Clemson Football: Comparing Travis Etienne and J.K. Dobbins

Clemson football running back Travis Etienne will compete against Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl.

The Clemson football team will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl for an opportunity to advance to the National Championship game.

The Tigers hold an impressive 28-game winning streak heading into the matchup, but despite all the winning, many individuals were snubbed for recognition.

Travis Etienne, who holds the nation’s highest yards per carry average, wasn’t a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, but Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins– who the Tigers will face- was selected, eventually finishing behind Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor in the voting.

As we head into the CFB Playoff, here’s an analysis of the two running backs, beginning with a look at their stats.

Travis Etienne vs. J.K. Dobbins:

• Travis Etienne: 182 attempts for 1,500 yards (8.2 YPC), 17 TDs; 29 receptions for 298 yards, 2 TDs.
• J.K. Dobbins: 283 attempts for 1,829 yards (6.5 YPC), 20 TDs; 17 receptions for 200 yards, 2 TDs.

Etienne is averaging nearly two more yards per carry than Dobbins, but it should be noted that Dobbins faced an average rushing defense of No. 46 in the nation while Etienne faced an average of No. 72. The Big Ten gets the benefit of the doubt in defensive statistics though, because the conference’s defenses don’t face prolific offenses who spread the ball out or attempt to run at a face pace, which can’t necessarily be factored in.

Both Dobbins and Etienne have been explosive workhorses for their teams and in many ways, they’re similar in how they run the ball.

The difference, in my opinion, is the efficiency that Etienne plays with and the fact that he should be better rested than Dobbins coming into this one. Etienne has carried the ball 101 less times than Dobbins has this season. While Ohio State fans will shout ‘it’s because Clemson doesn’t play anybody,’ that’s actually not why.

The Buckeyes blew out opponents at the same clip that Clemson did (both averaged beating their opponents by more than 30 points per game), and therefore had the same opportunities to rest their running back. Clemson focused on building depth at running back and allowed Trevor Lawrence to throw the ball. Ohio State had more of a single-back approach while allowing Justin Fields to pick up yardage with his legs.

The truth is that when you look at these two guys, you see a lot of similarities, but Etienne is still a running back like no other. He glides down the field and runs with such power that it’s just difficult to game plan against him. The main difference is the fact that we’ve heard in great detail about anything wrong with Travis Etienne, but the media doesn’t seem to want to say anything about anyone else.

Dobbins benefitted from playing defenses who couldn’t match-up with his speed. That’s not going to be the case when the Buckeyes take on the Clemson defense.