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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/lunchboxthegoat on 2023-08-05 14:17:36.

Counting down to the beginning of the season I’m going to attempt to post one player per day for the last 99 matching their jersey number to the days left until kick off. The players will be random. Use this thread to celebrate and Talk About Some DudesTM

I’m switching up this post for Barry Sanders because he’s my favorite athlete of all-time and there can be very little debate that his 1988 season is the single greatest season of any college football player ever. I could write hundreds pages of material on Barry’s life and career but we’re going to focus on 1988 and his legacy.

In 1987 when Barry Sanders was merely a backup to All-American Thurman Thomas Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer said to his staff: “I want to tell you guys something. You better hope Thurman Thomas doesn’t get hurt. come look at this cat, a sophomore from Wichita named Barry Sanders. Thurman is good but he isn’t as good as this dude.”

Barry Sanders put 2628 official yards and 37 official rushing touchdowns, 39 total. His 222 yards and 5 TDs in the Holiday Bowl don’t count officially. If they did…they’d be the highest totals for yards and TDs for anyone at any division of college football, ever. In just 12 games. Instead his ‘official’ yardage and rushing TD totals stand alone but Montee Ball ‘tied’ his 39 total touchdowns in 3 more games.

He started the season with a kick return for a touchdown. For the second year in a row. He went on to have at least two rushing TDs in every single game of 1988. More than anyone else ever. He had at least 3 TDs in 9 of 12 games. More than anyone else ever.

He averaged 22 points per game by himself. More than 47 of the 105 Div 1-A teams that existed in 1988.

Barry had four 300-yard rushing games in 1988. That’s more than anyone else’s career total.

Barry averaged 238.9 yards per game and 295.5 all-purpose yards per game, a record.

He holds the NCAA record for rushing yards over a 3, 4, and 5 game span with 937, 1152 and 1427 respectively. Barry averaged 7.6 yards per carry.

He won the Maxwell, Walter Camp, Big Eight Offensive Player of the year, was a first team All-American, won the Heisman Trophy with a vote of 1878 to 912 over Rodney Peete and was drafted third overall in the 1989 NFL Draft.

For my money he was the greatest running back in NFL history as well: 1997 MVP, 2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year, 1989 NFL Offensive Rookie of the year, 6x first-team All-Pro, 4x Second-team All-Pro, 10x Pro Bowler, 4x NFL Rushing leader, 1991 rushing TD leader, he put up the 3rd ever and 1 of only 6 2000 yard rushing seasons in NFL history, 1990s all decade team, 100th anniversary team, PFWA All-Rookie Team, Lions All-time Team, 75th Anniversary Team, his #21 is retired by the OSU Cowboys and #20 for the Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

the legend in Orange, with the Heisman in white

excellent article by Alex Kirschner of SZD/Moon Crew/Banner Society with GIFS!

Previously: 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75, 74, 73, 72, 71, 70, 69, 68, 67, 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58, [57](www.reddit.com/r/C…

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