The Wisconsin Badgers’ 2012 running back room may go down as one of the greatest in college football history.
That season, the Badgers rostered Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball and James White. Both Ball (2012) and Gordon (2014) would go on to win a Doak Walker Award, an honor annually awarded to the nation’s top running back, while White left Wisconsin ranked No. 4 all-time in rushing yards.
When considering the best backfields ever, one typically envisions USC’s duo of Reggie Bush and LenDale White in 2005, Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy on the 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide, or even Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel on the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs.
While the debate surrounding the most prestigious college football backfield may be unanswered, the trio’s most dominant output in a single game is unrivaled.
Talk about a dangerous backfield 👀
These three combined for some HUGE numbers in the 2012 @bigten championship game 🏆#WinningWednesday x #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/43j1NvJT4a
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 20, 2024
In the Badgers’ 71-30 victory over Nebraska at the 2012 Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the three combined for 524 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
Gordon, who would become the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2014, tallied nine carries for a team-high 219 yards and one 56-yard touchdown.
Ball, who received the Doak Walker Award just five days after the blowout win, registered 21 touches for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Like Gordon, he also ripped off a 50-yard score.
White, Wisconsin’s all-purpose back, accounted for 119 rushing yards and four touchdowns with a long run of 68 yards in the third quarter.
All three would go on to play in the NFL, with White winning three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots.
Now, Wisconsin deploys running back Tawee Walker, a veteran back with the sixth-most rushing yards in the Big Ten. Wisconsin running backs have a long history of dominance over the rival Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The Badgers need Walker to channel that form for the team to pull off a much-needed victory on Saturday.