For the first time in 34 years, someone other than Herschel Walker holds the SEC single-season rushing record.
Alabama tailback Derrick Henry broke the University of Georgia legend’s record of 1,891 yards, set in the 1981 season, during the third quarter of Saturday’s SEC Championship game. By the end of the game, Henry was up to 1,986 rushing yards for the season, including 189 on 44 carries in the Crimson Tide’s 29-15 victory over Florida at the Georgia Dome.
Walker set the record in 11 games in 1981; back then, there was no SEC title game and bowls didn’t count in the official statistics. (Walker ran for 84 yards in the Sugar Bowl that season.) Henry broke the record in his 13th game this season.
On the other hand, Walker had 385 carries in setting the record, while Henry broke it on his 323rd carry of the season.
Henry, named the Most Valuable Player of Saturday’s game, finished characteristically strong. At game’s end, his season rushing total had surpassed Walker’s in the 1981 season even after the Sugar Bowl.
Henry entered the game with an FBS-leading 1,797 rushing yards, 94 yards behind Walker’s single-season record. He got within 29 yards of the record by gaining 65 yards on 19 carries in the first half. He broke the record on a 7-yard run up the middle with about four minutes left in the third quarter.
Before Henry, the closest anyone had come to Walker’s record over the past 34 years was Arkansas’ Darren McFadden, who ran for 1,830 yards in 2007.
Henry, by most calculations the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, also tied the SEC single-season record for rushing touchdowns with a 2-yard run late in the second quarter Saturday. It was his 23rd rushing touchdown of the season, matching the record shared by Florida’s Tim Tebow (in 2007) and Auburn’s Tre Mason (in 2013).
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