Cowboys chasing national awards
By Scott Wright
Matt Fodge has been to Orlando before. Went to Disney World a couple times.
But I’d be willing to bet his next trip will be more enjoyable than meeting Mickey.
He’ll be in Orlando for the ESPNU College Football Awards show next month, where he is one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award. And the OSU senior has a pretty good chance to win it, too. Statistically, he’s equal to or ahead of his competition, West Virginia’s Pat McAfee and Utah’s Louie Sakoda.
Particularly, Fodge is second nationally — and ahead of both of his competitors — in net punting, which Fodge says is one of the most important statistics to a punter.
“I wouldn’t even be considered for this award if it wasn’t for (my teammates) getting down there and covering the ball,” he said. “All the credit is to them.
“I’m not gonna say I’m real worried about winning. I’m going to enjoy the whole experience. It’s been a goal of mine since I’ve been here to get to that point. It’s just such a big honor to be considered among the top three in the nation.”
He’ll be there with two teammates. Receiver Dez Bryant is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, though it will be hard to unseat incumbent Michael Crabtree. And tight end Brandon Pettigrew is up for the Mackey Award, though the three games he missed earlier in the season hurt his numbers and his chances of winning. But just making the final three despite missing nearly a month of the season is a sign of how good the country thinks he is.
One other note on national awards. Here are the statistics of four running backs in college football:
Running back A: 278 carries, 1,729 yards, 6.3 per carry, 144.1 per game, 17 TDs
Running back B: 370 carries, 1,590 yards, 4.3 per carry, 132.5 per game, 21 TDs
Running back C: 210 carries, 1,244 yards, 5.9 per carry, 113.1 per game, 15 TDs
Running back D: 210 carries, 1,434 yards, 6.8 per carry, 130.4 per game, 14 TDs
Now, guess which one was not nominated as a finalist for the Doak Walker Award?
If you said ‘A,’ you just picked Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno. And you’re wrong.
If you said ‘B,’ you selected Iowa’s Shonn Greene. And you’re wrong.
If you said ‘C,’ you picked Michigan State’s Javon Ringer. And you’re wrong. No, seriously.
If you said ‘D,’ you went with OSU’s Kendall Hunter. And (surprisingly) you’re right.
Despite his astounding statistical performance, not to mention a knack for playing his best in big games — he averaged 142.3 yards in three road games against top-5 opponents — Hunter was not among the finalists for the Doak Walker.
In case you’re curious, if Hunter had as many carries as Ringer at his current pace (yes, I know that would be hard to keep up with an extra 160 attempts) he would have 2,527 yards. Even if Hunter averaged just five yards per carry for another 160 rushes, he’d have 2,234 yards.
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