T H E M O N T H I N . . .
It says much about how Heisman campaigns operate that Barkley's was derailed
in Penn State's Oct. 28 loss against Ohio State — a game the Nittany Lions lost by
a single point on the road. In that game, Barkley returned the opening kick for a
touchdown and conjured a 36-yard touchdown from what might have been a 4-
yard gain. Ohio State spent the rest of the afternoon assuring he would not beat
them again, kicking the ball away from him and stacking its defense in the box.
Fear of Barkley literally changed the game. That is what the most outstanding
players have done over the years in college football, from Michigan's Tom Har-
mon to Syracuse's Ernie Davis to Nebraska's Johnny Rodgers to Oklahoma's Billy
Sims. The modern Heisman voters occasionally stumble into selecting that guy,
like when they chose Robert Griffin III or Lamar Jackson. It's mostly an accident,
though.
MIKE DeCOURCY THE SPORTING NEWS
The read-option o
