Ohio State football: Dobbins vs Taylor tale of the tape

Les Horvath. Alan Ameche. Hopalog Cassady. Billy Marek. Archie Griffin. Ron Dayne. Eddie George. Melvin Gordon. Ezekiel Elliott.

When Ohio State and Wisconsin meet on the football field, the first images that usually come to mind are of All-American running backs bruising and slashing their way down the field. Both of Wisconsin’s Heisman Trophy winners, Ameche and Dayne, played running back. So did five of the six Buckeyes to earn the honor, led of course by Griffin, still the only two-time Heisman winner.

Even in the high-tech, pass-happy college football world of 2019 there is still room for two more all-time running backs to join that list when No. 3 Ohio State hosts No. 13 Wisconsin this Saturday.

J.K. Dobbins. Jonathan Taylor.

Both are rocketing up very impressive all-time rushing lists at their respective schools. Dobbins, in his third season at Ohio State, is fifth on the career rushing yards list for the Buckeyes and could well be No. 2 (Elliott, 3,961 yards) by the time this season ends. Taylor is third all-time at Wisconsin, just 12 yards behind second-place Montee Ball.

So what better time to check out a tale of the tape between these two heavyweight running backs, who give even the best run defenses fits. And this game will also see two excellent run defenses — Wisconsin leads the nation, allowing 58.4 yards per game, and OSU is ninth at 92.7 ypg.

But all eyes will be on Taylor and Dobbins.

This season: Taylor has a slight edge in total rushing yardage through seven games, 957 to 947. Dobbins, however, has a much better average. Dobbins has 7.1 yards per carry — among FBS players averaging 7 yards or better per carry, he’s the only one with more than 120 carries (with 134). Taylor has 157 carries, averaging 6.1 yards a pop.

Taylor is a bit more involved in the passing game, with 16 catches for 138 yards and 4 touchdowns. Dobbins has 10 catches for 74 yards and 2 TDs.

Head to head: Dobbins rushed for 171 yards against the Badgers the last time these teams squared off, in the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game. That’s one of the Buckeye star’s five best career performances — interestingly, the top four all came on the road and that Wisconsin performance was at a neutral site.

Taylor’s only shot at OSU came in the same game, but the Buckeyes held Taylor, then a freshman, to 41 yards on 15 carries.

Tag-team partners: Master Teague has spotted Dobbins frequently, and not just in mop-up duty. Teague has had some high-leverage carries in the first half of games several times this season. Teague has more than half of the carries (73) and more than half of the yards (512) that Dobbins has earned this season. That’s a huge factor for OSU as it gives opponents a different look and gives Dobbins a chance to stay fresh in the second half. At this pace Teague could be a 1,000-yard rusher in 2019. And quarterback Justin Fields can also run, with 63 carries for 291 yards this season.

Taylor does not have nearly as much help. Wisconsin’s second most productive running back, Nakia Watson, has 55 carries for 247 yards. The Badgers have 323 total rushing attempts, meaning Taylor is responsible for 48.6 percent of the load. Taylor has been extremely durable throughout his college career but the fact is, he will have to remain that way because no Badger has proven to be a reliable enough No. 2 option.

Size: Taylor is listed at 5 feet 11, 219 pounds. Dobbins has almost identical size at 5-10, 217.

Draftniks’ take: Would it surprise you to learn that neither of these running backs is projected as a first-round NFL Draft selection? WalterFootball.com lists Dobbins as a mid-second round pick while Taylor is a late Round 2 projection.