Clemson Football: Why Travis Etienne should be a Heisman Contender

It’s time for Clemson football sophomore running back Travis Etienne to begin receiving some notice in the Heisman Candidate discussion.

Travis Etienne put the team on his back Saturday afternoon in Clemson football’s gutsy win over Syracuse in Death Valley.

Etienne finished the day with 27 carries for 203 yards and three touchdowns.

Despite his impressive performance, it seems no one wants to give Etienne the credit he deserves, as far as national pundits are concerned. They act like this is a first-time thing for the young sophomore or that he just had one great game.

For those of us watching Clemson football, though, we’ve seen just what the running back can do. He’s not a “one-game wonder.” If you give the ball to Etienne 25 times a game, he’s going to get 200-plus yards and score a couple of touchdowns every single time.

He’s just that good.

Stats don’t lie…

There are two running backs that have received a ton of hype in the Heisman conversation: Bryce Love, of Stanford, and Jonathan Taylor, of Wisconsin.

Love’s odds have dropped immensely, especially after he was injured last week vs. Notre Dame, but Taylor has continued to climb. Looking at stats, though, Etienne compares with these two quite well, actually.

Here’s a look at the three running backs and their stats following week five (keep in mind that Wisconsin has only played four games):

• Bryce Love: 76 attempts for 327 yards (4.3 YPC) 3 TDs.; 6 rec. for 34 yards.
• Jonathan Taylor: 102 attempts for 628 yards (6.2 YPC), 5 TDs; 5 rec. for 20 yards.
• Travis Etienne: 73 attempts for 594 yards (8.1 YPC), 8 TDs; 5 rec. for 21 yards, 1 TD.

Etienne has less carries than both backs, but nearly double the yards of that of Love and just 34 yards less than Taylor, despite carrying the ball 29 times less.

Now, before you say “Love and Taylor have played better competition,” let’s take a look at that.

-Stanford has played San Diego State, USC, UC Davis, Oregon and Notre Dame.

-Wisconsin has played Western Kentucky, New Mexico, BYU and Iowa.

-Clemson, as well all know, has played Furman, Texas A&M, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech and Syracuse.

Interestingly, enough, though. When you look at rushing defense, you’ll find that only Love has played any team inside the top-25 in rush defense (Oregon).

That tells me that these opposing defenses, in the grand scheme of things, have been somewhat similar. Maybe you could make an argument for some tougher competition with BYU and Iowa for Taylor, but overall, you have to be impressed with Etienne.

I’m not trying to make a case against Love or Taylor. They are both very talented running backs. All I am simply saying is this:

It’s time for Travis Etienne to begin getting the respect he deserves. That respect includes Heisman Candidacy discussion.