Mathews puts on Heisman-worthy show

Published online on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

Ryan Mathews just keeps saying, "You know what I mean."

It is his nervous tick, the little phrase he has used forever, what he throws in the middle of sentences when he is thinking of how to direct the conversation toward someone else.

Hey, Ryan, you've rushed for almost 1,000 yards in six games. You're leading the nation in rushing, and anyone even close to you has played an extra game. In one day, on only 20 carries, you went from 11th to fifth on the career Fresno State rushing list.

"It's all just numbers," he said. "You know what I mean?"

I have no idea what Ryan Mathews means. It's becoming quite clear that he is an underestimated villain, and no one knows what he is capable of. I have no idea how his body does what it does, how his eyes and shoulders always find the path of least resistance. The man is beyond my understanding.

I have no idea how he shoves down safeties, or outruns corners, or keeps his balance while spinning and tripping and leaping. I just don't know.

If Ryan Mathews stays for his senior season, it will be the most charitable gift the Fresno State athletic department has ever received. Even if Alphonso Bigelow does deliver $10 million.

In the parking lot after the Bulldogs beat San Jose State Saturday night, I asked Fresno State President John Welty if there is money in the budget for a Heisman campaign. There isn't. Mathews doesn't even have a Web site. But if the Heisman were truly given to the best player in college football, Ryan Mathews would be the leading contender.

"It's not necessarily a budget thing," Welty said. "You build it through the media."

It's a lot of pressure, but we can certainly give our best effort. Ryan Mathews is the best running back in college football. He could be the best player in college football, and you surely don't need to see everyone to say that. He is the most talented Bulldog to ever where red. Tell me when I start to exaggerate.

While Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy were having average days, Mathews was running for 233 yards and relaxing on the sideline in the second half.

"I guess we could run his numbers up if we wanted," said coach Pat Hill, somehow not grinning about his fun toy.

Mathews is Hill's best defensive player, too, because he keeps the actual Fresno State unit off the field. He is Ryan Colburn's best weapon because the defense worries about his passing fourth, after Mathews left, Mathews right, and Mathews up the middle.

No one is better. What else can you say? He is playing against high schoolers, and that is not a knock against the Spartans. He did the same against two top-10 teams. It feels like every single time Colburn hands him the ball, there is a 20% chance of a touchdown. The entire field is his red zone. He looks around for people to shove down. He is often amused by the first or second or third tackler.

He is likely to go down as the greatest running back in Fresno State history, by talent, by records, possibly by yards, and certainly by gasps. Hill is right. We are lucky the stadium Mathews plays in is so close to our homes.

Hill won't run up Mathews' stats in blowouts, and since the WAC title is probably a long-shot, it might be time to cheer for close scores. How many times in your life do you get to see a 2,000-yard rusher?

Hill was playing coy in his news conference, of course, saying something about his kicker and his punter having great days, but later he opened the dam just a trickle.

"Who is better?" he said. "And he's right here in our backyard."

And if I did have a Heisman vote?

"You do whatever you want to do," Hill said, "but I think we got a pretty good player right here."