This thread was a purely statistical look at RB careers. But to some, 1 year is enough, eye test is enough, etc. Those aren't what I set out to do. Not that my list is better than anyone else's, nor does any of this matter, but if you wanted a single-season list, that would make sense. But that's a separate list. If you value dynamic eye-test speed/power/40 time/juke moves, that's great. But it's a separate list.
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I like the idea of ranking each school's #1 RB of all-time, and to do that, the precursor would be to rank each program's RBs. That would be fun.
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But back to my list - an all-time CAREER best RBs list is going to weigh volume very heavily, and it should. Barry Sanders himself would tell you he didn't have the best CAREER in college. But when you just say "best" - it's simply too vague.
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Take the 3 categories I mentioned initially:
Single season - sure, it's Barry Sanders, '88
Speed/power/40 time/juke moves - maybe Sanders again. Maybe Herschel. Maybe Peterson. Maybe Bo.
Stats-only, career - maybe Jonathan Taylor, maybe Ricky Williams, maybe Ron Dayne.
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The endless bickering occurs when we mix those 3 categories up and each pick one. Specifics help.