Ah, we live in a world that has less and less appreciation for the ground game.

Indeed, to the disgust of our forebears we have morphed into a gridiron populace who by and large is bedazzled by the big, juicy pass play.

Perhaps it’s our membership in the lightning-fast information age, or maybe we’ve simply lost our appreciation for the guttural occurrence of big bodies moving immovable objects as the pigskin is slowly advanced downfield.

But if we step back a moment from the ball flying overhead and visit palpable statistical evidence, we will no doubt realize that it is still the running game that drives college football. Yes, you can still have your air raid and your hurry-up, but this remains a game that is won on the ground.

It’s the reason that one-dimensional teams with no defense can’t win the big, cheesy enchilada; it’s the natural order of things.

And so, in the spirit of heralding the ground game as the real meaning of life, the following slideshow proudly pinpoints the top 25 collegiate running back manufacturing institutions in these great United States.

These are the factories that have given us the Heisman rushers, the top draft choices, the career leaders, the Super Bowl MVPs, the Hall of Famers, and the best of the best among the valiant warriors who dare to run with the pill.