Ohio State Football: 5 reasons J.K. Dobbins will win 2018 Heisman Trophy
By Phil Poling
1. Country’s premier running back
The conversation about the best running back heading into last season surrounded Penn State’s Saquon Barkley. He, along with other top backs Derrius Guice and Nick Chubb, moved on to the NFL. Suddenly, Ohio State possibly has the best running back in the country again, a-la Ezekiel Elliott in 2015.
Only 13 running backs outpaced Dobbins on the ground during his freshman campaign, but five of them weren’t even from a Power Five school. However, Stanford’s Bryce Love and Wisconsin’s Johnathan Taylor were on that list and will also be in the Heisman race in 2018.
The Ohio State running back has it all, though — a great head coach, great teammates, and a blue-blood program behind him. The Buckeyes were always in the conversation prior to Meyer’s start at OSU in 2012, but once he arrived it’s been utter dominance. Meyer’s track record coupled with the school’s own excellence has created a machine in college football that only Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide can rival.
Bovada gives Dobbins the third-best odds to win the Heisman at +1500. Wisconsin’s Taylor is the favorite at +750. Lists will shake up once the games start, but being considered early is important. And if both Dobbins and Taylor produce as expected, a matchup in the Big Ten Championship would influence voter’s decisions, assuming both get there; twice in the last four seasons have Ohio State and Wisconsin squared off.
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Having six 100-yard games (and three 80-plus yard games) as a freshman will force defenses to game-plan for Dobbins. Expect that added pressure to demand greater production from the sophomore. Winning definitely boosts a Heisman resume, and the Buckeyes are primed for another run at the College Football Playoff — expect J.K. Dobbins to lead the Buckeyes.