Ennis Haywood’s performance against Ohio last week ranks as one of the best in Iowa State’s history.

It certainly wasn’t anything like Heisman Trophy runner-up Troy Davis’ 378-yard game against Missouri in 1996, a 45-31 win.

In fact, Haywood’s 219 yards isn’t his best performance yardage-wise, or one of the 10 best in Cyclone history, but what Haywood proved is that he is a winner.

Haywood is a winner in the way that Troy Davis wasn’t and the way Darren Davis wasn’t. No other back in ISU history has enjoyed the success that Haywood has, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that for this, Haywood just might be the best back Iowa State has ever seen.

His numbers aren’t as gaudy as Troy’s 2,000-yard seasons. He won’t finish with as many carries or yards as Darren and most likely won’t get any higher than fourth on Iowa State’s all-time rushing list.

But he won’t be remembered for all of his stats, which are impressive in their own right; he will be remembered as a winner.

When Troy was the leading man at Iowa State the Cyclones won five games in two years. When Darren was the starter Iowa State won eight games in three years.

In Haywood’s one season as a starter the team won eight games and the Insight.com Bowl. Before I go any further, I’m going to take some things into account.

Iowa State still got blown out last season by Kansas State and Nebraska, and Haywood failed to play well in those games, which led some people to question his will to win. He needs to step up this season to help the Cyclones pull off an upset or two.

Also, I must note that I am taking into account teams, and frankly, the teams Haywood has played on are far better than Troy’s teams, but I also think that winning and being on a good team are just as important as having all of the stats.

Point being, there may be no clear favorite, but the debate can be made.

For example: Who is a better quarterback, Dan Marino, John Elway or Joe Montana?

Many people will say Montana because he was clutch and was a winner, but he also had a better team. Next would be Elway, who finally won two Super Bowls, but also had a better team. Marino, whose stats are better than both, but never helped his team to a win, could also be a choice.

Haywood’s stats, 2,019 rushing yards as of Saturday, aren’t ever going to be close to Troy’s, but Troy was never the clutch performer that Haywood proved to be against Ohio.

Yeah, yeah, I’m sure people are going to say “Wow, a big win against Ohio,” but guess what – a win is a win. In 1995, the Cyclones lost to Wyoming in overtime, a team that should have been beatable.

One lineman who played with all three of the backs said Haywood has a much better style.

He said Ennis doesn’t lose as many yards as the Davis brothers did. Haywood’s straight-forward style gains yards whereas when the Davis brothers tried to make plays, sometimes they lost yards.

Haywood doesn’t lose as many games either.

And the way he helped the Cyclones tick 5:25 off the clock to hold off an Ohio rally goes a long way toward his legend. That win may be huge in the Cyclones efforts to go to a bowl for a second straight year.

Again, it comes down to whose team is better, and again I say that a player will be remembered by his team just as much as his stats.

Troy Davis has the best numbers of any back ever over a two-year span, but the Heisman winner the first year Troy ran for 2,000 yards was Ohio State running back Eddie George. Why? Because he helped his team win and go to a bowl.

The second straight time Troy ran for 2,000 yards, which by the way nobody has ever done, the Doak Walker award (which goes to the top running back) winner was Texas Tech’s Byron Hanspard. Why? He helped Texas Tech to a winning record and to a bowl.

Obviously the “experts” who vote take teams into account; why shouldn’t we when we talk about Haywood?

No disrespect to the Davis brothers, who were great in their own right, but what do fans really want – a great individual player or a team with a reliable player that will be playing in late December.

Ennis still has a lot to prove this year, and until then, let the debate begin.

Jeremy Gustafson is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Ogden. He is sports editor of the Daily.