It’s a sign of how great the running backs are in college football when a player the caliber of Florida State’s Dalvin Cook isn’t considered the best back in America. Coming into Saturday’s game against NC State, Cook had 1,231 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on only 148 carries, giving him an average of 8.3 yards per carry on the year. He’s had plenty of highlights, but his best highlight of the year came against the Wolfpack.
Cook took a handoff from Seminoles quarterback Sean Maguire, who fell down on the exchange and had to dive to get the ball to his running back. Despite being surrounded by defenders, Cook found a hole and was able to break into the second level. Once there, Florida State’s Heisman candidate bounced off of a bunch of defenders. Even when it looked like someone was going to wrap up Cook, he just pushed them off of him and took off. Cook ended up breaking away from everyone and waltzing into the end zone for his second touchdown of the afternoon.
It’s been a big afternoon for Cook. Along with that touchdown, Cook also broke Florida State’s single-season rushing record of 1,242 yards in a year, which was previously held by Warrick Dunn.