Ka’Deem Carey is trying to leave the rest of the field in the dust. Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Wildcats’ Ka’Deem Carey is the nation’s leading rusher for the third consecutive week, although there is a new No. 2.
Andre Williams of Boston College ran 33 times for 166 yards against Virginia Tech on Saturday to improve to 147.0 yards per game.
Carey had a similar line — 32 carries, 152 yards — as his average inched lower to 153.1.
Here are the top five rushers in the nation:
| Rank | Player | Cl | G | Rush | Yds | Rush TDs | YPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ka’Deem Carey, Arizona | Jr. | 7 | 188 | 1,072 | 10 | 153.1 |
| 2 | Andre Williams, Boston College | Sr. | 8 | 216 | 1,176 | 10 | 147.0 |
| 3 | Bishop Sankey, Washington | Jr. | 8 | 199 | 1,162 | 12 | 145.3 |
| 4 | Antonio Andrews, Western Ky. | Sr. | 9 | 202 | 1,290 | 11 | 143.3 |
| 5 | Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska | Jr. | 8 | 157 | 1,108 | 6 | 138.5 |
Carey is trying to become the 10th back-to-back rushing champion in NCAA history. It was first done by Arizona’s Art Luppino in 1954 and 1955 and most recently accomplished by Oregon’s LaMichael James in 2010 and 2011.
Carey has rushed for at least 119 yards in 11 consecutive games.
Let’s take a look at the defenses remaining on UA’s regular-season schedule (keeping in mind that all postseason games count, too) …
– UCLA (Saturday night): The Bruins are 72nd nationally in run defense, allowing 169.5 yards per game. Carey’s worst game since the start of the 2012 season came against UCLA last season, if only because he was pulled early in the Bruins’ rout. He rushed 16 times for 54 yards.
– Washington State (Nov. 16): The Cougars are 86th in run defense, giving up 183.9 yards per game. Arizona and WSU have not played in the past two seasons.
– Oregon (Nov. 23): The Ducks usually don’t get enough credit for their defense, which allows 130.9 rushing yards per game, 26th in the nation. Carey had modest totals against Oregon last season (21 for 84) in a 49-0 loss.
– Arizona State (Nov. 30): The Sun Devils struggled in run defense early in the season but then shutdown Washington’s Bishop Sankey and has improved to 21st nationally, yielding 126.3 rushing yards per game, anchored by All-American defensive tackle Will Sutton. Carey went for 172 yards on 25 attempts vs. the Devils last season.