The Wisconsin Badgers and their fans know that Jonathan Taylor ought to have made the Heisman Trophy ceremony as a finalist in his shimmering career. Yet, Taylor never did get that opportunity and reward for his excellence. At least Montee Ball received that honor in 2011, when he was one of five Heisman Trophy finalists with winner Robert Griffin, plus Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson, and Tyrann Mathieu.
Ball’s 2011 season is right in the same ballpark as Jonathan Taylor’s best seasons, which doesn’t detract from Ball at all, but shows how dumb it is for the Heisman Trust and Heisman voters to have not rewarded Taylor with a finalist appearance in more recent years.
Montee Ball was a featured part of one of the best Wisconsin offenses of all time. The Badgers never scored fewer than 28 points in any game that season (and they played 14 games). Sharing the field with Russell Wilson obviously helped Ball and the Badgers’ ground game, but Ball made the most of his carries and his 2011 season at large.
One detail which jumps out about Ball’s body of work in 2011 is that even when Wisconsin lost, the Badgers scored big and Ball played well. He averaged at least five yards per carry in each of Wisconsin’s three losses. He averaged 121 yards per game in those three losses. Wisconsin scored at least 29 points in those three losses. The fact that the Badgers gave up 33 or more points in those games caused Wisconsin to throw more and run less than it otherwise would have wanted. Ball didn’t get 20 carries in either of the team’s two midseason losses to Michigan State and Ohio State.
Ball didn’t accumulate 250-yard games as Melvin Gordon or Jonathan Taylor did. However, Ball scored. He scored a lot. Ball ran for 33 touchdowns in 2011, caught six touchdown passes, and threw a touchdown pass for good measure. He scored 40 touchdowns. He scored 14 touchdowns in Wisconsin’s final five regular-season games, including three in the 42-39 Big Ten Championship Game win over Michigan State in Indianapolis. Ball rushed for at least five yards per carry in 13 of his 14 games, “only” 4.6 in the 14th game. The final rushing totals: 307 carries for 1,923 yards and 33 rushing touchdowns.
Not bad, Montee. Not bad at all. At least you got a Heisman finalist dance card, unlike Jonathan Taylor.