Tigers’ Henderson one of nation’s best runners

With three regular season games left, Darrell Henderson is still in the chase for the nation’s rushing title, something a Memphis player has not won since 2005.

Henderson is second with 1,280 yards, just 83 behind Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor. The last Tigers running back to lead the nation in rushing was DeAngelo Williams, who set a program single-season record with 1,964 yards.

Here’s what Henderson needs to do Saturday to remain in the race as well as an eye on what the other top-five rushing leaders will face as well.

This week’s game

Henderson ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' win over ECU last week. On Saturday, he faces a Tulsa team ranked 118th out of 130 FBS teams in rushing defense.

Tulsa has given up 196 or more rushing yards in each of its last five games, including a season-high 312 yards to Tulane and Houston.

Tulsa has also allowed 5 yards per carry so Henderson has one of his most favorable matchups of the year. He ran for 123 yards against the Hurricanes last year in the Tigers' 41-14 road win.

Memphis’ final two regular-season games are against teams ranked 89th (SMU) and 63rd (Houston) against the run.

A look at Henderson’s competition

Taylor, who ran for 208 yards last week against Rutgers, and Wisconsin head on the road to face a Penn State team is 79th in run defense but 59th in yards per carry (4.09).

Although Taylor has run for over 200 yards in three games, if he has an off game against Penn State, that could allow Henderson to move back into the lead.

Arizona’s JJ Taylor, who is behind Henderson with 1,221 yards,

and Wyoming’s Nico Evans (1,166) are off this week. Arizona State’s Eno Benjamin, the nation’s fifthleading rusher at 1,113 yards, faces a UCLA team that ranks 107th in run defense (208.2 yards per game).

Henderson’s pace

The junior is averaging 142.22 yards per game. With three regularseason games left and a fourth if Memphis becomes bowl eligible, Henderson is on pace for 1,849 yards, which would be third-best in program history.

For Henderson to break Williams' single-season record of 1,964 yards, he needs to average 171 yards if the Tigers play in four games.

While that mark may be harder to attain, he’s closing in on two of Williams’ single-season scoring records. Henderson’s 15 rushing touchdowns are seven away from Williams’ record of 22, and his 18 total touchdowns are five from Williams’ record of 23.