Each week we will present the best freshmen in the nation and at the end of the year your votes will help determine the CBSSports.com Fresman of the Year. Last season, Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers earned the award with Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree winning in 2007.
This week the players are ranked in order of votes -- four CBSSports.com experts and the users votes. Each vote is 1/5 of the total.
The votes were very close this week, with the four experts all having a different order of the top four running backs. Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis with 21 total points (5 for first, 4 for second, etc.). The rest of the top 5 are: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Virginia Tech RB Ryan Williams with 16 points and Temple RB Bernard Pierce with 12 points. Boston College linebacker has 9 points. He was only first on the users' ballot.
Three running backs that were on the list earlier were: Texas A&M's Christine Michael; Auburn's Onterio McCalebb and Alabama's Trent Richardson. All three are great freshman running backs, but none of them can compare to the other running backs in the Top 5. And this is for the best of the best.
Don't agree with our list? Let us know who we are missing by posting in the message board, but remember this is for the best of the best, not every freshman can be on this list.
And don't forget ... vote now on who is the best freshman in the nation!
The Nation's Top Freshmen
1. Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh: Lewis moves up to the No. 1 spot after earning first-place votes by two experts and two second votes. Lewis had his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing performance to help Pittsburgh improve to 8-1. Lewis and Pitt have some big games coming up, including the seasone finale against Cincinnati. Stock:
Last five games
Date
Opponent
Result
Car
Yds
Avg
TD
Rec
Yds
TD
11/7
vs. Syracuse
W, 37-10
18
110
6.1
1
2
42
0
10/24
vs. South Florida
W, 41-14
23
111
4.8
2
2
10
0
10/16
at Rutgers
W, 24-17
31
180
5.8
2
0
0
0
10/10
vs. Connecticut
W, 24-21
24
158
6.6
0
0
0
0
10/2
at Louisville
W, 35-10
21
87
4.1
0
2
16
0
Totals
9 games
8-1
203
1,139
5.6
11
16
134
1
2t. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon: Despite rushing for 125 yards on 18 carries, James fell one spot to No. 2 on the list. He earned zero first-place votes by the experts, but did have two second-place votes. No doubt, Oregon's loss to Stanford hurt James, because he is still having a fantastic season, rushing for 1,043 yards and eight touchdowns. Stock: STEADY
Last five games
Date
Opponent
Result
Car
Yds
Avg
TD
Rec
Yds
TD
11/7
at Stanford
L, 51-42
18
125
6.9
1
4
89
0
10/31
vs. Southern California
W, 47-20
24
183
7.6
1
1
8
0
10/24
at Washington
W, 43-19
15
154
10.3
2
0
0
0
10/10
at UCLA
W, 24-10
20
152
7.6
0
2
8
0
10/3
vs. Washington State
W, 52-6
13
81
6.2
2
2
17
0
Totals
9 games
7-2
149
1,043
7.0
8
11
128
0
2t. Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech: Williams moves up a couple of spots into a tie with James after rushing for 179 yards in the victory over East Carolina. Williams has three 100-yard performances in the past five games, including 159 against Boston College. Stock:
Last five games
Date
Opponent
Result
Car
Yds
Avg
TD
Rec
Yds
TD
11/5
at East Carolina
W, 16-3
26
179
6.9
0
3
9
0
10/29
vs. North Carolina
L, 20-17
23
96
4.2
0
1
2
0
10/17
at Georgia Tech
L, 28-23
14
100
7.1
1
2
22
1
10/10
vs. Boston College
W, 48-14
18
159
8.8
1
1
23
0
10/3
at Duke
W, 34-26
24
83
3.5
0
0
0
0
Totals
9 games
6-3
189
1,109
5.9
10
13
176
1
4. Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple: Pierce has been on a tear lately, but can't get any love from the experts or users. After rushing for 212 and 267 yards in consecutive games, he rushed for 178 yards on 40 carries in the victory over Miami (Ohio). Pierce now has 1,211 yards rushing on the season and 657 yards in the past three games. Stock:
Last five games
Date
Opponent
Result
Car
Yds
Avg
TD
Rec
Yds
TD
11/5
vs. Miami (OH)
W, 34-32
40
178
4.5
3
0
0
0
10/31
at Navy
W, 27-24
29
267
9.2
2
1
-4
0
10/24
at Toledo
W, 40-24
40
212
5.3
3
1
8
0
10/17
vs. Army
W, 27-13
11
65
5.9
1
1
3
0
10/10
vs. Ball State
W, 24-19
26
125
4.8
2
1
2
0
Totals
9 games
7-2
204
1,211
5.9
14
5
6
0
5. Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College: Kuechly and Boston College were off this week, but return to the field against Virginia. Kuechly is ranked 13th in the nation in total tackles. Stock: STEADY
Only a few weeks to go, we are down to five players -- including four running backs. The voting was very close this week with the four experts and the users. Remember your vote counts as 1/5th toward crowing our Freshman of the Year. Who you got
The last two weeks I've watch Notre Dame and the freshman LB from Hawaii, who was one of the top recruits last year, seems to be where the ball is. He may not be the best right now (everyone is singing the praises of the SC QB and Pitt RB), but in th
...(more)
(POLL)
We are coming to the end of the season ... who is the best freshman? LaMichael James proved how good he is against USC and moved to No. 1 in the overall standings, but there is a newcomer to keep an eye on ... Temple's Bernard Pierce. So who you got?
