The rushing totals JK Dobbins and Mike Weber are putting up are impressive.
Most fans are aware that JK Dobbins is on pace to set the Ohio State freshman rushing record. However, not much has been made about the numbers he and Mike Weber are putting up together. The two very well could become the top Ohio State running back duo in the 20th century.
During the Urban Meyer era there hasn’t really been a 1 and 1A running back tandem. Quarterbacks Braxton Miller and JT Barrett have been one of the two leading rushers for Ohio State each of the last five seasons. The third has always been a player who also played the H-back position at least part-time and padded his rushing stats on reverses or options from the slot position.
Projecting the numbers Dobbins and Weber will put up if their yards per game average hold true through the 14 games the Buckeyes are assured of playing, their stats will match or beat any of those by other Ohio State running back tandems the last two decades.
Dobbins has rushed for 1,190 yards so far this season and Weber has totaled 602 yards on the ground in just 10 games. If they stay on pace, Dobbins would finish with 1,388 yards rushing and Weber 722.
Ezekiel Elliott and Curtis Samuel rushed for 1,878 yards and 383 respectively in 2014. However, Samuel moved to H-back when Dontre Wilson was injured late in the season.
To find a 1,000 yard Ohio State running back and another who rushed for 600+ yards you have to go back to 2002. Ironically, that was the season Maurice Clarett set the freshman rushing record Dobbins is on pace to break.
Clarett rushed for 1,257 yards and Lydell Ross contributed another 619 on the ground. You would expect Dobbins and Weber to surpass those totals in the Big Ten Championship Game versus Wisconsin.
To find a running back tandem where one player was a 1,000 yard rusher and another gained 700 yards on the ground you have to go back to the 1998 season. Michael Wiley and Joe Montgomery rushed for 1,235 and 766 yards respectively.
Prior to that year there were many outstanding Ohio State running back duos. Here is a list of the one-two punch Ohio State running backs where the backup gained at least 600 yards rushing, or the two accumulated over 2000 yards on the ground. Let’s begin with a duo where each just missed the 1,000 yard mark.
- 1989 Carlos Snow 990 rushing yards
Scottie Graham 977
- 1995 Eddie George 1,927
Pepe Pearson 385
- 1984 Keith Byars 1,764
John Wooldridge 633
- 1982 Tim Spencer 1,538
Jim Gayle 647
- 1981 Tim Spencer 1,217
Jim Gayle 732
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1977 Ron Springs 1,166
Jeff Logan 606
- 1976 Jeff Logan 1,248
Pete Johnson 724
- 1974 Archie Griffin 1,695
Champ Henson 433
- 1973 Archie Griffin 1,577
Bruce Elia 429
- 1070 John Brockington 1,142
Leo Hayden 767
Did any of you notice I didn’t mention one great running back duo? That’s because I was saving the best for last.
In 1975, Archie Griffin ran for 1,450 yards and fullback Pete Johnson tallied 1,059 yards on the ground. And they put up those totals in only 12 games.
Archie and Pete may have been the best pair of ball carriers ever to share the same backfield.
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Dobbins and Weber still have more to prove to be compared to some of these greats mentioned above, but the two appear to be on their way. At the very least, the numbers they are putting up this season are right up there with some of the great running back duos ever to play for Ohio State.