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In 1988, Barry Sanders had the single greatest season in the history of all running backs in college football. He easily became the 54th Heisman Trophy Award winner and led his #12 Oklahoma State Cowboys to the Holiday Bowl versus #15 Wyoming. 


Sanders lit up every team and field they faced that season, and quickly became the most popular and beloved college football player of that season. Though he lived his life wowing crowds in the limelight while on the football field, he was actually shy and very quiet away from it. He never once celebrated after scoring a touchdown. Instead, he would simply walk over to the closest referee, hand him the football, and then jog over to the bench.

Below are his total statistics from his 1988 Heisman Trophy season and a game by game breakdown:

1988 Regular-season stats
Rushing: 344 rushes, 2,628 yards (7.6 ave), 37 TDs
Receiving: 19 receptions, 106 yards, 0 TDs
Returns: 21 Kick returns, 421 yards, 1TD; 10 punt returns, 94 yards, 1TD

Overall 1988 stats
as above, except:
Rushing: 373 rushes, 2,850 yards (7.6 ave), 42 TDs
Passing: 1 of 2 for 17 yards


In addition to setting the record for total rushing yards, Sanders set 33 other NCAA records in 1988, including:
  • Most TDs (39) and most rushing TDs (37)
  • Most points scored (234)
  • Most 300+ yard games in a season/career (4)
  • Most all-purpose yards in a season (3,249) and per-game (295.5; this record was 50 years old, held by Byron "Whizzer" White) 
There is no doubt Sanders had the best single season for a running back in college football history, however, the question is whether Sanders had the single best Heisman Trophy Campaign in history. What do you think? If you think somebody had a better single season than Sanders, please leave a comment stating your case and who you think had a better Heisman Trophy Campaign. 

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2011-11-29 00:34:03
Heisman Trophy

Barry Sanders 1988 Game 1 


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2011-11-29 00:37:30
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 2


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2011-11-29 00:38:13
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 3


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2011-11-29 00:38:44
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 4


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2011-11-29 00:39:18
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 5


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2011-11-29 00:39:51
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 6


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2011-11-29 00:40:21
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 7


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2011-11-29 00:40:52
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 8


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2011-11-29 00:41:19
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 9


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2011-11-29 00:41:50
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Barry Sanders 1988 Game 10


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2011-11-29 00:43:11
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Barry Sanders 1988 Holiday Bowl

2011-12-07 14:08:19
Seth Thome

Montee Ball is going to break Barry's record by 2-3 touchdowns & not win the F'ing Heisman! That is soooo ridiculous!!!!!. So as of right now, since Ball will get mooseknuckled out of the Heisman, the best campaign to date is that of Ron Dayne.


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2011-12-08 13:45:55
Heisman Trophy

The media did not cover his season at all until the end when it was too late (see Did Montee Ball deserve more attention in the Heisman Trophy Race?


I can't say for sure he should definitely win it, but it should be between him and RG3. Luck and Richardson should not be above him.