Why Herschel is better than Bo

BO vs HERSCHEL

Anyone who's watched SEC football for the past, oh, 50 years knows that when it comes to running backs, there's Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson, and everyone else. So who's the better college running back? Bo? Herschel? There are a few ways you can look at this one.

1. Freshman impact. No contest here. Herschel set the freshman rushing record at 1,616 yards - and he did that in the equivalent of 9 games (he missed the bulk of the Ole Miss game, and a half against both UT and TCU). Bo? 829 yards. Ho hum. Or let me put it this way: Bo rushed for fewer yards as a freshman than Jasper Sanks did as a sophomore. Herschel should have won the Heisman as a freshman. Bo? Bo wasn't diddly as a freshman. Advantage: Herschel, and Bo doesn't really deserve to be mentioned in his company here.

2. Season rushing stats. Let's take a look at their seasons in terms of yards gained per season and put them in order.

1. 1,891 yards. Herschel, 1981.

2. 1,786 yards. Bo, 1985.

3. 1,752 yards. Herschel, 1982.

4. 1,616 yards. Herschel, 1980.

5. 1,213 yards. Bo, 1983.

6. 829 yards. Bo, 1982.

7. 475 yards. Bo, 1984.

Auburn fans will quickly remind you that Bo's 1984 season was shortened by injury. I will remind Auburn fans that Herschel missed a game and a half his freshman year and a game his junior year based on injury. OK, so let's go ahead and play the "what if" game. What if Bo and Herschel hadn't missed any time due to injury? To let you know how I came up with these numbers, I did it like this. Herschel missed 1.5 games in 1980 due to injury. Take 1,616, divide by 9.5, multiply by 11 for the revised total. Here are the "no injuries" numbers:

1. 1,936 yards. Herschel, 1982.

2. 1,891 yards. Herschel, 1981.

3. 1,871 yards. Herschel, 1980.

4. 1,786 yards. Bo, 1985.

5. 1,213 yards. Bo, 1983.

6. 1,045 yards. Bo, 1984.

7. 829 yards. Bo, 1982.

Bo don't know Herschel's yards. Put another way, Herschel's 3 years are 3 of the top 5 rushing totals in SEC history. Bo's second best year doesn't even make the top 20.

Advantage: Herschel, and it's not close.

3. Career rushing stats.

Herschel: 5,259 yards in 3 years

Bo: 4,303 yards in 4 years.

Some Auburn fans will tell you that a healthy Bo Jackson would have outrushed Herschel over 4 years. Fine. Let's play that game, too. I'll even give Bo a 1984 equivalent to his best season, 1985. Don't forget, though, that Herschel had another full year to play when he left. Giving Herschel the equivalent of his best year, you get these numbers:

Herschel: 7,150 yards

Bo: 5,614 yards

Sorry, Aubies. Advantage: Herschel, and again, it's not even close.

4. Durability. To make it through the always-brutal SEC schedule, a running back must have durability. The best home-run running back in the world doesn't do squat from the bench.

Per game: Herschel has two of the top 4 rush attempts in a game. Bo doesn't even make the list.

Per season: Herschel has the top 2 seasons. Bo's best season is at #15.

Career: Herschel had more rushes in 3 years than anyone in SEC history had in 4.

No contest here. Compared to Herschel, Bo was a china doll. Bo took himself out of games. Herschel put himself back in them. Advantage: Herschel, and Bo isn't in the same class.

5. Team impact. Good players get good stats. Great players get great stats. Elite players lift the teams around them. Let's look at the team records and accomplishments.

National championships: In Herschel's 3 years, Georgia won a national championship and played for another. In Bo's 4, Auburn won none and played for none.

SEC championships: Georgia won 3 in Herschel's 3 years. Auburn won 1 in Auburn's 4.

Winning percentage:

Georgia: .917 (33-3), Auburn: .755 (37-12)

At home: Georgia: 1.000 (19-0), Auburn: .846 (22-4)

Away: Georgia: .909 (10-1), Auburn: .714 (10-4)

SEC: Georgia: 1.000 (18-0), Auburn: .708 (17-7)

Win streaks:

Home: Georgia: 19, Auburn: 10

SEC: Georgia: 18, Auburn: 9

AP final ranking:

Georgia: 1, 6, 4, Auburn: 14, 3, 14, unranked

Bowls:

Georgia: Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Auburn: Tangerine, Sugar, Liberty, Cotton

Advantage: Herschel, and Bo is nowhere near.

6. Heisman balloting:

Herschel:

1980: 3rd (highest ever point total for a freshman)

1981: 2nd

1982: 1st (margin, 695 votes over John Elway)

Herschel beat out such names as John Elway, Eric Dickerson, Anthony Carter, and Dan Marino.

Bo:

1982: not on the ballot

1983: not on the ballot

1984: not on the ballot

1985: 1st (margin, 45 votes over Chuck Long, the closest vote ever)

Bo beat out such names as Chuck Long, Robbie Bosco, Vinny Testaverde, and Allan Pinckett.

Advantage: Herschel, and Bo doesn't approach him.

7. Other arguments.

Bo was a great baseball player. So was Nolan Ryan, but no one mistook him for a football player.

Bo had a better pro career. By what standards? Consider this:

Bo never had over 1,000 yards. Herschel did it for two different teams.

Bo never finished in the league's top 10 in any statistic in any season. Herschel was in the top 10 in rushing yards twice, rushing scores 5 times, receptions twice, yards from scrimmage 4 times, and rush/recieve TD's twice.

Bo never finished in the top 50 for any stat in his career. Herschel is in 5 categories. Herschel is the only player to have 10,000+ yards gained on offense and 5,000+ yards on kickoff returns. Herschel is one of only six players to exceed 60 TDs rushing and 20 TDs receiving.

Bo is only one of two players with two 90+ yard rushing TDs, but Herschel is the only player in NFL history to score a 90+ yard TD rushing, receiving, and kickoff return in the same season, and he did it in his 30's.

In conclusion:

The SEC has seen a lot of great players, and a lot of great running backs. None of them have been better in four years than Herschel Walker was in three, and that includes Bo Jackson. Bo had one great year. So did Charles Alexander from LSU and Kentucky's Mo Williams, who both exceeded 1,600 yards in a season. So did Florida's Emmitt Smith, Auburn's Rudi Johnson, and Georgia's Garrison Hearst, who all exceeded 1,500 yards in a season. No one, however, has had the sustained excellence that Herschel had throughout his career.

No one comes close. Not even Bo.

-Anonymous