In the widest-open Heisman Trophy race the NCAA has seen in years, Stanford running back Toby Gerhart sure didn't hurt his chances by going off for 205 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 45-38 win over Notre Dame.
He even threw in a touchdown pass of his own for added measure, tossing an 18-yard TD to Ryan Whalen.
Despite Gerhart's stellar game in front of a national audience, he's still considered a dark horse, outside-shot candidate.
The Heisman Trophy is rarely awarded to a player on a four-loss team, and Stanford doesn't have any more games scheduled for Gerhart to make his case. Other Heisman candidates Colt McCoy and Mark Ingram both have additional games scheduled this weekend.
But it may help Gerhart that there is no clear-cut consensus Heisman Trophy favorite this season. "This is definitely the hardest Heisman vote I've cast, and I've been voting since the early 1990s," ESPN writer Pat Forde told the New York Times. "The only thing I know is that I don't know what I'll send in a week from now."
The winner of the 2009 Heisman Trophy will be announced Saturday, December 12.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who has not had a Heisman vote since that time in the 1950's when he voted for "Notre Dame Suxxxx" ahead of Paul Hornung.
