Of the 11 1,000-yard rushers in University of Washington football history, only three — Greg Lewis (1989-90), Napoleon Kaufman (1992-94) and Chris Polk (2009-11) — have exceeded the mark multiple times. Unless an injury fells him, Bishop Sankey will easily become the fourth, and his rate of 184.5 yards per game could also get him to 1,000 the quickest.
Napoleon Kaufman (1992-94) required seven games in 1994 to surpass 1,000 yards and did so by averaging 151.1, 33.4 fewer than Sankey’s average after two. Of Washington’s 1,000-yard rushers, Kaufman is the only one to accumulate more yards than Sankey after the first two games of a season, as the chart shows:
| Year | Runner | Yards | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Napoleon Kaufman | 463 | 252 vs. USC, 211 vs. Ohio State |
| 2013 | Bishop Sankey | 369 | 161 vs. Boise St., 208 vs. Illinois |
| 1989 | Greg Lewis | 298 | 133 vs. Texas A&M, 165 vs. Purdue |
| 1950 | Hugh McElhenny | 267 | 177 vs. Kansas St., 90 vs. Minnesota |
| 1990 | Greg Lewis | 258 | 157 vs. San Jose St., 101 vs. Purdue |
| 1993 | Napoleon Kaufman | 246 | 195 vs. Stanford, 51 vs. Ohio State |
| 1997 | Rashaan Shehee | 243 | 171 vs. BYU, 72 vs. San Diego St. |
| 2011 | Chris Polk | 232 | 125 vs. BYU, 107 vs. Hawaii |
| 1976 | Ronnie Rowland | 212 | 183 vs. Virginia, 29 vs. Colorado |
In the fifth and sixth weeks of the 1994 season, Kaufman ran for 227 yards against UCLA (1 TD) and 254 against San Jose State (3 TDs) for a total of 481, the most over any two consecutive games by a UW 1,000-yard rusher. Sankey comes up seventh on this list with 369.
| Year | Runner | Yards | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Napoleon Kaufman | 481 | 227 vs. UCLA, 254 vs. San Jose St. |
| 2010 | Chris Polk | 461 | 284 vs. Washington St., 177 vs. Nebraska |
| 1996 | Corey Dillon | 404 | 259 vs. Oregon, 145 vs. UCLA |
| 1950 | Hugh McElhenny | 382 | 296 vs. Washington St., 86 vs. USC |
| 1996 | Corey Dillon | 377 | 222 vs. San Jose State, 155 vs. WSU |
| 2010 | Chris Polk | 370 | 86 vs. California, 284 vs. WSU |
| 2013 | Bishop Sankey | 369 | 161 vs. Boise St., 208 vs. Illinois |
| 2012 | Bishop Sankey | 345 | 189 vs. California, 156 vs. Utah |
| 1990 | Greg Lewis | 328 | 159 vs. Arizona St., 169 vs. Oregon |
| 2007 | Louis Rankin | 325 | 70 vs. Arizona, 255 vs. Stanford |
| 1990 | Greg Lewis | 313 | 108 vs. Stanford, 205 vs. California |
| 1978 | Joe Steele | 311 | 155 vs. Indiana, 156 vs. Oregon St. |
| 2011 | Chris Polk | 306 | 189 vs. Utah, 117 vs. Colorado |
| 1997 | Rashaan Shehee | 305 | 136 vs. Arizona, 169 vs. Oregon St. |
| 1993 | Napoleon Kaufman | 300 | 119 vs. USC, 181 vs. Washington St. |
Kaufman finished with 1,390 yards in 1994, which established a UW single-season record that lasted two years. In 1996, Corey Dillon broke it with 1,695, collecting 517 in his final three games against San Jose State (222), Washington State (155) and Colorado (140).
If Sankey maintained his 184.5 average, which leads the FBS, he would finish with 2,214 yards (and 18 touchdowns). That’s a big if and probably not realistic. But his start to 2013 certainly invites comparisons to his UW predecessors.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2163116 https://sportspressnw.wpengine.com/?p=2163116">1 Comment
The latter half of the Dawgs schedule makes it challenging for Sankey, but you never know what could happen. If the passing game opens up more that might take some of the heat off him. However when you’re mentioned in the same breath as Napolean…well, as I said anything can happen.