When South Carolina kicks off the SEC season Sept. 3 against North Carolina, every respectable fan, coach and player in the Southeast United States will care only about what’s in front of them: the next game, the next series, the next play.

There’s not much time for reflection when you’re screaming at your defense to stop Georgia running back Nick Chubb on third-and-4.

RELATED: Ranking the Top 10 SEC running backs entering the 2015 season

Speaking of Chubb, he’s part of an excellent crop of running backs vying for a spot in SEC history during the 2015 season. Players like LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Alabama’s Derrick Henry could produce special seasons.

Before we lose the opportunity to reflect — don’t worry, it will resurface in February after National Signing Day — let’s take a look at the 10 best running backs in all of college football in the last decade.

Perhaps with two more fantastic years, Chubb and Fournette could eventually make this list.

10. Mike Hart, Michigan (2004-07): A member of the last Wolverines football team to finish in the Associated Press Top 10, Hart led Michigan to an 11-0 start before the team lost at No. 1 Ohio State and then to No. 8 USC in the Rose Bowl. Hart topped 1,300 rushing yards three times at Michigan. For reference, his third-best year beat the career high of former Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon by 126 yards.

Career numbers: 5,040 rushing yards, 43 total touchdowns

9. DeAngelo Williams, Memphis (2002-05): Williams barely made our cutoff year (’05). He’s the only player not to compete in a power conference that made our list. But his overall stats were too impressive to ignore. Williams came agonizingly close to a 2,000-yard season twice. (Keep in mind that only two running backs in college football history have ever reached that milestone twice.) Williams set an NCAA record with 34 different 100-yard games and sits fifth on the all-time NCAA rushing list.

Career numbers: 6,026 rushing yards, 60 total touchdowns

8. Trent Richardson, Alabama (2009-11): He may be one of the biggest NFL draft busts in the last decade at the position, but that doesn’t erase what he accomplished in Tuscaloosa. After serving as a worthy backup to Mark Ingram for two seasons, Richardson finally got his chance as the alpha back in ’11. Richardson managed 2,017 yards of total offense and 24 total touchdowns that year, leading the Tide to a national championship. He won the Doak Walker Award in the process.

Career numbers: 3,130 rushing yards, 42 total touchdowns

7. Mark Ingram, Alabama (2008-10): Part of coach Nick Saban’s first full recruiting class with the Tide, Ingram was the No. 1 offensive option on the Bama team that finished 14-0 and ended a 17-year title drought for the program. He won the Heisman Trophy that season as well, the first ever by a member of the Alabama program. Knee trouble curtailed his junior season in ’10, but he’d already created a legacy in Tuscaloosa.

Career numbers: 3,261 rushing yards, 46 total touchdowns

6. LaMichael James, Oregon (2009-11): James rushed for at least 1,500 yards in all three seasons for the Ducks, adding 17 catches per year. In 2010, despite missing a game due to suspension, he led the country in rushing yards (1,682) and touchdowns (22) and became a Heisman Trophy finalist. But Auburn held him to 49 rushing yards as the Tigers won the BCS National Championship that season.

Career numbers: 5,082 rushing yards, 58 total touchdowns

5. C.J. Spiller, Clemson (2006-09): He wasn’t the greatest ball-carrier ever — his career high of 1,212 rushing yards is nine more than Mississippi State’s Josh Robinson achieved last season — but Spiller was one of the most efficient, versatile players in college football for four years. He averaged 30 catches per season and returned eight kicks or punts for touchdowns.

Career numbers: 4,480 rushing yards, 1,362 receiving yards, 51 total touchdowns

4. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin (2011-14): Gordon started just 22 games for the Badgers, but he churned out one of the greatest seasons in college football history in ’14, falling 41 yards short of Barry Sanders’ single-season record (2,628 in 1988). He rushed for 140 yards in a season-opening loss to LSU despite a minor second-half injury, another 251 in an Outback Bowl win against Auburn and an NCAA single-game record 408 — in just three quarters — against Nebraska. He also averaged 7.8 yards per carry for his career.

Career numbers: 4,915 rushing yards, 45 rushing touchdowns

3. Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma (2004-06): The Sooners great unleashed one of the greatest freshmen seasons in the history of college football in ’04, rushing for nearly 2,000 yards on 339 carries. That was enough to earn him Heisman runner-up status, as USC quarterback Matt Leinart won the award. Oklahoma also lost to the Trojans in that year’s BCS National Championship. A broken foot (’05) and a broken collarbone (’06) limited him in his final two seasons, but he still topped 1,000 yards in both.

Career numbers: 4,041 rushing yards, 41 rushing touchdowns

2. Darren McFadden, Arkansas (2005-07): The leading man in perhaps the most memorable backfield in SEC history, McFadden twice finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up and won the Doak Walker Award twice as the nation’s best tailback. A dynamite running back — only Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson were better in SEC history — McFadden launched the Wildcat formation into popularity. In 22 career pass attempts, he threw seven touchdowns. He also could run behind eventual Madden cover boy Peyton Hillis or hand off to All-American Felix Jones.

Career numbers: 4,590 rushing yards, accounted for 51 career touchdowns

1. Reggie Bush, USC (2003-05): A running back has claimed just two of the last 15 Heisman Trophies. Bush claimed the second-highest point total in the history of the award, crushing runner-up Vince Young of Texas. He eventually had to forfeit the award and return his trophy after a sports agent accused him of accepting, and failing to repay, $290,000 of gifts. He barely makes our cutoff year, but Bush was unstoppable in the open field in his last two college seasons. He averaged 8.7 yards per carry in ’05 — on 200 carries(!). He helped USC win two national championships as a two-time consensus All-American.

Career numbers: 3,169 rushing yards, 1,301 receiving yards, 2,081 total return yards, 43 career touchdowns