Sunday was a noteworthy day for a pair of Stanford football players with supporting roles in the Minnesota Vikings' soap opera of a season. After Adrian Peterson went down with an injury in the second quarter of Minnesota's game at Washington, 2009 Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart stepped in and rushed for a career-high 76 yards on 22 carries in the Vikings' 17-13 win. (As a Redskins fan, I tried--and mostly failed--to see the silver lining in this.)
Gerhart, who entered the game with 86 yards rushing and two fumbles lost, also scored his first NFL touchdown.
It feels good, you know, I've come up short a few times. I tripped a couple of weeks ago and got tackled on the half-yard line at New England. To finally get in there feels great.
Vikings receiver Greg Camarillo, a former walk-on at Stanford who has established a reputation as having some of the best hands in the league, had one catch for 12 yards and returned three punts for 21 yards against the Redskins. His biggest contribution, though, came in the form of his Facebook status, which a friend of the blog graciously passed along. In it, Camarillo rightfully questions the logic behind Wisconsin being ranked ahead of Stanford in this week's AP poll:
If you'd rather not strain your eyes:
Let's see: Stanford and Wisconsin are both 11-1. Stanford lost to the #1 team and Wisconsin lost to the #7 team. The AP ranked Wisconsin higher than Stanford. One conclusion: AP writers took math classes at Wisconsin and not Stanford. Thanks, AP, for your wonderful support. :/
Thank you, Greg. It's a good thing we rely on seven computers to help sort out this BCS nonsense, or Stanford would still be on the outside looking in at a guaranteed BCS spot.
There's no doubt in my mind that the Cardinal could take Bucky in a rematch of the 2000 Rose Bowl. If Auburn loses to South Carolina, it may get the chance.