanders last played for the Detroit Lions during the 1998 season when Montee was at the age of eight.
What do you think, will he break the record? Do you remember the greatness that Barry Sanders displayed? Do you see the same thing in Montee Ball? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.
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Sanders 5 holiday bowl TDs are not included in his record. With the he would have 42 so Ball is no where near breaking anything. Please compare apples to apples.
Hey Mark, I can only compare what the NCAA allows. They unfortunately count bowl games ever since 2002, be mad at them, not me. And in the article, I said Barry Sanders year was much more impressive!
Lets just say sanders was one of the greatest, ever! And Montee is having a kind of season no one else can compare to other than sanders. Records are kept, and now he owns this one, due to whoever was too lazy to keep these stats back then. Great season Montee, lay down 4 or 5 more in the rose bowl!!!!
Im from wisconsin and a huge badger fan… Now yes montee is givin an additional 3 games but overtime the rules have changed and so has the style of play. However unfair it may be… records are ment to be broken and to pass the great barry sanders is awsome! He will do it in the rose bowl. Lets go bucky!
it is beyond stupid that the NCAA changed the rules for compiling statistical records. however, Montee needs just 1 to tie and 2 to break the record in the Rose Bowl. Versus the quack attack I think he’s “got this.” He should go for 42- now that would be something, if the rose bowl ends up being 56-49 or something like that
and getting back to the ? at hand, Sanders had the more impressive season on doubt, but how many times did Ok St sit him in the 4th and 3rd qtrs? Wisco played so many boring blowouts that Ball missed out on a ton of carries, many of which woulda been garbage time to pad his stats.
You can see that squarely the disparity between him and Sanders in carries- advantage Ball.
and it’s not even close to fair but the OT rules should count for stats, that’s the true injustice. Remember the Eli Manning Ole Miss game that was 17 all at the end of regulation, and the final was in the 40s? or ILL-MICH 67-65? those TDs shouldn’t count when you get to start at the 25.
the game has changed so, although these rules suck we have to stop whining and adapt
I think that most of you are retarded home crowd fans. Montee Ball has played in 13 games and scored 38 TDs. Barry Sanders’ played in 11 games and scored 39 TDs. Barry Sanders scored 5 TDs in the 1988 Holiday Bowl giving him 44 TDs on the season. It is irrelevent that pre 2002 Bowl games stats didn’t count. The NCAA should start updating statistics from bowl games prior to the 2002 season, so that the records can be as accurate as possible. Barry Sanders would have finished that season with 42 rushing TDs and 44 total TDs, forcing Montee Ball to have to score 6 TDs to tie or 7 TDs to overtake the true record (although he still would have had 2 more games). If Barry played in 12 games, then count ALL 12! Let’s not even get into overtime scores. I understand that the rules have changed, but if the game counted on the season record (and it did, they finished 10-2, not 9-2) then the stats should count too!
FYI Paul, Barry Sanders sat in the 3rd and 4th quarter far more times than did Montee Ball. Oklahoma St. averaged 48.7 ppg that year and they blew out almost every opponent, leaving Barry on the sidelines. Wisconsin gives Ball the ball when they are up 35-7 and inside the 10 just trying to allow him to break the record (see Penn St on Vov 26, 2011).