The Wake

As fall settles in, the air becomes cool and crisp, leaves turn those beautiful hues of orange and red, and the maroon-and-gold football team enters the home stretch of its football season.

As hooded sweatshirts emerge from their off-season storage, remember to clear open a few hours of your Saturdays to watch Minnesota’s football team compete in some meaningful end-of-the-season games.

These final games of fall will have Gophers football optimists geared up already, but for the pessimists, you too are invited to cheer on coach Glen Mason’s crew. Okay, granted there was the punt attempt gone wrong, penalty plagued, late defensive collapse that was the Wisc. loss. And, yes, sure there was also the embarrassing annihilation at the claws of ageless Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions.

Oh, and one other thing, I’d be remiss to not mention the Gophers will once again have to fight its team’s recent reputation for late-season collapses … But, let’s not forget the positive factors this 2005 Gophers squad has brought us.

(1) They defeated Mich. Yes, the Gophers defeated the Wolverines for its first time in 19 years. And, they accomplished this defeat in front of a packed Big House (Mich.’s home stadium) full of 111,117 screaming blue-and-maize clothed crazies.

(2) They dominated a respectable Wisc. Badgers team for nearly nine-tenths of its home contest on October 15th … AND

(3) They are the proud owners of two all-American offensive linemen and a Heisman Trophy candidate running back.

Those accomplishments, plus the fact there is no solid Big Ten frontrunner, would indicate there is a real possibility Minn. could win its first conference title since 1967. Then came a superlative Ohio State Buckeyes team on a mission, which OSU accomplished rather easily, handing Minn. a 45-31 setback. Although a Big Ten Championship is, yet again, out of the question, there is a feat Minn. hasn’t accomplished in 64 years that might still be reachable: the Heisman Trophy.

To trace this trophy’s Minn. ties, we revisit the year 1941. It was a year of infamy, nationally remembered for Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor. Locally, however, 1941 was a special year for Gophers football. It was a year when Minn. reached college football’s pinnacle, a year the team won its 16th straight game in finishing back-to-back undefeated (8-0) seasons. These teams earned Minnesota’s fourth and fifth National Championships and featured Heisman Trophy winner Bruce “Boo” Smith.

Smith, a Minn. running back from 1939 through 1941, carried the Gophers through its ‘40 and ‘41 undefeated Big Ten and National title-winning seasons. And, in doing so, he claimed college football’s most coveted individual achievement, the Heisman. Smith earned the esteemed award in 1941 and has since remained the lone Gophers Heisman Trophy winner in Minn. football’s 123-year history.

Flash forward to 2005 and you will find another highly-talented junior running back, Laurence Maroney. He leads Minn.’s rushing attack, which currently boasts the most yards of any division-one team. And, as Minnesota finishes its schedule with a home contest against Mich. State on Nov. 12 the team, yet again, will not have a chance at the Big Ten crown, it will have an opportunity to showcase Maroney as both start talent and Heisman Trophy material.

For Maroney to achieve this feat, many things must go right. Minn. must go 3-0 in their last games, Maroney’s health must be stallion-like at all times, and the Gophers highly touted back must continue to pound and barrel his way through opposing tacklers even though his team has a lack of valid conference title hopes.

On the bright side, the bye week is over and Maroney, a native of St. Louis, and as his well-accomplished O-Line, have had their chance to get rested and refreshed. Now is their time to shine. It’s time for the memory of Smith to evoke itself into Minn.’s new feature back. Or perhaps it’ll be time for Maroney’s rushing attempts (233 through eight games) to wear on him as he continues to break through Big Ten defenses whom opposing coaches have strategized and systemized to key in on the him.

Besides Maroney are issues of a new football stadium, Mason’s job security and Minn. winning its fourth bowl game in consecutive seasons; but, a Heisman Trophy is a special trophy that speaks high praise for both a player and a program like no other college football award does.

The vaunted trophy’s worth explained, here are some highlights from Maroney’s resume as of Oct. 30:

* 3,729 career rush yards — ranks 3rd in Minnesota history

* 612 career rush attempts — ranks 5th in Minnesota history

* 6.09 yards per carry (career) — ranks 3rd in Minnesota history

* 4,573 all-purpose yards — ranks 2nd in Minnesota history

But keep in mind Maroney is in his third season, whereas most of Minn.’s other top backs played all four.

Statistics aside, Maroney is 5-foot-11, 205 pounds and built like a steamroller. Smith won his Heisman in a totally different era, but the prize represents equal merit. Unfortunately Smith, who died of cancer in 1976, will not be able to watch Maroney’s attempt at greatness, but the thousands upon thousands of the University of Minn.’s current students and alumni will.

His chances are slim, considering the Gophers won’t win a national title nor a major bowl of any kind. But, anything is possible. So, with Maroney against odds similar to that of the White Sox winning a World Series, one should remember … miracles do happen.

Jeff Barthel is a contributing writer for The Wake athletics section. He accepts comments at .