Trey Benson named Doak Walker national running back of week
Doak Walker Award press release
Florida State running back Trey Benson needed just 11 carries to rush for 200 yards in Florida State’s 39-17 win vs. Virginia Tech, breaking off touchdown runs of 62 and 85 yards to put the game away and extend the Seminoles’ win streak to 11 games. The performance earned him the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Oct. 7.
The 200-yard game for the 6-1, 223-pound redshirt junior from Greenville, Miss., is FSU’s first 200-yard rushing effort since Dalvin Cook did it in 2016, and Benson, an Oregon transfer, is the first Seminole player with multiple 60-yard touchdown runs in a game since Chris Thompson in 2012. The 62- and 85-yard scoring runs were the longest of his career and FSU’s longest plays of the season.
Benson set the FSU single-game record with 18.2 yards per carry, breaking Warrick Dunn’s previous mark from 1995. The big day moved his yards per carry to 7.63 on the season, sixth among FBS backs. His 200 rushing yards are the 5th-most in Doak Campbell Stadium’s 74-season history and the 2nd-most in the ACC this year.
The Seminoles’ 11-game win streak is the longest active streak in the ACC and the 3rd-longest active streak in the country. Florida State (5-0) hosts Syracuse in a noon ET kickoff televised on ABC.
Other candidates for the honor in Week 6 included:
Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech: Brooks rushed for at least 100 yards for a fourth consecutive game in leading Texas Tech to a decisive road victory, 39-14 at Baylor. The senior from Manor, Texas, set career highs for carries (31) and rushing yards (170) and is the first Red Raider to gain 100 or more rushing yards in four straight games since Ricky Williams in 1998. Brooks averaged 5.5 yards per carry and put the game out of reach with an 18-yard touchdown run with 9:15 remaining to secure Tech’s first road win of the season.
Antario Brown, NIU: While playing less than two-and-a-half quarters of NIU’s 55-14 romp over Akron, Brown ran for a career-high 280 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries. The junior from Savannah, Ga., tied Kentucky’s Ray Davis for the most rushing yards by an FBS player this season. Brown had touchdown runs of 66, 58, 46 and 50 yards to become the sixth player in NIU history to run for 280 or more yards in a game.
Kimani Vidal, Troy: Vidal rushed for 245 yards on 28 carries in a 37-3 win over Arkansas State, his 10th career 100- yard rushing game, second-most in program history. The junior from Marietta, Ga., rushed for three touchdowns for the fifth multi-touchdown game of his career. He now has four 200-yard rushing efforts in his career (248, 245, 242 and 208).