Talk:List of NCAA major college football yearly rushing leaders

Some other cases

Everett Strupper is very likely the leading rusher for 1917. Going into the final game, he already had over 1,000 yards. Peggy Flournoy was likely the leading rusher of 1925, for he led in scoring and was voted national MVP by the Veterans Club of America.

• Other possible yearly leaders include Willie Heston in 1904 with 686 rushing yards, Jim Thorpe in 1911 with 899 yards and in 1912 with 1,869 yards, Red Grange in 1924 with 743 rushing yards, Gibby Welch in 1926 with 815 yards, Red Cagle in 1929 with 836 rushing yards, Marchy Schwartz in 1930 with 927 yards, and Dixie Howell in 1934 with 840 yards. Cbl62 (talk) 23:19, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
  • I could likely add some TD leaders, e. g. Albert Hill, but perhaps I should wait if we get that far. Strupper supposedly had 1,002 yards not counting the Auburn game in 1917. Have Grange's 1924 numbers been checked against any of the Four Horsemen, or Ernie Nevers; and is there a reason you don't say 1923 too? Also, would not be surprised if Snake Ames was leading rusher in his day. Cake (talk) 23:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
  • Some USC Trojans: Mort Kaer in 1926 had 852 yards. Morley Drury had 1163 yards the next season. Russ Saunders had 972 yards in 1929. Orv Mohler had 980 yards in 1930. Gus Shaver had 936 in 1931. Cotton Warburton had 885 in 1933. Cake (talk) 23:57, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
  • Here is a list to corroborate. Cake (talk) 00:15, 22 October 2015 (UTC)
    • FWIW, Marchy Schwartz was no 1930 rushing leader, but he could very well be the leader in total offense. He's at least got more than two other fellows mentioned as potential national leaders. Cake (talk) 05:07, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

Lindsey Donnell

I removed the entry for 1936 showing Lindsey Donnell as that year's rushing leader. The entry was supported solely by a non-independent press release making the claim. A search of newspapers.com shows nothing to support the claim. We need independent, reliable sources before we can list him as the 1936 rushing champion. Also, the list is limited to those schools categorized by the NCAA as "major" colleges. Query whether Cumberland was in this group in 1936. Cbl62 (talk) 00:34, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• @MisterCake: Athletic department press releases are notoriously unreliable as sources for claims that one of their own players set this record or that. In order to show that Donnell was the 1936 rushing leader, we need a reliable, independent source setting forth his rushing total and that his total was the highest in the country; also some indication that Cumberland was considered a "major" at the time. Cbl62 (talk) 00:43, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• It wasn't until 1937 that the NCAA began collecting and distributing official rushing statistics on a national level (those stats are included in the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia and were widely reported in the contemporaneous press), so I'm reluctant to include any assertions as to who was a national collegiate rushing leader prior to that date, unless the sourcing is solid. Cbl62 (talk) 00:46, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• Yes I know 1937 is the first official, and hence you started with it. Compiling sources on rushing totals before then is one of the arts for football historians, however. As to the initial question: they were a "mid major" in the "Smokey Mountain Athletic Conference." (cf. Garland Morrow). Not sure if there was any real distinction in those days. They also named the stadium after Donnell. One could cite this or simply Noel's book if that is better. Cake (talk) 00:49, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• The NCAA statistics compiled starting in 1937 were limited to programs considered to be major, and this article was intended to be limited to that level of play. As for unofficial pre-1937 data, I understand that much of the data is in the nature of "art" rather than science. I have my doubts as to whether the unofficial data generated by this art constitutes reliable data that should be included. If it were up to me, I'd limit the list to the official data from 1937 forward, but I'll keep an open mind if you want to work on the earlier years. If you have not seen it, this official NCAA publication is one of the few sources for pre-1937 rushing data that meets the standard of reliability IMO. Cbl62 (talk) 01:03, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• Are there any 1937 teams excluded from consideration as "major"? I figured for the most part the idea of 1-A/1-AA was post-WW2, or even later (50s). Cumberland and Maryville were both in the SMAC and played the Sewanees, Tennessees, Vanderbilts, etc.; though say King College was in SMAC and were a rung lower still, probably more akin to what we call FCS today. SMAC would probably be akin to, say, Conference USA. I am speculating obviously but as above I don't know if schools were really filed by the NCAA the same way as today. Cake (talk) 02:15, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• I assume so, otherwise the "major" college limitation would be meaningless, but I have not seen a list of which schools are included/excluded. Cbl62 (talk) 02:32, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• That could seemingly refer to the 1950s, which of course are after 1937; and I could also assume Tex Noel wouldn't cover minor football. Thanks for that source, certainly a neat one. Note in 1924 Don Miller had 20 yards more than Grange, who had a single yard more than Jim Crowley (Harry Stuhldreher's stats seem meager in comparison). I do wish they split the eras better; and was hoping for Ernie Nevers's '24 season and Gene McEver's 29 season in there. Cake (talk) 02:33, 22 October 2015 (UTC)
• It might be worth noting that while Frank Sinkwich led the nation in rushing, he was suffering from a broken jaw. See here or here for a few examples out of many. Cake (talk) 02:38, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

• Yearbook w/ Donnell. Cake (talk) 02:53, 22 October 2015 (UTC)
  • Notre Dame Scholastic mentions Donnell's season. Looks like was 1935, though a few say 1936. Cake (talk) 02:57, 22 October 2015 (UTC)
    • Got a quick and dirty way to check whether they were "major" for the 30s – see if they were "little all america." You were right, I will add Donnell in a footnote. Cake (talk) 03:04, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

1927

It looks as if 1927 goes:

1. Glenn Presnell, Nebraska, 1448 yards
2. Frank Briante, NYU, 1391 yards
3. Morley Drury, USC, 1163 yards. based on the sources in the article and the footnote to Whizzer White on page 5 here. Cake (talk) 21:42, 24 October 2015 (UTC)

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1967-1969 rushing totals

The years 1967, 1968, and 1969 have two numbers listed for total rushing yards: one including bowl games and one which excludes bowls. The table does not explain what the two numbers are or why two numbers are listed for these specific years, but not any others. A side effect of these years having two numbers listed is that they appear at the top when the table is sorted by yards, rather than in a spot that corresponds to either of the listed amounts. --Bballmike823 (talk) 21:41, 2 January 2019 (UTC)