Best individual seasons of the last 20 years: No. 3 - Ricky Williams in 1998

Over a two-week period, theScore's NCAAF editors will be taking a look at the best individual seasons across the college football landscape over the last 20 years, focusing specifically on players from the Power 5 conferences.

Each day, we will be counting down the top 10 that college football has had to offer over the last two decades.

No. 3 - Texas RB Ricky Williams' 1998 season

In his final collegiate season, Williams made sure no one in the state of Texas would ever forget him. Records fell and jaws dropped as Williams rushed for over 2,000 yards on his way to Heisman glory, becoming just the second Longhorn to win the award following Earl Campbell in 1977.

Williams' epic individual effort saw him receive 85 percent of the Heisman votes, the highest-ever percentage at the time, as well as the Doak Walker Award, Maxwell Award, and AP Player of the Year award.

Williams left for the NFL a legend and was rewarded for his historic exploits by being taken fifth overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 1999 NFL Draft.

The stats

Williams was so dominant that no other running back finished within 337 rushing yards of him or scored more than 19 rushing touchdowns. While not known for his receiving skills, Williams still finished 11th among running backs in yards through the air. His crazy consistency was highlighted by his 5.9 yards-per-carry average - he ended the year 13th in this statistic, but none of the 12 backs ahead of him exceeded 200 carries.

What made the season so special?

The Longhorns desperately needed a spark following an embarrassing 1997 campaign. Texas finished 4-7 and had to endure a 66-3 beatdown at the hands of UCLA. Moreover, the team was working with a new head coach in Mack Brown heading into 1998 following the dismissal of John Mackovic after six seasons.

Williams did his best to keep the offense ticking in 1997, racking up nearly 1,900 rushing yards. But he wanted more. Williams told the incoming Brown that he wanted to do what only six running backs had done in college football history prior to 1998: eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark.

The team rallied around Williams, who scored nine touchdowns and ran for 385 yards in his first two games to help prove Texas had shaken off the disappointment of the previous year.

He then exploded in the fourth and fifth games for an absurd 666 total yards to not only make him the Heisman favorite but put him on pace to break Tony Dorsett's NCAA Division-1 career rushing record of 6,082 yards 22 years later.

Texas finished the season 9-3, including a Cotton Bowl win over Mississippi State in which Williams rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

The Moments

Williams' record-breaking carry came against rivals Texas A&M. The running back escaped for a 60-yard touchdown, and the moment was immortalized by Brent Musburger's famous line, "Hello, record book! Ricky Williams runs to the Hall of Fame!"

Top 10

• No. 10 - Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh
• No. 9 - Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel
• No. 8 - Auburn QB Cam Newton
• No. 7 - Arizona State DE Terrell Suggs
• No. 6 - USC RB Reggie Bush
• No. 5 - Clemson QB Deshaun Watson
• No. 4 - Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree
• No. 2 - Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey
• No. 1 - Florida QB Tim Tebow

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)