Greatest college backfield of all-time

[Lynch1967]

This ought to go over real well here but I’ll post it anyway. Regardless of who they played for, they put together one hell of a season.

 

[Toga]

This ought to go over real well here but I’ll post it anyway. Regardless of who they played for, they put together one hell of a season.

Little-Csonka
Blanchard-Davis
Thomas-Sanders
Miami 2001
Jim Brown

So - umm - no

 

[SUfaninAZ]

This ought to go over real well here but I’ll post it anyway. Regardless of who they played for, they put together one hell of a season.

 

[orange79]

This ought to go over real well here but I’ll post it anyway. Regardless of who they played for, they put together one hell of a season.

In case you didn't read the thread title, it says "Greatest college backfield of all-time", not "Backfield that had a pretty good season".

 

[IthacaMatt]

Here's a question. You can have Little and Csonka or Jim Brown by himself. Which do you take?

Little and Csonka was a better backfield than the undefeated Miami Dolphins had with Csonka, Morris and Kiick.

Think about that for a minute. Two Hall of Famers in the same backfield, both at their best. Wasn't Floyd a three-time college All American?

 

[IthacaMatt]

How about Jim Nance and Little in 1964?

Senior Nance was 2nd in the NCAA in rushing w/1021 yds - 23 yards behind Wake Forest's James Caan, I mean Brian Piccolo (who had 50 more carries). Big Jim also scored 13 touchdowns and averaged 5.0 yds per carry.

Sophomore All-American Floyd Little rushed for 874 yds averaging 5.6 yds per carry while scoring 10 touchdowns.

They lost to LSU in the Sugar Bowl 13-10 and somehow finished 7-4.

That was my first year following the team.
I saw three home games that year - Kansas, Pitt and UCLA. Those were my first three games as a kid. OMG.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Winner

I think USC had OJ Simpson and Mike Garrett. They were pretty freaking good, too.

Penn State had Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell.

And there were some great Nebraska and Oklahoma teams in the early 70s that you might want to consider.

Johnny Rodgers was amazing. Not sure who might have shared a backfield with him.

Greg Pruitt and Joe Washington at Oklahoma.

 

[cuseattle]

I think USC had OJ Simpson and Mike Garrett. They were pretty freaking good, too.

And the one with Reggie Bush and Lendale White.

 

[Toga]

That was my first year following the team.
I saw three home games that year - Kansas, Pitt and UCLA. Those were my first three games as a kid. OMG.

Gayle Sayers

 

[IthacaMatt]

Gayle Sayers

That was my first game.

Lasting memories of that game - the guys from Kansas doing "dive rolls" as they took the field at the beginning of the game. Very cool to a young kid!

And Floyd Little seeming like a threat to score every time he touched the football. I recall his bow-legged, zig zagging return of a punt for a touchdown like it was yesterday.

I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think he scored four or five times that day against the famous Mr. Sayers. I'm pretty sure we shut them out, too.

We dominated Heisman candidate Gary Began and UCLA at my next game (very cool uniforms, too!). I don't think UCLA crossed the 50 yard line the whole game.

And then I remember Pitt. They uniforms struck me as Halloween like. That's all I got on that one. LOL

(Except it might have been really miserable weather ...)

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I think USC had OJ Simpson and Mike Garrett. They were pretty freaking good, too.

Penn State had Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell.

And there were some great Nebraska and Oklahoma teams in the early 70s that you might want to consider.

Johnny Rodgers was amazing. Not sure who might have shared a backfield with him.

Greg Pruitt and Joe Washington at Oklahoma.

I would take Billy Sims, JC Watts, Thomas Lott, Kenny King and David Overstreet from the 1978 Oklahoma Sooners any day. They lost at Nebraska 17-14 and then in a twist of fate, the two teams faced off again in the Orange Bowl with the Sooners winning 31-24.
College Football had split champions that year but Oklahoma wasn't one of them.
1978 NCAA Division I-A football season - Wikipedia

 

[IthacaMatt]

I would take Billy Sims, JC Watts, Thomas Lott, Kenny King and David Overstreet from the 1978 Oklahoma Sooners any day. They lost at Nebraska 17-14 and then in a twist of fate, the two teams faced off again in the Orange Bowl with the Sooners winning 31-24.
College Football had split champions that year but Oklahoma wasn't one of them.
1978 NCAA Division I-A football season - Wikipedia

Great call! Those were some great teams.

 

[NJCuse97]

This ought to go over real well here but I’ll post it anyway. Regardless of who they played for, they put together one hell of a season.

Best backfield that was supposed to play at Syracuse but didn’t?

 

[Dino2112]

Ok State had Thurman Thomas & Barry Sanders. Crazy

That's what i was thinking ... The 2 of the top RB's of the 90's

 

[KaiserUEO]

Eric Dickerson and Craig James...The Pony Express.

 

[Briancuse]

This ought to go over real well here but I’ll post it anyway. Regardless of who they played for, they put together one hell of a season.

This thread has mentioned the goat future hof backs and pro bowlers and you bring up brian leonard

 

[cuseattle]

Eric Dickerson and Craig James...The Pony Express.

I probably thought of them from the ESPN thing, but Dickerson was awesome and I liked James until he became a super-dad.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Exc. QBs. Little / Csonka best ever?
Others?
Who ya got?

It's college, right. Dickerson and James are right up there.

Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders played together, right.

 

[sufandu]

I think there are some differences in era. The great combos that are more modern like the pony express and Thomas/Sanders shared time but probably weren't on field much together. The older great combos from earlier eras like the four horseman or Little/Csonka put great players on the field at the same time because of the style of play.

After looking it up, I was a little surprised Thomas/Sanders only combined for 2216 yards their best year together.

 

[KaiserUEO]

I think there are some differences in era. The great combos that are more modern like the pony express and Thomas/Sanders shared time but probably weren't on field much together. The older great combos from earlier eras like the four horseman or Little/Csonka put great players on the field at the same time because of the style of play.

After looking it up, I was a little surprised Thomas/Sanders only combined for 2216 yards their best year together.

For Thomas and Sanders, 1 replaced the other.

It wasn’t a pro set with both back there like the Pony Express.


Bo Jackson played with Lionel ‘Little Train’ James for 2 years and all 3 were with Tommy Agee for 1.

Bo rushed for 1200+ 12 TDs and the Heismann. While James had 700+ & 4 and Agee 600+ & 4.

 

[upperdeck]

Tom Rathman, Roger Craig Nebraska.

great college and then great pro careers. Rathman as a Fb avg 7.5 in 95.

Jeff Kinney was the leading rusher for Neb in 71 not Johnny rodgers that year he didnt play I-Back until 73

 

[DoctorBombay]

This thread has mentioned the goat future hof backs and pro bowlers and you bring up brian leonard

This probably belongs in that Rutgers thread but, here in a nutshell is one of the reasons i can’t fathom the obsession w/ Rutgers by some SU fans.
By Rutgerian standards, Brian Leonard and Ray Rice are football Gods. To the rest of humanity, they were good/very good players, who had a coupla good years for a perennial doormat program.
So why in the name of everything holy do some insist on elevating that tire fire program, by showering it w/ so much attention? It just boggles the mind, imo.

 

[Moontan]

Eric Dickerson and Craig James...The Pony Express.

This thread is about college football, not profe$$ional football.

 

[MSOrange]

Ray Rice and Brian Leonard?