The sport of college has evolved to the point where offenses tend to favor the passing game more than the running game, but once a team penetrates the red zone there are some dependable options carrying the football. Perhaps none are better right now than Arizona State running back Marion Grice.
Arizona State has been inside the red zone 43 times this season. The Sun Devils still get pass-happy inside the 20-yard line but Grice has carried the football 31 times through seven games and has scored a touchdown a little more than a third of the time. That is a pretty good ratio, and among the best in the country.
Here is a list of the top ten running backs with red zone touchdowns, according to CFBStats.com (as of October 23, 2013). No running back in the country has more red zone touchdowns than Grice, but Boise State’s Jay Ajayi is right in the conversation.
Red Zone Rushing Touchdowns
- Marion Grice (Arizona State) - 11
- Jay Ajayi (Boise State) - 10
Keenan Reynolds (Navy) - 10 - Antonio Andrews (Western Kentucky) - 9
Tyler Gaffney (Stanford) - 9
Dallas Crawford (Miami) - 9
Fitzgerald Toussaint (Michigan) - 9 - Jahwan Edwards (Ball State) - 8
Ben Malena (Texas A&M) - 8
Zach Zwinak (Penn State) - 8
Ajayi and Western Kentucky’s Antonio Andrews have really been carrying the load for their teams inside the red zone. Of the players listed above, only Ajayi, Andrews and Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds have carried the football more than 31 times inside the red zone.