AL.com uses NFL numbers to weigh in on ‘Running Back U’ debate
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Former UGA RB Todd Gurley stirred up an online debate when he recently referred to Georgia as “Running Back U” in an interview.
Gurley specifically called out LSU and Alabama as being behind the Bulldogs in terms of producing the best running backs.
The folks at AL.com decided to weigh in on the “RBU” debate by looking at all-time NFL rushing yards based on college alma mater. The site’s rankings back up Gurley’s claim about Georgia being ahead of LSU and Alabama, but they don’t have the Dawgs on top.
In the list of the top 25 schools, Notre Dame comes in at No. 1 with 98,649 yards accumulated by Fighting Irish alumni. The first SEC school listed is not Gurley’s alma mater, but it’s actually UGA’s arch-rival Florida, checking in at No. 6 overall. Former Gators such as Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards, and Fred Taylor (No. 16 with 11,695 yards) have played a big part in getting the UF alumni tally to 72,651 yards.
Here’s the other SEC schools that made the cut:
- Georgia: 70,985 (No. 8)
- LSU: 69, 442 (No. 9)
- Auburn: 66,690 (No. 10)
- Tennessee: 60, 273 (No. 13)
- Texas A&M: 47,811 (No. 17)
- Alabama: 47,058 (No. 19)
The full list can be viewed at AL.com.
Do you think NFL stats settle it? Or would you use a different metric?
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
