Mississippi State running back Josh Robinson cruised to the SEC rushing lead Saturday with 198 yards on the ground.

Almost every mention of Robinson in a story this season is as a throw-in related to Dak Prescott. But he’s the SEC’s best chance at the Doak Walker Award even if the NCAA reinstates Todd Gurley this week.

Robinson nearly has rushed for 200 yards twice this season, falling three yards short at LSU and two yards short at Kentucky. He came three yards shy of 100 against Auburn as well.

The presence of a Heisman frontrunner and the failure to hit those benchmarks has repressed attention toward the junior from Franklinton, La. But Robinson averages 7.3 yards per carry with double-digit touchdowns and at least one catch in every game.

The Big Ten’s quartet of running backs, all in the top six in the country in rushing yards, will be tough to beat. Miami’s Duke Johnson is dynamite, and after spending the first three games of the season working off the rust following a gruesome injury, he’s dominated game after game.

But Robinson — not Leonard Fournette, T.J. Yeldon, Alex Collins, Mike Davis or any number of touted backs — is the best in the SEC right now.

RECAPPING SATURDAY’S SEC 100-YARD RUSHERS

Four SEC running backs and one receiver reached the 100-yard rushing benchmark on Saturday, including Robinson. here are the others.

  • Jonathan Williams ran for 153 yards against UAB to lead Arkansas. Collins seemed to fall into Brett Bielema’s doghouse since a first-quarter suspension a few weeks ago, and Williams has taken advantage.
  • Fournette rushed for 113 yards against the vaunted Landshark defense of Ole Miss, part of the team’s 264 rushing yards during the 10-7 upset win.
  • Cameron Artis-Payne (167) and Ricardo Louis (102) each topped 100 yards for Auburn in a war of defensive attrition with South Carolina on Saturday. Louis reached the total on three carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run.

Here are my weekly Top 10 rankings for the Doak Walker Award.

 

Player Buzz Previous Rank
1. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin The Badgers back recorded his second-lowest rushing total of the year in a 52-7 romp against Maryland: 122 yards. He’s up to 16 rushing touchdowns and added two catches as well. 1
2. Duke Johnson, Miami Johnson may be the hottest player in all of college football. He collected 286 total yards at Virginia Tech on Saturday, and after working his way back from a broken ankle, has at least 150 yards of offense in his last five games. 2
3. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska Abdullah scorched Rutgers for 225 rushing yards and three touchdowns, assuming the NCAA rushing lead at 1,249 yards. 3
4. Tevin Coleman, Indiana The Hoosiers had a bye week, putting Coleman 56 yards off Abdullah’s pace, but the Cornhuskers have played eight games to IU’s seven. 4
5. Josh Robinson, Mississippi State Dak Prescott’s sidekick has more than 100 total yards of offense in every game this season. He shredded Kentucky on Saturday for 209 yards of total offense and one touchdown. 6
6. James Conner, Pitt The big man revived his season against Georgia Tech, rushing for 120 yards and three touchdowns. That puts him North of 1,000 rushing yards for the season with 14 touchdowns. 5
7. Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan The nation’s leading scorer added three touchdown runs against Ohio, bringing his season total to 19. Franklin also has more than 1,200 yards of total offense. 7
8. Mike Davis, South Carolina One of the best pass-catching backs in the country, Davis nabbed six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown against Auburn, adding 88 rushing yards for good measure. 9
9. Javorius Allen, USC The Trojans lead back has more than 1,300 yards of total offense and has annihilated defenses since a lackadaisical ground performance at Boston College. —
10. David Cobb, Minnesota The fourth-leading rusher in the Big Ten alone, Cobb gets lost because he’s more of a between-the-tackles grinder. But that doesn’t mean his production is low: he’s rushed for 1,131 yards, sixth in the country. —

Dropped Out: Anthone Taylor, Buffalo (No. 8); D.J. Foster, Arizona State (No. 10).

Taylor’s 14 carries for 25 yards in a loss to Central Michigan won’t cut it, as your margin of error for winning a national award as a buzz-less player from a weak MAC program is paper-thin.

Foster has languished as a runner for weeks, holding himself afloat on his strength as a receiver. But rushing totals of 30, 13, 59 and 36 the last four games aren’t enough to overcome in an award that only running backs can win, despite his 32 catches for 424 yards.