Wolfe can huff, puff but Heisman unlikely

Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe is about to rekindle one of college football’s great debates: Should a player who mostly faces second-tier competition be considered worthy of winning the Heisman Trophy?

The answer is no, but the best little back in college football – Wolfe is 5-foot-7 and 177 pounds – is on his way to making an impressive case for those who say otherwise.

Coming off a career-high 353 yards against Mid-American Conference rival Ball State, Wolfe is set to run away with the Division I-A rushing title. He has 1,181 yards, while only one other player (Ray Rice of Rutgers) has even cracked 800.

“We see that every week from him,” NIU coach Joe Novak said after Wolfe ran wild against Ball State. “I’d love to tell you we coach that, but he is one of the most instinctive runners ever to play this game. He was phenomenal tonight.”

But as good as Wolfe is, he’s not better than Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson or Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch. Wolfe, who came into the season with 3,236 career yards rushing, could play for a Big Ten team and play well – as shown by his 171-yard effort against Ohio State to start the season.

But would he be better than Michigan’s Michael Hart? Probably not.

Heisman voters haven’t shown much love to players outside the major conferences. In 1990, BYU quarterback Ty Detmer won the award, but the Cougars were only six years removed from a national title. Hardly a mid-major team in the mind of most.

Since then the Heisman winners have played for glamour schools and national title contenders. Guys who put up big numbers against sketchy competition get just enough support to earn a trip to New York for the trophy presentation.

Randy Moss finished fourth in the Heisman balloting in 1997 playing for Marshall.

Moss’ quarterback, Chad Pennington, was fifth in 1999.

Playing for Division I-AA Alcorn State, Steve McNair finished third in ‘94.

So how many yards does Wolfe need in his senior year to change the trend? Is 2,500 enough? What if he gets 3,000?

At his current pace, Wolfe will challenge the NCAA records Barry Sanders set in 1988, when he ran for 2,628 yards and 238.9 yards per game. Sanders’ marks were set in an 11-game season, when bowl games didn’t count in season totals.

Wolfe will play 12 regular-season games and possibly a MAC title game and a bowl; all those games will count in his season totals. Regardless, Wolfe is on his way to one of the best seasons a college running back has ever had.

So here’s hoping that Wolfe puts his name all over the NCAA record books and even earns himself a trip to New York – to watch someone else win the Heisman in early December.