Toby Gerhart just might deserve the Heisman Trophy and for the first time this season, the Cardinal faithful aren’t the only people who think so.
“With the stamina, toughness and competitiveness he’s shown, I think he’s been the most outstanding player,” said ESPN analyst Todd McShay after slating Gerhart as his No. 1 pick.
His partner Brock Huard, a former quarterback at the University of Washington, essentially agreed.
“I think this a two-horse race,” Huard said. “And Toby Gerhart better be well up there. He defined and turned around Stanford all by himself this season.”
When you consider the season he’s had, Gerhart’s 205-yard and four-touchdown (three rushing, one passing) performance against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this Saturday wasn’t all that extraordinary. The future Stanford legend has been racking up these kinds of games all season, especially down the stretch.
Likewise, Saturday’s win fell short of the Cardinal’s best performance this season: the three-headed spear of quarterback Jimmy Clausen and receivers Golden Tate and Michael Floyd embarrassed the Stanford secondary at times and the Irish held a 10-point lead well into the second half.
But even without top-notch performances from either Gerhart or his team, Saturday’s win over Notre Dame was ever-important for one simple reason: it was on national television. After all, a win is only as good as the viewers perceive it to be.
Gerhart has been a dark horse candidate most of this season, falling behind Alabama tailback Mark Ingram and golden boy quarterbacks Tim Tebow of Florida and Colt McCoy of Texas on most analysts’ lists. Saturday’s game served to reverse that trend, as the nation finally got to see what the bruising back is all about.
“He’s made that statement the entire year,” said Stanford’s Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. “He was incredible to watch. He said it all by the way he’s played. He’s been about it and not talked about it. He just kept going at it week after week.”
Perception is king in the world of college football, a sport which crowns its national champion largely based on who people think the best team is. Saturday’s game was the best possible regular-season ending for the image of a Cardinal team that has become a media darling of sorts in recent weeks.
For one, as said before, it was on national television. Even on top of that, unusual attention focused on Saturday’s contest as many around the country expected the game to be the last for Fighting Irish Coach Charlie Weis. Last and most simply, it was a good game. The Cardinal’s 45-38 win was a back-and-forth shootout with plenty of offensive talent on both sides of the ball and it didn’t hurt that Gerhart threw a touchdown on fourth-and-four to tie that game with just minutes remaining.
That said, just because a few analysts have Gerhart at the top of their lists does not necessarily mean he will win the award. McCoy and Tebow are two of the best college quarterbacks of this generation, let alone this year, and the media has had its eye on them for four years now. They will both have national audiences for their games this weekend and their teams are playing for stakes Stanford hasn’t touched in decades. Gerhart winning the Heisman would probably still be a surprise at this point.
Whether he wins the award or not, Cardinal fans and players alike can rest assured that both Gerhart and this team are getting the credit they deserve for the season they have had. Saturday’s win over the Irish, more than anything else, was a showcase for a program that has “bowed to no man” since Coach Harbaugh arrived on campus three years ago. And it doesn’t look like it will be doing so anytime soon.