hroughout the season, and I think it will be more of the same, Durkin said of Hills. Hes made it through some games fine, and so

The diminished role of the running back in college football was greatly exaggerated.In some respects, the position is as strong as ever.Alabamas Derrick Henry became the first running back to win the Heisman Trophy since 2009 last year and was one of five players to run for 1,800 yards as rushing averages nationwide surged to record levels. Henry has moved on to the NFL, but three 1,800-yard rushers are back this season: LSUs Leonard Fournette, Stanfords Christian McCaffrey and Oregons Royce Freeman.The surge in star power at the position flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that college football has become a quarterback-dominated game.The running game, I wouldnt say it had gotten lost necessarily, because there have been a lot of good runners, Stanford coach David Shaw said. But the emphasis has been on the spread passing attacks. But really good spread teams always have a good back. Its good to see in college football, guys turn around and hand it to a runner and be physical. I think those guys are fun to watch -- and we have a pretty special one, too.The notion that a running backs value was fading gained credence when no players at that position were drafted in the first round in either 2013 or 2014. Quarterbacks won the Heisman eight times in a nine-year stretch from 2006-14, the exception being Alabama running back Mark Ingram in 2009.People have definitely advised me to pick another position, said Tennessees Jalen Hurd, whos a bit taller than the average running back at 6-foot-4. Ive got people all the time just looking at me like, `Dude, are you sure you want be a running back? But thats my position.Hurd stayed in the backfield and enters his junior season just 891 yards shy of Travis Henrys school rushing record.The emergence of Fournette, Hurd and Georgias Nick Chubb, who is recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him for the second half of the 2015 season, has helped the Southeastern Conference maintain its elite status during a stretch when it has struggled to produce top quarterbacks.I think definitely if it didnt change last year, the running back value is going to change this year, Hurd said.This running back resurgence goes well beyond the SEC and stretches from coast to coast.The Atlantic Coast Conference returns three players who ran for more than 1,400 yards last season -- Florida States Dalvin Cook, Clemsons Wayne Gallman and North Carolinas Elijah Hood. The league also welcomes back 2014 ACC player of the year James Conner of Pittsburgh after his successful fight with cancer.On the West Coast, the Pac-12 has the Heisman Trophy runner-up in McCaffrey as well as Freeman.There are a lot of good-looking running backs out there, said Dave Warner, Michigan States co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach.In the NFL, theyre not as premium anymore because they dont last very long, Warner added. (In) college, they last with us.Many of those running backs are competitive enough to keep tabs on one another.I watch all of those guys, Cook said. Fournette, McCaffrey. ... Chubb will come back 100 percent. Jalen. Royce. I watch all of those guys. Great backs. (I) take little lessons from their game, try to tweak my game a little bit because all of those guys have different running styles. You cant ever stop learning, no matter what.Defenses havent quite learned how to slow them down.Football Bowl Subdivision teams averaged 178.3 yards rushing per game last season, the most since 1980. Thats at least partly due to the increased number of snaps that have come from the rise in up-tempo offenses.But teams also are running more effectively than before. FBS schools averaged a record 4.5 yards per carry last seasonI think its a byproduct of spread offenses, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. I think its the byproduct of play-action passes and all the run-pass options that offenses are doing now where a quarterback has three or four options on a run play in every single play.The soaring totals have left some running backs fighting for attention.Hoods track record would make him a legitimate Heisman candidate many other years, but McCaffrey, Fournette, Freeman and Cook are coming off even better seasons. The North Carolina standout said he didnt worry about the lack of attention and, my play speaks for itself.San Diego States Donnel Pumphrey has rushed for more than 3,500 yards over the last two seasons, yet he isnt particularly well known outside the Mountain West Conference. Gallman rushed for 1,527 yards last year while being overshadowed by Cook and Hood in the ACC and by quarterback Deshaun Watson in his own backfield.Thats an extra chip. I have to go out there and prove myself every play, Gallman said.Recent history suggests they shouldnt expect a payoff down the road.At least two running backs were drafted in the first round every year from 1985 to 2010, but the NFL doesnt hold that position nearly in the same regard anymore. A total of three running backs have been first-round selections over the last four years, including Ohio States Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick in the most recent draft.But at least in college, running backs have become increasingly vital. Its no coincidence the nations most prolific runners play on some of college footballs top teams.---AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Josh Dubow, Pete Iacobelli, Joe Reedy, Noah Trister and Kurt Voigt contributed to this report.---AP college website: collegefootball.ap.orgAl MacInnis Jersey Large .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Wholesale Custom Flames Shirts . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. http://www.customflamesjersey.com/ . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Flames Jerseys China . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Custom Flames Jerseys .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey.For the past month, the chatter engulfing Ohio State football focused on the lack of productivity on offense after scoring no more than 24 points in the three games heading into last Saturday nights prime-time matchup with then-No. 10 Nebraska.Those concerns were buried in a resounding manner with the 62-3 manhandling of the Cornhuskers in Ohio Stadium that was the largest point total against a top-10 team in school history.The fifth-ranked Buckeyes not only improved their image around the country with the blowout win over the No. 10 team in last weeks College Football Playoff rankings, they stayed on track for a monster Big Ten showdown with No. 3 Michigan in three weeks.Before the Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) turn their attention to the Wolverines, they have to attend to the next two games on the schedule, starting Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN) in College Park, Md., against Maryland (5-4, 2-4) and then staying on the road at Michigan State the following Saturday.We really didnt do anything different. Its about execution, Ohio State H-back Curtis Samuel said after Saturday nights beatdown of Nebraska. In previous weeks, we didnt execute at the highest level whereas (Saturday) we did.The Buckeyes compiled 590 yards of total offense and quarterback J.T. Barrett was really humming, completing 26 of 38 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns. Two of the scoring passes went to dynamic H-back Curtis Samuel -- a 1-yarder at the end of the first half and a 75-yard hookup to start the second half.Everything was clicking, the run game, the pass game, Barrett said. It was good for us to go out there and show we could throw the ball downfield.It wasnt supposed to be that easy against Nebraska, but an interception by safety Damon Webb for a touchdown on the first series of the night set the tone.That was a great start to the game, Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard said. I dont think we could ask for a better start defensively.Buckeyes safety Malik Hooker added a second pick-six in the second half, intercepting a pass and returning it 48 yards for a touchdown.For Hooker, it was his fourth interception and second pick-six of the season. Ohio State has set a team record with six interceptions returned for scores this year.ddddddddddddA defensive score gives momentum to the offense and thats what we try to do every time, Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore said. If we get our hands on the ball, we try to score so we can put points up on the board.That they did. Sixty-two of them. More important for the Buckeyes, they won the first of four November games that will define their season.Theres no room for mistakes now, Hubbard said. You play for championships in November. This is our first step of four big games.Next is Maryland, which was pounded Saturday by Michigan in a 59-3 loss. The Terrapins, coached by former Meyer assistant D.J. Durkin, were staggered by the Wolverines.Were going to get back to work and figure out what to do with the next team and how to bounce back, Durkin said after the pounding at Michigan. Weve had some ups and downs for the season, but the good thing is, weve bounced back every time. I dont know if its been as quick as wed have liked, but weve bounced back. Well do it again.Maryland could be missing several key players when Ohio State visits Byrd Stadium.Quarterback Perry Hills has a recurring throwing-shoulder injury that flared up again last week at Michigan. He is considered day-to-day. Ty Johnson, the teams leading rusher, is dealing with a lower body issue that forced him to leave Saturdays game in the third quarter.This is obviously something hes been dealing with throughout the season, and I think it will be more of the same, Durkin said of Hills. Hes made it through some games fine, and some games hes taken a hit on it and its forced him out for a little bit. He was wanting to come back in that game.Maryland could use all hands on deck against Ohio State. Durkin is impressed with the Buckeyes overall speed.Weve got a big test in front of us, he said.The temptation now is for Ohio State to look forward to the annual showdown with Michigan at the end of the regular season.Theres no chance, Meyer said, adding later, beat Maryland. ' ' '