5. Average gain per completion in a season (21.95) – Matt Robinson
For reference, 21.95 yards per completion is 5.82 yards more than what led college football in 2016. Penn State’s Trace McSorley averaged 16.13 yards per completion last season and he was the only quarterback to average more than 16.
A true sign of how the sport has changed. Back in the mid 1970’s when Robinson played quarterback for Georgia, the pro-style or west-coast offenses hadn’t infiltrated the college game yet. When most teams passed the ball, they were slinging it downfield. You didn’t see passing games based around 10-yard curls or quick slants like you do today.
However, I could see this record being broken in a dual quarterback system where one passer tends to throw the ball deeper. So it’ll take the last spot in this countdown.
4. Most rushes in a season (385) – Herschel Walker
385 carries is unreal, but not too unrealistic. 349 carries by Wyoming’s Brian Hill and San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey led the nation in 2016. But only three other running backs carried the ball more than 300 times last year.
The biggest factor that led to Walker carrying the ball 385 times in 1981 was the fact that he didn’t share the load. He didn’t have a Sony Michel or Keith Marshall to split carries with. And he definitely didn’t have a quarterback who threw the ball more than 300 times in any season.
In the SEC, consistent quarterback play is a must. Even with running backs who are capable of carrying the ball, teams still need to utilize the passing game. Defenders are too big, powerful and quick these days (especially in the SEC) to just hand the ball to one guy all day. Teams have to find ways to spread the ball around to multiple players.
But the factor that keeps this record from being higher is the fact that college football has a playoff now. That means Georgia can play as many as 15 games in a season. If a Georgia running back carries the ball 26 times each game and the Bulldogs play for a national title, that will be 390 carries.