This Week in Heisman History: Marcus Allen breaks the 2,000-yard barrier

Marcus Allen’s 1981 Heisman-winning season was one for the ages.

The USC senior tailback from San Diego got off to a fast start with 211 rushing yards in a rout of Tennessee despite playing a little over one half (“He would’ve gained 400 yards if we kept him in there,” Trojans coach John Robinson said afterward). He then ripped Indiana for 274 yards before cruising to 208 yards in No. 1 USC’s dramatic 28-24 win over No. 2 Oklahoma. The performance landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The headline? Rolling Thunder.

Allen kept rolling. He piled up 233 yards against Oregon State in just three quarters of play, setting the NCAA record for consecutive 200-yard games. He also broke Greg Pruitt’s 1971 NCAA-record for the most yards gained over four games. The Trojans were 4-0 and Allen already had 925 rushing yards to his credit.

He added to his record the following week with his fifth-straight 200-yard game, gaining 211 yards in an upset loss to Arizona. After five games, Allen had 1,136 yards. No player had ever rushed for 2,000 yards in a season, but it looked like he just might be the one to do it.

Stanford had other plans. The Cardinal stopped his 200-yard streak the next week, holding him to ‘only’ 153 yards. Then Notre Dame limited him to a season-low 147. But Allen bounced back with a career-high 289 against Washington State and then added 243 against California, breaking Tony Dorsett’s single-season rushing record of 1,948 yards in the process.

Nine games into the season, he had 1,968 rushing yards, just 32 shy of the fabled 2,000-yard mark.

This week in Heisman history, Allen went where no player had ever gone before.

The Trojans traveled to Seattle to take on Washington on Nov. 14, 1981. The Trojans were 8-1 and still hoping for a Rose Bowl berth. The Huskies were 7-2 and also in the hunt for a conference title.

But all eyes were on Allen on that gray, rainy afternoon — and he didn’t take long to get it done. As told by Sports Illustrated:

Needing only 32 yards to reach the magic 2,000, he did it early in the first quarter, on his fourth carry, when he cruised around end on the oh-so-familiar Student Body Right. He eluded several tacklers and slogged on for 13 yards before being decked by Husky linebacker Ken Driscoll. That run brought him to 2,000 yards exactly. Three plays later Allen cracked over center for four more to move past 2,000–and earn a prolonged ovation from Washington fans.

Allen finished up with 155 yards on 38 carries as the Trojans fell to the Huskies, 13-3. Though USC was out of Rose Bowl contention, Allen wasn’t through. He racked up 219 yards in a win over UCLA the following week to cap his remarkable, record-breaking season.

Among the 14 records he set that year:

• Most yards in a single season (2,342)
• Most 200-yard games in a career (11)
• Most 200-yard games in a season (8)
• Most consecutive 200-yard games (5)

He also scored 23 touchdowns and led USC with 34 receptions.

To no one’s surprise, Allen won the Heisman — the fourth Trojan tailback to do so — beating out Herschel Walker of Georgia and Jim McMahon of BYU. It was, arguably, the greatest season in Heisman history up to that point.

Some of his records from the 1981 season have since been eclipsed. But on that wet day in Seattle, 33 years ago this week, no one else could touch him.