BOULDER — Running all over the Mountain West is like dunking on the kids’ table at Thanksgiving.
Melvin Gordon piled up more yards from scrimmage than Ashton Jeanty. Kapri Bibbs ran for more touchdowns.
Before your Heisman Trophy ballot dies on that hill of lies, dang lies and statistics, consider two things:
Since 1981, seven different Football Bowl Subdivision players, including Jeanty, have rushed for 2,200 yards in a season.
Since 1981, you know how many guys have picked off four passes while also grabbing 13 touchdown catches and piling up at least 1,100 receiving yards? In the same year? Just one.
You’ll see Jeanty again.
You’ll never see the likes of Travis Hunter. Ever.
“Special,” Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy said of CU’s two-way star, who intercepted a pass and caught 10 balls for 116 yards and three scores in a 52-0 thrashing of his 3-9 Cowboys.
“We threw at (Hunter) six or eight times, 10 times. There’s not really a reason to challenge him at times. Going in, I said this on Monday, he plays about 135 plays per game, on both sides of the ball, and he’s a special player.”
Colorado’s Travis Hunter (12) celebrates his interception of Oklahoma State quarterback Maealiuaki Smith during a game on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado. (Cliff Grassmick/Daily Camera)
Hunter was Halley’s Comet in his Folsom Field farewell on Friday, and just about every white and orange jersey walked away eating his dust.
With a Thorpe Award Trophy snub fresh on his mind, and on the mind of coach Deion Sanders, No. 12’s pick came 1:45 into the game, on a desperation third-and-18 heave into triple coverage by Cowboys signal-caller Maealiuaki Smith.
“He’s amazing,” offered Brennan Presley, the senior Oklahoma State wideout to whom that wounded duck was thrown. “He’s really, really, smart. He is as advertised at the end of the day. He is one of the best players in the country.”
With that, Hunter became the first CU player with 1,000 yards of offense and four interceptions in the same campaign since Byron “Whizzer” White in 1937. In a historical footnote that you hope portends nothing, Ol’ Whizzer became the Heisman runner-up later that year. (And he lost out to a halfback, Clint Frank of Yale.)
“Heisman” moment? As usual, you could pick from a buffet. I’m partial, funny enough, to one catch the guy didn’t make. Up 21-0 with 11:14 to go until halftime, Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders, under duress, lofted a ball up the right boundary in Hunter’s general direction. There were two guys blanketing No. 12 at the time, but Shedeur liked the odds. In one motion, Hunter leaped about five feet, extending one arm to the heavens. The ball skipped off his fingertips. Hunter came crashing down to earth, then rolled back up to his feet, making a “this-close” sign to the crowd, and to the Pokes secondary, with his thumb and forefinger. And it was. Still, anything traveling at altitude, and with that kind of speed, ought to come with beverage service and a TSA Pre-Check.
As acrobatics go, Hunter would have his revenge. On first-and-10 at the Cowboys’ 23 some four minutes into the fourth quarter, the Heisman front-runner drew single coverage of OSU’s Kale Smith as the two raced to the back left corner of the end zone. Smith got there first, only for Hunter to twist the young man like a pretzel. Recognizing a slightly underthrown ball, the Buffs wideout stopped on a dime, leveraged into an inside position and secured the rock between his numbers. All while simultaneously falling on his backside. You could almost hear Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence screaming with joy back in Duval County.
Colorado defensive back Travis Hunter, center, dances after intercepting a pass with safety Shilo Sanders, left, and cornerback Colton Hood in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Hunter’s last catch of the day, his last at Folsom Field, was a viral strike for six from Shedeur and a 51-0 CU lead. Some Hollywood endings write themselves.
“There’s no argument at this point,” the younger Sanders, who finished with five passing scores and 438 through the air, said of his favorite target. “How many touchdowns did he have? Three receiving touchdowns, (an) interception. He went for another 100 yards … that’s a lot, and that’s crazy, the consistency that he has. I feel like that’s what the award is about.
“And, of course, the other contenders in there are having consistency also. But I just hate whenever you got to knock down other players for your guy to win. I don’t like that, because I respect what Ashton Jeanty’s doing at Boise State, because he’s doing an amazing job.”
He is. We already know Jeanty looks killer in orange and blue. Can you imagine how much fun he’d be at Dove Valley, taking snaps from Bo Nix? Look, 192 rushing yards against No. 1 Oregon is a star turn against a star defense.
Yet for as mid as the Big 12 has looked, top to bottom, where parity rules and shutdown corners are rare, the Mountain West is a train wreck.
If stat-stacking matters, relative schedule strength should matter, too. Jeanty’s fight card includes only two defenses that came into the weekend among the top 30 in fewest rush yards allowed. Seven Boise foes are giving up more than 175 yards per game on the ground.
Hand that man the Doak Walker.
Hand Hunter the Heisman.
“It’s just, what difference are you going to make when the lights (are) on?” Shedeur continued. “And Travis proved that week after week, throughout injuries and throughout everything, he’s the life of our team.”
If the argument is that Hunter isn’t the best player at his position, best find another windmill to tilt. Say you’ve got an MVP candidate who hits just for a crazy-high average and another who threatens to land the Triple Crown. Are you going with Wade Boggs or Mickey Mantle?
“You don’t see guys like that,” Gundy said, “come along very often.”
Like the man said, there’s no argument. One day, you’ll tell your grandchildren how you saw Travis Hunter say goodbye with a pose and a smile, rare joy in the rarest air imaginable.