It’s been a few weeks since we’ve looked at Washington running back Bishop Sankey‘s quest to break the Husky single-season rushing record. After piling up 143 yards in Saturday’s lopsided win over Colorado, Sankey is just eight yards back of Napoleon Kaufman (1994) for the most yards by a Washington running back through nine weeks:
Player Year Yards YPG ------------------------------------- Napoleon Kaufman 1994 1313 145.9 BISHOP SANKEY 2013 1305 145.0 Greg Lewis 1990 1229 136.6 Corey Dillon 1996 1178 130.9 Chris Polk 2011 1096 121.8
Sankey should surpass Kaufman next week; Kaufman sprained an ankle during Week 10 and ran for just 11 yards. (He picked up 77 yards the remainder of the season, since the NCAA regular season was 11 games back then and the Huskies were prohibited from a bowl game.) But the Week 10 record Kaufman is chasing actually belongs to Corey Dillon, who vaulted into first place with 222 yards in the first quarter of a midseason non-conference game against San Jose State. Sankey needs 95 yards to stay ahead of Dillon through Week 10. You can see Dillon’s surge as the top line on the chart, with Sankey (in purple) nearly identical to Kaufman’s 1994 season.
Sankey’s total yardage currently ranks seventh in UW single-season history, but he’s got a realistic chance to finish Friday night as high as third if he rushes for 134 yards:
Player Year Yards YPG -------------------------------------- Corey Dillon 1996 1695 141.3 Chris Polk 2011 1488 114.5 Bishop Sankey 2012 1439 110.7 Chris Polk 2010 1415 108.8 Greg Lewis 1990 1407 117.3 Napoleon Kaufman 1994 1390 126.4 BISHOP SANKEY 2013 1305 145.0
He also remains slightly ahead of Dillon’s pace, which if maintained would allow him to set the single-season record without the benefit of the extra game the Huskies will likely play this season with a bowl appearance.