Here's my take on the status of Big XII Running backs after 6 weeks of play.
1. Roy Helu Jr., Rex Burkhead, Taylor Martinez, Nebraska - 408 yards, 5 TD's on 34 carries
The Nebraska rushing game is officially insane. Helu and Burkhead are the official "running backs" but their 19 carry, 167 yard, 1 TD night was overshadowed by Taylor Martinez's 15 carry, 241 yard, 4 TD night. The Huskers now have the Longhorns in Lincoln and it's a game that's been circled up there for a long time. I don't expect this train to slow down any time soon. Certainly not this weekend.
2. Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State - 126 yards, 1 TD on 28 carries
A strong performance from Hunter on the road. There's no question that we are a better team when Kendall is getting carries. He should be up for a big game this week against Texas Tech. We'll have to run the ball well if we're going to escape with a win.
3. Demarco Murray , Oklahoma - OFF
Murray will face an Iowa State defense that can be stingy against the run. However, they just gave up 68 points to Utah at home. Shouldn't be much of a problem.
4. Daniel Thomas, Kansas State - 63 yards on 22 carries
Thomas is starting to feel the pressure of being the only weapon on a bad team. The Wildcats have no passing game to speak of and that translates into disaster for the running game. Thomas has not had a touchdown is his last 2 outings and he's losing about 1.5 yards a week on his YPC average. It was 2.9 against the Huskers. He'll look to get back on track Thursday night in the Sunflower Showdown.
5. Christine Michael, Texas A&M - 79 yards, 1 TD on 18 carries
If I'm an A&M fan, I'm wondering why my best player is getting less than 20 carries. Michael had a decent game but you've got to wonder if he could do more with more action. I look for him to have a good game this week against a fairly soft Missouri run defense.
6. Alexander Robinson, Iowa State- 45 yards. 1 TD on 12 carries
12 carries this week, 12 carries last week. The current ISU depth chart for OU says Alexander Robinson OR Jeff Woody OR Shontrelle Johnson. Yikes.
7. Rodney Stewart, Colorado - 91 yards on 18 carries
Colorado got drilled but Stewart still managed 5 yards per carry. He'll look to improve this week against a Baylor team that gave up big yardage to Texas Tech.
8. James Sims, Kansas- OFF
Sims spent the week off looking forward to playing a defense that just gave up 400 + yards rushing.
9. Fozzy Whittaker, Texas - OFF
Nebraska just shut down a very, very good running back in Thomas. Hard to imagine the Texas running game will have any more luck.
10. Baron Batch/Eric Stephens, Texas Tech- 149 yards, 2 TD's on 31 carries
Texas Tech ran the ball a lot against Baylor. Hopefully that trend will continue against the Cowboys as more run = less pass. Right?
11. Jay Finley, Baylor - 45 yards on 13 carries
Nothing to see here. When the Bears need a TD in the red zone, they look to their QB.
12. K Lawrence, H Josey, M Murphy D Moore and B Gabbert, Missouri - RBBC
All you need to know is this fucking team beat Colorado 26-0 and did not have a SINGLE player with more than 6 carries. They did however have 8 people with at least 1 carry. Miserable.