ESPN

Cincinnati was getting so close to the top of the football world, you just knew the city's football karma would find a way to catch up with it.

The Cincinnati Bearcats beat West Virginia Friday to remain perfect on the season, and while Ohio State may be headed for the Rose Bowl, 64 percent of SportsNation thinks the state's best college team resides southwest of Columbus. Add to that the Bengals, who knocked off the Steelers Sunday to complete a season sweep against their AFC North rivals and leave coach Marvin Lewis with a season-best 92 percent approval rating.

So yeah, clearly the perfect guy to add to such gridiron harmony is Larry Johnson. The disgruntled former Chiefs running back is reportedly close to signing with the Bengals as insurance for Cedric Benson, who left the game against the Steelers with a hip injury.

• Before the news broke, 70 percent of Ohio didn't want Johnson on their team.

“

all i care about this guy is..can he get 6 yards on 1st down. and can he convert a 3rd and 3. thats it. He has a chance to be the newest castoff among the Bengals. Like the rest of them, he'd be stupid not to make the best of it

” -- cincinnatiboy23

• Rankings: Is LaDainian Tomlinson still one of the five best backs in the game?

There's little doubt who the best running back in football is these days; he's the guy that has more states than Minnesota native Walter Mondale carried in 1984 voting for the Vikings to win the NFC North despite Brett Favre's decision to stay retired.

As long as you have Adrian Peterson, you have a chance. Then again, that's not altogether different from how people felt about Larry Johnson as the 2007 NFL season approached.

You remember Johnson, the guy who rushed for 1,789 yards on a record 416 carries in 2006, a year after topping 1,700 yards with 20 touchdowns in a breakout campaign. Back in June, 2007, voters said he was the second-best back in the game (granted, Secretariat's margin of victory in the Belmont was a photo finish in comparison to LaDainian Tomlinson's lead) and clearly the Chiefs' most indispensable player.

Now it's 2009 and despite better than 800 yards last season, Johnson can't get a sniff when it comes to the backs "SportsNation" (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2) is asking voters to rank for Thursday's show. Just more proof that success can be fleeting at one of the NFL's most physically demanding positions. Be forewarned, Vikings fans.

• Voters say Tomlinson is not the player Chargers can least afford to lose.
• Jim Brown beat out Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith as SN's all-time best.

“

wonder where RBs that had a goodly amount of carries combined with a goodly amount of receptions fit in in all this? For example: Matt Forte had 316 carries last year, far below the 370 curse mark, but also caught 63 passes...combined touches 379, so he's over the limit. May not mean anything at all, but I expect to see a drop off in his production this year simply because teams will scheme to shut him down more, IMO.

” -- The Mini Ditkas

“

L.T. will duplicate his numbers from last season, and I can tell you now.. I spent too much time watching him log around 50 yards with zero scores to rest easy. Time to find a new horse for my squad.

” -- noodlerii