It's hard to post a 300-yard rushing game and actually lose ground in the race to be the nation's top rusher, but that was the case for Indiana's Tevin Coleman on Saturday.
Coleman, who was second in the nation in rushing at 152.3 yards per game heading into the weekend, gained 302 yards Saturday in a loss to Rutgers. But his huge performance was overshadowed by the record-breaking performance of Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon, the leading rusher in the FBS.
It was Coleman's third 200-yard game of the season, and his career-best output followed last week's 71-yard effort, which is his only non-100-yard game of the season.
Coleman, a junior, had a career-high 32 carries -- his first game with more than 27 attempts. He scored once, on a 67-yard run late in the first half, which TD gave Indiana a 16-10 lead, but the Hoosiers lost, 45-23.
Coleman has rushed for 12 TDs this season, and those runs have covered an average of 39 yards.
Coleman now has 1,673 yards in 10 games. Indiana's single-season record is 1,805 yards by Vaughn Dunbar in 1991; Dunbar was a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in '92. Coleman and the Hoosiers still have games remaining against Ohio State and Purdue.
Coleman's effort was the third 300-yard game of the day, as Western Kentucky's Leon Allen rushed for 345 yards in a win over Army.
Rutgers became bowl-eligible with the win.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
