If you consider the Heisman to be more of a team award than a MVP award, Trent Richardson's case is pretty darn strong. While he's not statistically the best running back, his contributions were clearly a major reason why Alabama is playing in the National Championship Game.
Heisman Trophy Finalists 2011: Trent Richardson, Alabama’s Second Coming
Trent Richardson might not be the nation’s MVP, but his statistics aren’t so bad either. Could he be Alabama’s second-ever Heisman winner, and the second in three years?
Even in the Tide’s one loss this season, he was one of the few offensive sparks. Richardson picked up 169 all-purpose yards in that 9-6 loss, which was also the only time all year he failed to get into the end zone at least once.
That’s not to say Richardson’s numbers are anything less than stellar. His 1,583 rushing yards were the sixth most in the country. He rushed for 20 touchdowns, which was the fifth best total. He was also the fourth highest scorer in the nation, finding the endzone a total of 23 times.
Richardson was also consistent. He failed to rush for 100 yards just three times all season. In all but one of those three games he picked up at least 100 all-purpose yards and in the one game he didn’t, Richardson scored three touchdowns as he was pulled early during a 48-7 win over Kent State in the season opener.
The other four finalists for the 2011 Heisman Trophy were Stanford's Andrew Luck, Baylor's Robert Griffin III, LSU's Tyrann Mathieu and Wisconsin's Montee Ball.
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