Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon Sets NCAA Single Game Rushing Record

When Nebraska’s #11 ranked football team traveled to Madison to take on Big Ten rival and 22nd ranked Wisconsin on November 15th, it was a matchup of not only two teams tied for the conference’s West Division lead, it was also a matchup of two of the better running backs in college football with Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon.  This game turned into a 59-24 Wisconsin blowout, and a Melvin Gordon highlight reel.

Gordon set an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision single game rushing record with a 408 yard performance against the Cornhuskers. And he didn’t even play in the 4th quarter. Gordon broke the previous record of 406 yards set in 1999 by TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson went on to have a stellar career in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets.  Tomlinson also congratulated Gordon via Twitter. Gordon broke the record on this run, his last of the game, in which he also scored his fourth touchdown of the game:

Gordon also thrust his way back into the Heisman Trophy discussion, which in recent years has become the Heisman College Quarterback Award.  Besides this record, Gordon leads the nation in rushing yards with 1909, and he also leads the nation with 150 points scored on 25 touchdowns, 23 of which were rushing TDs. He has two regular season games left. Go ahead, Heisman voters, ignore or downplay those numbers.