Barry Sanders' remarkable season
I’ve been researching Barry Sanders today and he is one of my favorite people to research.
I’m not sure we’ll ever see another running back like Sanders. I am sure there will be another one whom I enjoy watching as much.Barry Sanders back in the day at Oklahoma State.Anyway, I looked back at Sanders’ 1988 season at Oklahoma State because I’m working on a story for Thursday’s paper on Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle. He is the next Wichita running back at OSU after Sanders. It has been 23 years since Sanders terrorized Big Eight opponents and it’s interesting that Randle, who wasn’t even born when Barry was winning a Heisman Trophy while at OSU, isn’t asked that much about being from Wichita.
More on that in the Randle story.
I sometimes forget just how dominant Sanders was at OSU in 1988, his junior season. Remember, as a freshman and sophomore he played behind Thurman Thomas, also one of the finest college and professional running backs in history. Sanders was a tremendous complementary back to Thomas, but I’m not sure anyone expected him to put up the numbers he put up in ’88.
His worst game that season – worst game, mind you – was a 154-yard, two-touchdown performance against Missouri.
He started the season with a 178-yard game against Miami of Ohio, a game in which he returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. He carried only 18 times against Miami and just 20 the next week against Texas A&M in a game in which he rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns and returned a punt 61 yards for a TD.
It was at this point, I’m guessing, that a light went off in Cowboys’ coach Pat Jones’ head. Because from then on, Sanders became a workhorse.
It started in Game 3 when he gained 304 yards on 33 carries against Tulsa, scoring five touchdowns and breaking OSU’s single-game yardage record for the first of what would be three times.
Against Colorado in Game 4, Sanders had 174 yards on 23 carries. Against Nebraska the following week, he gained 189 yards on 34 carries, scoring four touchdowns. Then came the ho-hum (by Sanders’ standards) 154-yard game against Missouri.
Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech didn’t know what was about to hit them. In those five games to wrap up the regular season, Sanders rushed for 1,472 yards and 18 touchdowns. He cracked 300 three times: 320 yards on 37 carries against Kansas State; 312 yards on 37 carries against Kansas; and, in the final regular-season game, played in Tokyo, 332 yards on 44 carries against Texas Tech.
In a Holiday Bowl win over Wyoming, Sanders rushed for 222 yards on 29 carries, giving up 2,850 yards and 42 touchdowns for the season, a performance that doesn’t count in the NCAA record book.
As is, Sanders’ five consecutive 200-yard rushing games has been matched by only two other backs: Southern California’s Marcus Allen in 1981; and North Texas’ Jamario Thomas in 2004.
All these years later, Sanders’ name is peppered all over the NCAA college football record book. His is regarded by many as the greatest season ever for a college player.
Sanders went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Detroit Lions and a case can be made for him being the finest running back in NFL history. He surprisingly retired in 1999 at the age of 31 after having rushed for 1,491 yards during the 1998 season.
It’s his junior season at Oklahoma State that doesn’t get talked about enough, though. Can you imagine averaging – averaging – 237.5 yards rushing per game? Can you imagine 42 touchdowns? Can you imagine 320, 215, 312, 293 and 333 yards in consecutive games?
Here’s a look back at Sanders’ 1988 season that I found on YouTube. It’s more than seven minutes long as the music is a bit irritating. But if you’re interested, give it a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7S8wN_tL5Y.
There’s nothing quite as enjoyable in sports as watching a great athlete show off his wares. Nobody had more wares than Barry Sanders.
This story was originally published October 5, 2011 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Barry Sanders' remarkable season."