Last week I posted the all-time season rushing leaders (LINK), so this week is the top 25 single-game rushing leaders.
- 347 – Ron Johnson (vs. Wisconsin, 1968)
- 313 – Tshimanga Biakabutuka (vs. Ohio State, 1995)
- 288 – Jon Vaughn (vs. UCLA, 1990)
- 270 – Ron Johnson (vs. Navy, 1967)
- 258 – Denard Robinson (vs. Notre Dame, 2010)
- 253 – Butch Woolfolk (vs. Michigan State, 1981)
- 243 – Blake Corum (vs. Maryland, 2022)
- 235 – Tyrone Wheatley (vs. Washington, 1992)
- 235 – Denard Robinson (vs. Purdue, 2012)
- 234 – Jamie Morris (vs. Alabama, 1987)
- 234 – Mike Hart (vs. Illinois, 2004)
- 232 – Chris Perry (vs. Central Michigan, 2003)
- 228 – Anthony Thomas (vs. Illinois, 2000)
- 225 – Billy Taylor (vs. Iowa, 1969)
- 224 – Tyrone Wheatley (vs. Iowa, 1992)
- 224 – Mike Hart (vs. Michigan State, 2004)
- 219 – Chris Perry (vs. Michigan State, 2003)
- 218 – Ted Kress (vs. Michigan State, 1952)
- 218 – Mike Hart (vs. Michigan State, 2005)
- 218 – Denard Robinson (vs. Air Force, 2012)
- 217 – Denard Robinson (vs. Indiana, 2010)
- 215 – Mike Hart (vs. Eastern Michigan, 2007)
- 213 – Tony Boles (vs. Wake Forest, 1988)
- 210 – Gordon Bell (vs. Wisconsin, 1975)
- 210 – Jamie Morris (vs. Ohio State, 1986)
I was inspired by user Lanknows to post footage of Ron Johnson’s 347-yard game:
You need to login in order to vote
The 347 yard game was an NCAA record at the time.
Ron Johnson played before I was born and I didn’t know much or really anything about him. I’m sure many others already know but I found it interesting to check his wiki page and learn a few things.
Johnson appears to be the best Michigan RB in modern history if not all time. Team MVP, Conference POY, All American, CFB HOF, NFL All Pro.
Other things to note:
-Detroit native
-first African-American captain at Michigan
-went on to have a successful career after football
-brother was a MLB batting champion
His NYT obituary was an interesting read:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/10/obituaries/ron-johnson-dead-giants.html
You need to login in order to vote
Found these quotes interesting:
Johnson himself credited his ability to find an opening as his main asset: “Picking the hole is what I think I do best. It’s more instinct than anything else. You either have it or you don’t. When the play is called in the huddle I start thinking about where the hole is supposed to be.”
Late in the 1970 season, Giants quarterback Fran Tarkenton said of Johnson: “Johnson is the best halfback in football today … period! He’s just a devastating football player.”
You need to login in order to vote
I posted some footage of that game in the post above, just in case anyone missed it.
You need to login in order to vote
It’s crazy that this kind of play didn’t transmit into the pros with any of them.
You need to login in order to vote
Yeah, Michigan’s lack of even one star running back is somewhat befuddling. Virtually every school seems to produce a stud running back at some point, and all the blue-bloods have done it (USC several times, Ohio State with Eddie George/Ezekiel Elliott, Texas with Ricky Williams/Earl Campbell, Florida with Emmitt Smith, etc.), along with a bunch of lower-level schools, but Michigan can’t quite seem to figure it out.
You need to login in order to vote
It did with Johnson! He was an all-pro with a pretty long career for a NFL RB.
You need to login in order to vote
How about those empty stands? No wonder they made a coaching change.
Hey LK, I did post some Speight links for ‘our’ internet bragging bet. Here is just one link. Look under the UM pro day post.
https://www.nfldraftgeek.com/2019-nfl-draft-quarterback-rankings/
You need to login in order to vote