Official College Football Thread

[AssHatSoxFan]

Watching Hart the last 3+ years, he is a small guy who will take it at the biggest guy on the other team. He is tough to bring down and has explosive speed as well.

 

Every back needs a good offensive line.

 

When did Mendenhall become the leader for the Heisman with some people here? He is very good, but he is not even close to having the stats Mike Hart has put up in his career at Michigan.

so now we base the Heisman on your career stats and not the current season?

[Brian]

so now we base the Heisman on your career stats and not the current season?

 

No, but if you want to go on current stats. Hart has more than 200 yards rushing than Mendenhall, but 60 more carries. Illinois has an offense where they get more guys to run the ball than just one, like Michigan does. That probably hurts Mendenhall.

 

I would say Hart and Rashard are different types of runners. Mendenhall, when his college career is over, probably will be more ready for the NFL than Hart will after this year. Mike is just too small.

 

I remember seeing Mendenhall in high school and tell he could be special.

[RockRaines]

Man, its not even possible for someone to agree that one of the best backs in the country is better than a back at Illinois.

[bmags]

Man, its not even possible for someone to agree that one of the best backs in the country is better than a back at Illinois.

haha, no kidding.

[Jenksismyhero]

When did Mendenhall become the leader for the Heisman with some people here? He is very good, but he is not even close to having the stats Mike Hart has put up in his career at Michigan.

 

 

I'm not saying Hart isn't a good back, but I don't remember ever being awed by him and his runs. He suddenly became a "great" back because everyone thought Michigan would be good this year and as a senior hb at a traditional powerhouse he's supposed to be great. If Hart is in the Heismann race, Mendenhall should be there too, as his numbers are better.

 

Let's look at the numbers:

 

RUSHING GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mendenhall, Rashard 6 114 796 24 772 6.8 10 50 128.7

 

Hart, Mike 6 179 1015 39 976 5.5 10 61 162.7

 

 

 

Nearly 1.5 yards more per rush attempt, the same amount of td's, and if you take his nearly SEVEN YARD AVERAGE PER RUSH, he'd have 1214 yards.

 

And this doesn't even include his receiving stats, which are also better than Hart's:

 

RECEIVING GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hart, Mike 6 6 36 6.0 0 11 6.0

Mendenhall, Rashard 6 18 173 9.6 2 42 28.8

 

 

Rush defenses faced (taking out the I-AA teams):

 

Illinois:

 

Penn State - 14th

Missouri - 40th

Indiana - 42nd

Wisconsin - 74

Syracuse - 119

 

Average: 57.8

 

Michigan:

 

Penn St - 14th

Oregon - 49th

Northwestern - 80th

Notre Dame - 101st

Eastern Michigan - 104th

 

Average: 69.6

 

[danman31]

Hart was injured a bit or his numbers would probably be better. Stop the Mendenhall for Heisman talk. It's 5 games in and the guy won't be in the top 10. Right now he is riding on destroying Wisconsin, nice job. He's a good back. However, he got shut down by Penn St. and Missouri and destroyed Western, Indiana, and Syracuse. He will need to do what he did against Wisconsin against another good team before you can throw his name around in the same category as Mike Hart.

[bmags]

in addition to that, if you give mendenhall 200 more carries, his YPC will go down. With Henne injured and their pass offense struggling, Hart was the sole offense for michigan and almost singlehandedly brought them ahead to beat App. St. in that game.

[RockRaines]

Hart was injured a bit or his numbers would probably be better. Stop the Mendenhall for Heisman talk. It's 5 games in and the guy won't be in the top 10. Right now he is riding on destroying Wisconsin, nice job. He's a good back. However, he got shut down by Penn St. and Missouri and destroyed Western, Indiana, and Syracuse. He will need to do what he did against Wisconsin against another good team before you can throw his name around in the same category as Mike Hart.

I have a feeling you just opened up a can of worms in this thread.

[He_Gawn]

I have a feeling you just opened up a can of worms in this thread.

 

He may have, but I agree wholeheartedly. Mendenhall is a good back, but Hart has carried the Michigan offense all year. The guy backs down to no one. I'd be willing to bet Rashard does not even get 100 yards vs Michigan or Ohio State. Hell, I'd even go as far as I bet Iowa holds him under 100.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Hart was injured a bit or his numbers would probably be better. Stop the Mendenhall for Heisman talk. It's 5 games in and the guy won't be in the top 10. Right now he is riding on destroying Wisconsin, nice job. He's a good back. However, he got shut down by Penn St. and Missouri and destroyed Western, Indiana, and Syracuse. He will need to do what he did against Wisconsin against another good team before you can throw his name around in the same category as Mike Hart.

He had 92 yards of offense vs. Missouri with 2 TDS on only 14 touches. Versus Penn State it was over 100 with another TD on 18 touches. Hardly "shutdown". This when Hart averaged 3.5 hard per carry against the common opponent.

 

[Jenksismyhero]

He may have, but I agree wholeheartedly. Mendenhall is a good back, but Hart has carried the Michigan offense all year. The guy backs down to no one. I'd be willing to bet Rashard does not even get 100 yards vs Michigan or Ohio State. Hell, I'd even go as far as I bet Iowa holds him under 100.

 

Who cares if he has to "carry the offense?" Whch WR core would you rather take, Illinois' or Michigans? Which O-line would you take? The one with the gigantor left tackle Long? Just because the rest of his team is underachieving doesn't mean Michigan is without any talent.

 

I'll take that bet. Mendenhall will get 150+ total yards against Iowa and Michigan. Book it. I don't think the Missouri game was really a good measure either. They were down most of the game and were forced to pass. That and they didn't really find out what kind of running game they had until the syracuse/indiana games.

 

At the end of the year Mendenhall will have a higher ypc and more total td's. You can book that too.

 

Again, I'm not saying Hart is BAD and I really don't know that Mendenhall can win the heismann. I just don't see where all the hype came from with Hart. He went from a decent back at Michigan to this unstoppable heisman force in one off season. Sorta like Heinne. Sorta like anyone from USC right now - it's all about the hype machine when it should really be about whats on the field.

Edited October 8, 2007 by Jenksismybitch

[RockRaines]

Whoa, I wouldnt go that far about USC. They have about 6 Rb's I would take in a heartbeat. I do like how you kept OSU out of that bet though.

[Jenksismyhero]

Whoa, I wouldnt go that far about USC. They have about 6 Rb's I would take in a heartbeat. I do like how you kept OSU out of that bet though.

 

 

I'm saying from a heisman-hype perspective they haven't lived up to the expectations, especially Booty. Of course I'd take some of their talent.

 

And osu has one of the best defenses in the country. I dont think they will shut illinois down, but it'll certainly be the best defense they will see all year.

[danman31]

He had 92 yards of offense vs. Missouri with 2 TDS on only 14 touches.

He averaged 3 yards per carry and that includes a 25 yard TD. The other 10 carries netted 8 yards.

 

I don't think the Missouri game was really a good measure either. They were down most of the game and were forced to pass. That and they didn't really find out what kind of running game they had until the syracuse/indiana games.

 

I just don't see where all the hype came from with Hart. He went from a decent back at Michigan to this unstoppable heisman force in one off season. Sorta like Heinne. Sorta like anyone from USC right now - it's all about the hype machine when it should really be about whats on the field.

I'll buy the top argument, they should have given him the ball more in that game. However, Hart went from only being a decent back? He was a Heisman candidate before the year started and has had hype for a while. You don't just start at Michigan for 4 years based on hype.

[Jenksismyhero]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/stor...&id=3054315

[Soxbadger]

Congrats to the Illini on a good win. Wisconsin did not deserve to win that game (although they could have) and really were lucky that Illinois did not get out to a much larger lead earlier. Defense played as poorly as expected and offense gave up critical turn overs during the later stage of the game that were pretty unnecessary (turn overs on early downs are bad).

 

Wisconsin coaching seemed uninspired, Illinois did not even try and throw the ball yet Wisconsin never tried to force the issue. They kept forcing PJ hill up the middle when perhaps change of pace back like Brown or Landingham would have done better on the outside.

 

The field goal miss hurt, Bielema chasing points turned out to be a non-issue.

 

And most of the calls really did go Wisconsin's way.

 

Good luck on the rest of the schedule.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Apparently people are starting to notice Mendenhall: http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnatio...Id=35#topOfList

[T R U]

Apparently people are starting to notice Mendenhall: http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnatio...Id=35#topOfList

 

Thats nice to see everyone thinks Mendenhall is the front runner for the Heisman thus far

[maggsmaggs]

Thats nice to see everyone thinks Mendenhall is the front runner for the Heisman thus far

I am pretty sure there are alot of Illini fans voting on this poll. I did, too being a Illini fan, but just saying, its not really a great indicator.

[Jenksismyhero]

Most of the pundits have added Mendenhall to the short list.

 

I've also noticed a lot of bowl predictions (granted, it's way too early for that stuff) have Illinois in the Rose Bowl (BCS) or Capital One Bowl (Big Ten #2). They've gone from "upsetting" Penn State and Wisconsin to BCS bowl bound in just two weeks.

[T R U]

I am pretty sure there are alot of Illini fans voting on this poll. I did, too being a Illini fan, but just saying, its not really a great indicator.

 

True, but I would venture to guess that there are more fans from the other teams voting than Illini fans.. But you are right this isnt the best indicator its still nice to see though

[RockRaines]

They've gone from "upsetting" Penn State and Wisconsin to BCS bowl bound in just two weeks.

Why is upsetting in quotes? This is the first time Illinois has been ranked in 6 years. Not exactly a perennial powerhouse

[T R U]

Why is upsetting in quotes? This is the first time Illinois has been ranked in 6 years. Not exactly a perennial powerhouse

 

Because Illinois is good and Penn State and Wisconsin were overrated

[Rex Hudler]

Have I missed the last four years of college football? When did Mike Hart become the Reggie Bush of college football? He's a decent back with a ridiculous offensive line. Gee that must be tough.

 

Explain how Hart is better than Mendenhall. Mendenhall is probably stronger, more agile, and has break away speed. At the end of the year he's going to have better numbers than Hart, with 1/4 less carries.

 

Watch Mike Hart for a whole game. He is much, much more than a great O-line. Just watch, objectively. I doubt you can, but watching will tell you all you need to know.

 

 

[Buehrle>Wood]

Why is upsetting in quotes? This is the first time Illinois has been ranked in 6 years. Not exactly a perennial powerhouse

Well, for starters, at least for the UW game, it's hard to upset someone when you're 3 point favorites.