Lindy's Five Essential Websites (Non-Major Media) for 2013
[+] Team Summaries

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Running back EPAs: Mid-Major Monsters

by Brent Blackwell

As expected, #1 is Dri Archer of Kent St.  Wait, that’s not what you expected?  Archer leads the country in yards per attempt, over 10, and Darrell Hazell has helped him out by not using him heavily in run-out-the-clock situations for the 6-1 Flashes.  Archer’s no fluke, with a reported 4.3 40 time.  He’s been worth a point every two times he’s touched the ball this year.

Archer’s ascent was made possible by Cody Getz’ ankle, which held him out against New Mexico.  Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon enters the top 5 thanks to his week 8 performance against Idaho, the top rushing performance of the year according to EPA (+19.69 points).  Dixon’s 17 carries for 232 yards and 6 TD (yes, 6) are the standard by which other elite performances will be judged this year.  Oregon’s 3rd string RB De’Anthony Thomas remains in the top 5 after a surprisingly poor performance against Arizona State.  Also notable is Tulsa, which places two RBs in the top 30 - #5 Trey Watts (683 yards, 2 TD) and #26 Alex Singleton (496 yards, 15 TD).

On the more negative side of the rankings, I see two Rutgers runners: Jawan Jamison (990 yards, 5 TD) and Savon Huggins (127 yards, 1 TD).  Jamison has been good at times, so without looking, I’d guess his meager value is a result of Rutgers over-committing to the run in order to protect leads.  I’d apply the same hypothesis to Florida’s Mike Gillislee and Oregon State’s Storm Woods as well.

No comments:

Post a Comment