Pageantry by the Numbers

ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel is doing a neat project naming the best college football players to wear each jersey number 1-100. Most bloggers would lose interest when the research required is at its most and reader interest is at its least (numbers 50-79). I sure hope Jim Brown or some other Syracuse Running Back is no. 44. Donovan McNabb is given honorable mention behind Reggie Bush at No. 5. Marvin Harrison is nowhere mentioned at no. 8. and I assume Troy Nunes narrowly missed the cut in the race to be no. 11. Wuerffel is an interesting choice to be no. 7. Maisel is from Florida, not Palo Alto, California, Denver, Colorado or Londonderry, New Hampshire. I never saw Frankie Albert play but how much better was he than Dan Marino? I only assume this list is biased against players who were more successful in the NFL than college, meaning Doug Flutie will be no. 22 over Emmitt Smith. Here are the first 20:

1. Anthony Carter, WR Michigan 1979-82
2. Deion Sanders, CB Florida State 1985-88
3. Joe Montana, QB Notre Dame 1975-78
4. Brett Favre, QB Southern Miss 1987-90
5. Reggie Bush, RB USC 2003-05
6. Robbie Bosco & Marc Wilson, QB BYU 1983-85 & 1977-79
7. Danny Wuerffel, QB Florida 1993-96
8. Davey O’Brien, QB TCU 1935-38
9. Jim McMahon, QB BYU 1977-78, 1980-91
10. Vince Young, QB Texas 2003-05
11. Matt Leinart, QB USC 2002-05
12. Roger Staubach, QB Navy 1962-64
13. Frankie Albert, QB Stanford 1939-41
14. Don Hutson, TE Alabama 1932-34
15. Tommie Frazier, QB Nebraska 1992-95
16. Peyton Manning, QB Tennessee 1994-97
17. Charlie Ward, QB Florida State 1989-93
18. Archie Manning, QB Ole Miss 1968-70
19. Rashaan Salaam, RB Colorado 1993-94
20. Earl Campbell, RB Texas 1974-77

I was right about Flutie over Emmitt. The second list features numbers retired by The Ohio State University. Looking at this list may make Ricky Williams and Bo Jackson (both 34's) and Ron Dayne (33) wish they had chosen to wear No. 29.

21. Barry Sanders, RB Oklahoma State 1986-88
22. Doug Flutie, QB Boston College 1981-84
23. Jim Swink, RB TCU 1954-56
24. Nile Kinnick, RB Iowa 1937-39
25. Tommy McDonald, RB Oklahoma 1954-56
26. Riley Smith, QB/FB Alabama 1933-35
27. Eddie George, RB The Ohio State 1992-95
28. Warrick Dunn, RB Florida State 1993-96
29. No one of any Significance
30. Mike Rozier, RB Nebraska 1981-83
31. Vic Janowicz, RB The Ohio State 1949-51
32. John Lujack, QB Notre Dame 1946-47
33. Tony Dorsett, RB Pittsburgh 1973-76
34. Hershel Walker, RB Georgia 1980-82
35. Doc Blanchard, RB Army 1944-46
36. Bennie Blades, S Miami 1985-87
37. Doak Walker, RB SMU 1945, 1947-49
38. George Rogers, RB South Carolina 1977-80
39. John Kimbrough, FB Texas ATM 1938-40
40. Hopalong Cassady, RB/DB The Ohio State 1952-55