In an era of carefully orchestrated Heisman "campaigns" and in a game where seemingly every single Notre Dame offensive player saw fit to taunt at every possible moment, how fitting is it that Toby Gerhart had his Heisman Trophy moment with a Paul Bunyan-sized performance on Saturday night?
Gerhart concluded his regular season with 256 yards from scrimmage, a total that includes a key reception and a touchdown pass. He accounted for 4 scores, bringing his total to 27 for the campaign. And he looked every bit the part of the best player in the country.
One player on the field strutted after every catch. One (yeah, the guy with a black eye) felt the need to chirp at anyone within earshot. And one coach will take his "decided schematic advantage" and 15 million dollars back to the NFL.
And one running back who keeps his mouth shut and his legs churning will, at the very least, get a free trip to New York City.
Karma is a very good thing.
Oh yeah...almost forgot about the Texas Colt
This week's Saturday Rewind could be more appropriately deemed a "Long Weekend Rewind" as a true college fantasy football classic actually took place on Thursday night, as the likes of Colt McCoy, Jerrod Johnson, Jordan Shipley and Jeff Fuller provided the perfect dessert on Thanksgiving evening.
Colt McCoy looked exactly like one would expect a quarterback playing for both a National Championship birth and a Heisman Trophy to look. Jerrod Johnson gave the appearance of a quarterback with a little chip on his shoulder, intent on ruining his counterpart's Heisman chances while at the same time announcing his 2010 candidacy. And Jeff Fuller looked like the next Jordan Shipley, a receiver that's impossible to stop even when the defense knows what's on the way.
So Week 13 didn't just end on a great note, it simply finished what had started a couple nights prior.
My Predictions:
This week I switched things up and decided to play along with the computer. I picked four guys I thought would go over their projection and four I thought would go under.
I won't discuss my overs (yes, I told you poor people that Isaiah Pead would go over his projection)...rather I'll just remind you of three of the four guys I said would fail to reach their expected numbers:
Tim Tebow
Dezmon Briscoe
Ryan Williams
Seriously, what the hell am I doing here? Not only did each reach expectations, he blew past them while setting a season high in everything. The only solace I take is in the fact that it was Championship Week, so the percentage of people who may have even thought of taking my advice was cut down considerably.
Rent the movie "A Bronx Tale." Watch the scene at the racetrack. I'm the old guy who also bet on the horse named Kryptonite.
Weekend wonders:
Certainly Tim Tebow deserves every single accolade that comes his way. However true college football fans know that another incredible field general will be moving on. Mount Pleasant won't see the likes of Dan LeFevour ever again. Just take a peek at his career stats.
One can't help but get the feeling that Mississippi State is looking at an upward trajectory, and it won't take Dan Mullen too long. Chris Relf looks like a perfect fit for Mullen's offense and true frosh Chad Bumphis is an exceptional athlete just waiting to explode.
I'm simply out of adjectives to describe Danario Alexander's season.
Hard to not feel good for Montario Hardesty. The Tennessee running back was a man against Kentucky. It probably won't appease the Vol faithful, but Lane Kiffin's first campaign certainly receives a passing grade. Now we'll really begin to see just what type of recruiter he can be at Rocky Top.
Owners had long since given up on UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe in favor of running back Donald Buckram. And of course Vittatoe blows up on the finale, tossing for over 500 yards and five scores.
Hopefully you rode Curtis Steele down the stretch. His 257 yards from scrimmage and four scores caps one hell of a November for the Memphis senior back. Forget that the Tigers haven't won since mid-October.
Robert Turbin's five touchdowns in the season finale will likely be overlooked. Hopefully you won't forget about the Utah State back on draft day.
Here's to Riley Skinner and his 28 touchdowns on the campaign. I can't say we saw that one coming.
Montel Harris carried the ball 285 times this season.
North Carolina State's Russell Wilson accounted for at least four touchdowns in six games this season.
Lost Weekends:
I know it always seems this way, but I can't help but think that a record number of coaches will be cleaning out their offices in the next week or so.
Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn clearly have the Tigers moving in the right direction, but that last-minute clock management was like any Robin Williams movie of the past ten years...really hard to watch.
We're fans of Dan Hawkins' sound bytes, but the Buffs did not look like a well-coached team against Nebraska on Saturday. I lost count of the team's mental mistakes.
Only Freddie Barnes can catch nine balls and score twice and leave those fantasy owners sucking down cold ones all weekend a little disappointed.
As a proud fantasy owner of Demaryius Thomas, I felt like part of me dropped that late-game pass from Josh Nesbitt. Yeah, I guess I have a problem.
For the first time in a long time the Texas Tech quarterback spot will not be THE sure thing heading into the 2010 draft. Taylor Potts 268-2 against Baylor is not what many fantasy owners were expecting, but based on the season as a whole maybe they should have seen it coming.
Innnnnnteresting Observations:
Think Frank Beamer is giddy about his 2010 running back depth? Ryan Williams will be joined by (hopefully 100%) Darren Evans. And then there's another stud, David Wilson, in the stable.
Nevada's Vai Taua showed me more in Friday's losing effort at Boise than in any other game this season. He is one tough back.
The first half of Bedlam was anything but. Fumble, review. Fumble, review. Mike Gundy made himself an easy target with his rant, but this man deserves some Coach of the Year votes, even with Saturday's shutout loss. Teams don't lose the likes of Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter and finish 9-3. Oklahoma State did it with smoke and mirrors this season.
If Ryan Mallett decides to hang around one has to believe that Arkansas will learn to win some of those gut-wrenching games that slipped away in 2009.
Don't forget to check out that MAC title game. Dan LeFevour won't be the only great quarterback on the field; Ohio's Theo Scott isn't too shabby either.
I think we're going to be looking at a serious quarterback battle next summer in Norman, Oklahoma.