LaMichael James Leads FBS in Rushing Yards

LaMichael James is the rushing leader in Football Bowl Subdivision. After an amazing game against the Arizona Wildcats, James surpassed everyone else.

Through four games, James has 613 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Add in 11 receptions for 159 yards and another touchdown and it is clear he might be one of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy Award. After seasons of 1,546 and 1,731 yards, James might be able to surpass those impressive numbers this year.

On Saturday, James became the focal point of an offense that was operating on all cylinders. He rushed for a school-record 288 yards on 23 carries, scoring two touchdowns in a 56-31 win. Doing it against Arizona probably made it even more special for him, and it was a great way to silence the Tucson crowd. For anyone that thought this team might just lie down after falling to LSU in the opener, this should be a wake-up call.

The battle for the rushing title is going to get exciting. There are several players who could contend, and one of them is a quarterback. James is just 2 yards ahead of Marcus Lattimore from South Carolina and 7 yards ahead of Ronnie Hillman from San Diego State. Both are putting together huge seasons. At No. 4 is Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson.

As Oregon gets deeper into the Pac-12 schedule, it could become tougher for James to keep putting up numbers like he did on Arizona. One of the reasons could be that he gets rested when Oregon runs up the score on schools like Colorado and Oregon State. The other reason could be Darron Thomas is also playing very well at quarterback for the Ducks, and he could spark the passing game against some of the weaker cornerbacks. No matter what, James has made a statement about why he should go high in the first round of the NFL draft.