…and now the Top Ten…

HMmm, Chief Big Jim Like 'em bootleg play.

10 Jim Thorpe, RB - Carlisle: One of the greatest athletes in American history, Thorpe led Carlisle to an historic upset of Harvard in 1911 and led Carlisle to the National Championship in 1912. A 2-time All-American - he played several positions and also excelled in track, baseball, and lacrosse.

9 Glenn Davis/Doc Blanchard, RBs - Army: OK so I combined "Mr. Outside (Davis)" and "Mr. Inside (Blanchard)." Blanchard won the Heisman in '45 and Davis followed him in '46. Blanchard played both ways and handled kicking and punting and Davis averaged 11.5 yards per carry (still a record today). With these two, Army football went 27-0-1 for three season in the mid-40's.

8 Dave Rimington, C - Nebraska: 1st player to dominate due largely to strength training - elevated the role of conditioning and started the trend of dominating Cornhusker linemen. Won both the Outland and Lombardi Trophies. The Rimington Award is named after him.

7 Paul Hornung, HB - Notre Dame: Widely regarded as the best all-around player in Notre Dame history, "The Golden Boy" is the only player to win a Heisman while playing for a losing team. Played halfback, fullback, safety, and punter - and returned kicks and punts. Possibly the best 2-way player in college football history.

6 John Hicks, OT - Ohio State: Won the Lombardi and Outland Trophies AND finished 2nd for the Heisman! Arguably the greatest offensive lineman ever to play the game, Hicks created holes for the only 2-time winner of the Heisman…

5 Archie Griffin, RB - Ohio State: Changed the role of freshman in college sports by breaking the school rushing record IN HIS FIRST GAME against North Carolina during the first year when freshman were allowed to play. An iron man of the 70's, #45 NEVER missed a game due to injury and ran for 100+ yards in 31 consecutive games. Archie became the first player to start in four Rose Bowls!

4 Davey O'Brien, QB - TCU: Led the Honed Frogs to an undefeated season in 1938 and was the first player to win the Heisman, Walter Camp, and Maxwell awards in the same season. The QB of the year award is named for him.

3 Herschel Walker, RB - Georgia: Maybe the most complete package of speed, elusiveness, and power ever. Led the Bulldogs to the 1980 National Championship - as a sophomore. May have won a 2nd Heisman if he had stayed at Georgia instead of opting for the USFL. For the record, I'm glad he left college.

2 Barry Sanders, RB - Oklahoma State: Had maybe the best season EVER for a college player during 1988 (his only season as a starter) - 2,628 yards rushing and 39 touchdowns…that's not a misprint. #21 rushed for over 300 yards in four games. That's just ridiculous enough for 2nd place on my list!

…and Savant's Greatest College Football Player of All-Time is...

1 Red Grange, RB - Illinois: "The Galloping Ghost" was a 3-time All-American who appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1925. In his very first collegiate football game, he scored three TD's against Nebraska and in his 2nd season, he led the Illini to a 1923 National Championship.

Grange vaulted to national prominence as a result of his performance in a 1924 game against Michigan. In what was the grand opening game for the new Memorial Stadium, he returned the opening kickoff for a 95-yard TD, and scored three more touchdowns in the first twelve minutes. This four-touchdown first quarter outburst equaled the number of touchdowns allowed by Michigan in the previous two years. After sitting out the second quarter, Grange returned in the 2nd half and scored twice more for a then unprecedented total of 6 TDs in a single game!

After that game, Grantland Rice wrote the following about #77:

A streak of fire, a breath of flame
Eluding all who reach and clutch;
A gray ghost thrown into the game
That rival hands may never touch;
A rubber bounding, blasting soul
Whose destination is the goal — Red Grange of Illinois!

So there you have it, I never promised perfection, equal representation, or impartiality…just my $0.02. My name is not Slim Shady or Homer J. Simpson, it's Buckeye Savant and I am a two-time graduate of the Outright Big Ten Champion and Rose Bowl Bound Ohio State University…and I'm out.

War Buckeyes!

Who Missed the Cut (no particular order…well, OK - Buckeyes first): Orlando Pace, Jim Parker, Chic Harley, Johnny Utah: Ohio State, Hamilton Fish: Harvard, Charles Woodson: Michigan, LeRoy Selmon: Oklahoma, John Hannah, Cornelius Bennett, Forrest Gump: Alabama, Reggie Bush, OJ Simpson: USC, Bubba Smith, Tony Mandarich: Michigan State, John Elway, Ernie Nevers: Stanford, Elroy Hersch and Alan Ameche: Wisconsin, Doak Walker: SMU, Chris Zorich, Joe Montana, John Lattner, George Gipp: Notre Dame, Steve Emtman: Washington, Kenny Easly: UCLA, Michael Vick: Virginia Tech, Randy White: Maryland, Nile Kinnick: Iowa, Mike Singeltary: Baylor, Troy Davis: Iowa State, Ernie Davis, Jim Brown: Syracuse, Roger Staubach: Navy, Charley Trippi: Georgia, Ty Detmer: BYU, Warren Sapp, Bernie Kosar: Miami, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow: Florida, John David Crow: Texas A & M, John Cappiletti: Penn State, Sam Huff: West Virginia, Jay Berwanger: Chicago, Reggie White, Peyton Manning: Tennessee, Tommie Frazier: Nebraska, Dan Marino, Bill Fralic: Pitt, Gayle Sayers: Kansas, Lawrence Taylor: North Carolina, Walter Camp: Yale