The Heisman has been elusive for Penn State



 ... will Barkley break a 44-year streak?

The truth is that many Penn State football fans may not rank John Cappelletti in the top ten of best running backs for the Nittany Lions. They will name runners like Curt Warner, my number one pick, Blair Thomas, Lydell Mitchell, D.J. Dozier, Ki Jana Carter, or Lenny Moore, among others. Nevertheless, he the only Penn State player to win the Heisman Trophy, which is given to the top college football player in the country. That was in 1973, 44 years ago. The question now is whether the Nittany Lions will be able to break that streak in 2017.

John Cappelletti

John Cappelletti was a back for the Nittany Lions from 1971 until 1973. He played defensive back for Coach Joe Paterno in 1971 and running back the next two years. In his senior season, he rushed for 1,522 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, as the Lions went undefeated, 12-0. He was a first-team All-American and won the Maxwell Trophy in addition to the Heisman. However, he won for a major reason. 

No Competition

When the runner-up for the Heisman is an offensive lineman, then you know that the competition for the Heisman that year was not great. Cappelletti was fortunate that no one really pushed him that year. The second person in the voting was John Hicks, an offensive lineman from Ohio State. He received 524 votes to Cappelletti's 1,057. Third was Roosevelt Leaks, an RB from Texas, and fourth was Dave Jaynes, a QB from Kansas. Not exactly household names. In reality, that is one of the things that Barkley has going for him this year. 

Saquon Barkley

Barkley will not be forgotten quickly by PSU fans. He is arguably the most versatile back to ever play for the Nittany Lions. Through eight games this season, Barkley leads the nation in all-purpose yardage. He has rushed for 801 yards on 138 carries (5.8 ypc), but he has also caught 36 passes for 471 yards, a total of 1,272 yards and 12 touchdowns overall. He also has 378 yards on kickoff returns, which gives him a total of 1,650 yards, or 8.9 yards per touch. He is averaging 206.3 yards per game. Those are impressive stats. 

Career

For his career, Barkley has 592 carries for 3,373 yards and 34 TDs, 5.7 a carry, and he has caught 84 passes for 1,034 yeards and eight TDs. That is 12.3 a catch. Overall, he has 676 plays from scrimmage for 4,407 yards and 42 TDs, an average of 6.5 yards per touch. 

Ohio State game really hurt his Heisman chances 

USA Today succinctly explained the situation in which Barkley finds himself regarding the Heisman. "Had Penn State managed to close out Ohioe State Saturday faternoon, the Heisman Trophy race might have been all but over. Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley might still win it, but he has a lot more company now for the final month of the season, including the guy largely responsible for the Buckeyes' rally."

The Nittany Lions had a 28-10 lead that they managed to let slip away. The result was a late flurry by the Buckeyes, keyed by a blocked punt, that gave them a 39-38 victory and eliminating the Nittany Lions from the ranks of the unbeaten. 

The problem for Barkley is that while he returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in the first half along with running one in for a TD from 36 yards out, he finished the game with just 44 rushing yards on 21 carries, an average of just 2.1 yards per carry. That has hurt his chances considerably, though he is still rated as the favorite to win the award.

USA Today noted that the player giving Barkley the most competition, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, has narrowed the gap between himself and Barkley "considerably" this week, based on the Heisman electors from the Gannett papers. Mayfield has complete 72.5 percent of his passes for 23 TDs this year, with only three interceptions. 

Will Barkley win?

The PSU running back needs three good games to win the award. However, as Sporting News noted, ""... the Heisman race is all but over. Barkley has done enough this season to win the award, and it would take a massive failure the rest of the way for him to not finish as the Heisman victor."

The Nittany Lion faithful hope so. It has been 44 years, and they hope to break the jinx.



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