Auburn’s Cameron Artis-Payne is one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award.

Artis-Payne has rushed for 1,276 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games. He’s the only SEC running back still in contention to win the award, as voters will select three finalists from the group of 10.

The Big Ten produced three finalists (Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon, Indiana’s Tevin Coleman and Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah) and another, Minnesota’s David Cobb, has a strong argument that he shouldn’t have been excluded.

Gordon is the heavy favorite, as he’s within 100 yards of the magical 2,000-yard barrier. In fact, with Wisconsin’s win against Nebraska on Saturday, the Badgers should have an additional four games, including the Big Ten championship.

Gordon is 719 yards from Barry Sanders’ all-time single-season record of 2,628 (Oklahoma State, 1988). That’s a high total, but Gordon does claim four 200-yard games this season.

Artis-Payne is unlikely to make the final three, as Miami’s Duke Johnson, Pitt’s James Conner, Coleman and Abdullah should compete to be finalists.

Todd Gurley surely would’ve been a finalist as well if he stayed healthy. Mississippi State’s Josh Robinson would’ve been in the mix, but faded the last two games. Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon and South Carolina’s Mike Davis, thought to be candidates preseason, also haven’t had great years.

RECAPPING SATURDAY’S SEC 100-YARD RUSHERS

Five SEC running backs topped the century mark this weekend, including a pair of players from an unlikely program.

  • Florida QB Treon Harris ran for 111 yards in a loss to South Carolina as the only non-running back to top the century mark on Saturday.
  • Missouri’s Russell Hansbrough collected a career high 199 rushing yards against Texas A&M on Saturday, including touchdown runs of 49 and 45 yards.
  • Jalen Hurd ran for 110 yards (with a long of 14, no less) in a 50-point Tennessee outburst against Kentucky.
  • Nick Chubb (144) and Todd Gurley (138) each ran over Auburn on Saturday. Chubb now has run for 815 yards in the last five games.

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

Player Buzz Previous Rank
1. Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin He broke the NCAA single-game rushing record Saturday with 408 yards. Even if Todd Gurley had stayed healthy all season, Gordon would be the favorite to win this award. 1
2. Duke Johnson, Miami He stretched his streak of consecutive games with at least 150 yards of total offense to seven games Saturday in a near-upset of Florida State. 2
3. James Conner, Pitt The one-man battering ram is third in the NCAA in carries (250), rushing yards (1,562) and touchdowns (23). 3
4. Tevin Coleman, Indiana Lost behind Gordon’s record day Saturday was Coleman’s 307 rushing yards at Rutgers. Those are just silly numbers, especially in a 22-point loss without your starting quarterback. 4
5. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska Abdullah sprained his knee at a bad time, and Gordon upstaged him big-time Saturday. He finished with 69 rushing yards against Wisconsin after missing virtually all of the Purdue game. 5
6. Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn Artis-Payne now has rushed for fewer than 100 yards three times this year: in a 34-7 loss to Georgia, a 38-23 loss to Mississippi State and a fortunate 20-14 win at Kansas State. 6
7. Javorius Allen, USC The committee that nominates Doak Walker semifinalists isn’t very creative, as Allen, 13th in the NCAA in rushing, has the fewest yards of any of the 10 nominees. 9
8. Matt Breida, Georgia Southern The Eagles technically aren’t eligible for a bowl game in the transition year from FCS, and I guess Breida isn’t eligible for a rushing title? He has 1,434 yards (on 9.4 ypc). —
9. Devon Johnson, Marshall He somehow emerged as a semifinalist despite missing a game at Southern Miss and generally playing in a terrific offensive system against one of the country’s weakest schedules. —
10. Jay Ajayi, Boise State He may be an NFL prospect with 1,280 rushing yards this season, but it’s hard to justify his inclusion ahead of David Cobb and Jarvion Franklin. —

Dropped Out: Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan; Josh Robinson, Mississippi State; David Cobb, Minnesota.