In recent years, the conversation of which University has produced the best NFL players from each position group has become popular with fans all over the country. Numerous teams' fan bases fight over who is wide receiver university, defensive back university, and so on. One of the more popular position groups to debate over as of late has been running backs, with plenty of schools to choose from, today we’re going to decide who is the real running back university. This will be done by taking statistics and accolades from the top 5 running backs to come from each university, and deciding which one is the best.

University of Miami

Top 5 running backs: Edgerrin James, Frank Gore, Clinton Portis, Chuck Foreman, Otis Anderson

While ‘The U’ has not produced many productive running backs in recent years, they certainly have had no shortage of talented backfields throughout their history, and especially in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s. These top 5 running backs from Miami have made 18 pro bowl appearances, 10 all-pro teams, won three superbowls, and account for 432 total touchdowns. Although the University of Miami may not be one of the first teams to come to mind when thinking about who might be running back university, they certainly deserve to at least be mentioned as a contender. 

Penn State University

Top 5 running backs: Franco Harris, Lenny Moore, Curt Warner, Lydell Mitchell, Larry Johnson

Penn State is usually one of the first teams mentioned when talking about who might be running back university, as they are typically a program that dominates with a strong rushing attack. They also have continued to produce quality NFL running backs on a regular basis such as current players Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders; Saquon nearly made this list but ended up falling just short due to his immense amount of missed time with injuries thus far into his career. The top 5 running backs from Penn State have made 24 pro bowls, 15 all-pro teams, won 4 super bowls, and account for 382 total touchdowns. With two hall of famers and numerous other stellar running backs, Penn State is certainly one of the top contenders for running back u.

University of Pittsburgh

Top 5 running backs: Tony Dorsett, Curtis Martin, LeSean McCoy, James Conner, Craig Heyward

Pittsburgh making this list may surprise some, but despite not being an extremely successful team in the 21st century, they have still managed to pump out individual talent with legendary players such as Larry Fitzgerald and Aaron Donald. Throughout the history of Pitt football, a hard-nosed rushing attack has been their specialty, with a ton of NFL talent having played their college ball at Pittsburgh. The top 5 running backs from Pitt have made 18 pro bowls, 8 all-pro teams, won 3 super bowls, and account for 371 total touchdowns. With two current hall of famers and a strong possibility that LeSean McCoy will be inducted when eligible, Pittsburgh is certainly one of the top contenders for running back university.

University of Texas

Top 5 running backs: Earl Campbell, Priest Holmes, Jamaal Charles, Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson

One of the biggest blue-blood programs in college football, the Texas Longhorns always seem to have a dominant running back on their roster every year. In recent years we’ve seen dominant collegiate seasons from D’onta Foreman and Bijan Robinson, and while neither of them have done enough in the NFL yet to make this list, Texas’ top 5 running backs in NFL history is still a stacked list. Their top 5 running backs have made 13 pro bowls, 10 all-pro teams, won an MVP, and account for 339 total touchdowns. With multiple young and talented backs either in the NFL right now or soon to be getting drafted, in a few years Texas could be even higher on this list with players like Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Brooks making a name for themselves on Sundays.

University of Southern California

Top 5 running backs: Marcus Allen, O.J. Simpson, Frank Gifford, Charles White, Reggie Bush

With USC having 5 running backs that have won a Heisman trophy, it makes perfect sense how they find themselves on the shortlist of potential candidates for running back university. The top 5 running backs from USC have made 22 pro bowls, 14 all-pro teams, won 3 super bowls, won 3 MVP’s, and account for 398 total touchdowns. While USC is certainly running back university on the collegiate level, they may have a rightful claim to the NFL level as well.

University of Georgia

Top 5 running backs: Terrell Davis, Herschel Walker, Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley, Garrison Hearst

Georgia has produced a lot of stellar running backs over the years, but many of them had unfortunately short primes or in some cases, short careers in general. Running backs such as Terrell Davis and Todd Gurley were some of the best talents we’ve ever seen at the position, but unfortunately, high usage-rates as well as injuries lead them to early retirement. The top 5 running backs from Georgia have made 12 pro bowls, 8 all-pro teams, won two super bowls, won an MVP, and account for 317 total touchdowns. While Georgia definitely deserves recognition on this list for the quality of running backs they produce, the short careers of multiple of their best backs will without a doubt hurt their case in terms of total statistics.

Syracuse University

Top 5 running backs: Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Jim Nance, Floyd Little, Joe Morris

Syracuse is an interesting team on this list due to the fact that they have not had a pro bowl running back since the 1980’s, however they have had multiple tremendous talents at the running back position come out of their school over the years, with Jim Brown being one of the best backs of all time. Several of these players had relatively shorter careers, so while their cumulative stats may not be as impressive, during their prime there were few running backs in the league, if any that were better than them. Their top 5 running backs have made 23 pro bowls, 16 all-pro teams, won 3 super bowls, won 3 MVP’s, and account for 344 total touchdowns, with Larry Csonka, Jim Brown, and Floyd Little all being in the hall of fame. While their lack of any recent talent at the running back position will without a doubt hurt their case, they still deserve to be recognized as a potential contender for running back university.

When taking a look at the deciding factors of pro bowls, all-pro teams, super bowls, MVP’s, and total touchdowns, there were several schools that were extremely close to eachother; but overall the University of Southern California came out on top. USC’s backs having both won 3 MVP’s and 3 super bowls was one of the main deciding factors, along with having the 2nd most touchdowns out of the listed schools, and the 3rd most pro bowls, not to mention the sheer quantity of talented running backs that have come from the program, with multiple memorable players not even making the list.

Honorable Mentions:

University of Alabama: Derrick Henry, Shaun Alexander, Mark Ingram, Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris, Bobby Humphrey

Oklahoma State University: Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Chris Carson, Walt Garrison, Tatum Bell

University of Oklahoma: Adrian Peterson, Billy Sims, DeMarco Murray, Joe Mixon, Greg Pruitt