Iowa State tailback Troy Davis is 40 yards away from doing what no other running back in college football has ever done. If Davis collects those 40 yards against No. 22-ranked Kansas State on Saturday, Davis will be the only back in Division I football history to ever have consecutive 2,000-yard seasons.

This feat has placed Davis firmly in the running for the Heisman trophy, the most prestigious award in college football. But where does Davis rank against other outstanding football players such as Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel, Texas Tech running back Byron Hanspard or Ohio State offensive lineman Orlando Pace?

“Consider everything he has done, the quality of opponents we face, the fact that he is 40 yards away from doing what no other running back in Division I football has ever done. There are a lot of great athletes, but none of them are better than Troy Davis,” ISU Head Football Coach Dan McCarney said. “Everyone said that there was no way that Troy would reach 2,000 yards again this season, and now he’s 40 yards away from it. Look at the last two weeks. Troy ran for 228 against Colorado and 138 against Nebraska. Nebraska held four teams this year under 45 yards rushing, and those are team totals. They only give up on average 70 yards a game.”

Despite Davis’ accomplishments, a lack of respect has been given by many Heisman voters and television analyst such as ESPN’s Lee Corso. Corso has stated on many occasions that he believes Hanspard is the best back in the Big 12.

Davis is currently fighting allegations that many of his yards come at the end of the game and that he is the second best back in the Big 12, next to Hanspard, who has already reached 2,000 yards this season.

“A lot of people hold the belief that Troy’s yards are coming in the fourth quarter, near the end of the game. But when you look at the stats, his best quarters are the second and third quarters. Besides the Nebraska game, we haven’t been out of any of the games that we played. We’ve played against the first teamers. Troy got 100 yards against Nebraska’s first teamers, not the reserves,” McCarney said.

But is Troy Davis better than Hanspard?

“Absolutely. When you look at everything Troy has accomplished, the rushing, the blocking he does and the fact that he is 40 yards away from history, there’s no question in my mind. I think Byron Hanspard is a phenomenal back, but I don’t think there is a better back than Troy Davis in the Big 12,” McCarney said.

Whether Davis and his accomplishments are respected by the Heisman voters remains to be seen. The other question Davis will be facing after Saturday’s Kansas State matchup will be whether Davis will take his game to the next level, the National Football League.

“I’m not sure what he’ll do. I’ll have to wait ’til the season is over and sit down with him and think and weigh out all the factors. It isn’t like we’re going to announce it after the Kansas State game, but sometime in December the decision will be made,” McCarney said.

The decision, in many Cyclone fans’ minds, has already been made due to the financial implications of the NFL. But McCarney does not put all the weight of Davis’ decision on dollar bills.

“It will be a factor, but Troy has an insurance policy from Lloyds of London that would compensate him very well if there was any career ending injuries. So the money will be there for Troy. We just hope than he continues to pursue his degree,” McCarney said.