Wisconsin sophomore tailback Melvin Gordon was bottled up by Iowa Saturday, rushing for just 62 yards on 17 carries.
But the Badgers still rushed for 218 yards as a team and beat the Hawkeyes 28-9 behind a big game from senior tailback James White.
White (5-foot-10, 195 pounds) has been overshadowed by his backfield mate all season, but he picked up the slack against the Hawkeyes. White rushed for 132 yards and two scores -- both in the first quarter -- on 19 carries. It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season and 13th of his career.
While Gordon's performance knocks him out of the Heisman conversation -- he was a long shot to even be invited to New York anyway -- White again showed why he will be drafted in May.
White shared carries with Gio Bernard (a second-round pick of the Bengals in the 2013 draft) in high school at powerhouse Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas. On Saturday, Bernard offered up a congratulatory message via Twitter to his former teammate:
White has played second fiddle to Montee Ball, John Clay and Gordon in his four seasons in Madison. But he still has rushed for 3,375 yards and 41 TDs in his career. White has good speed and can turn the corner, but he also is a tough between-the-tackles runner. He also has shown some promise as a receiver.
Despite his lackluster day Saturday, Gordon still has rushed for 1,074 yards this season. Iowa was the second team to hold him to fewer than 100 yards; Ohio State was the other. Those are the only two teams to hold Wisconsin under 400 total yards.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
