With 205 rushing yards against UT-Chattanooga, DeAngelo Williams threw himself back into the Heisman race.
How?
Quarterbacks.
Matt Leinart and Vince Young have all the hype right now, but what happens when they lose a few games?
USC can't stay on top forever, and Texas still has to play Oklahoma.
Plus, quarterbacks have won the trophy for the past five years. Voters have to be itching for another position to win by now.
Conference USA is the biggest factor against Williams. If Louisville hadn't taken off for the Big East, The University of Memphis would have another big-time national game on TV.
But no one can change that now.
The only thing that can change is DeAngelo's stats.
He just needs to fire up his racing engine and put some lead on the gas pedal. He could simply force voters to give him a long look by rushing for an unimaginable amount of yardage.
Running for well over 2,000 yards would showcase Williams quite well. With a big game against highly-favored Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., he would erase the words "dark-horse" from his candidacy.
The home game against UAB on ESPN2 in November is another opportunity for DeAngelo to run wild on televisions across the nation. Five touchdowns and plenty of coverage to show viewers and voters his soft side as a great asset to the community would be perfect.
So what will frontrunners such as Young and Leinart be doing during this time? Throwing interceptions and losing games against opponents like Oregon, California, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Reggie Bush will be at Leinart's side, but he'll take away votes from his teammate, maybe even more than last year. Also, Leinart gets so much publicity nationally while being featured on television and hanging out with Paris Hilton that he may be too famous to be voted against.
But if DeAngelo is racking up close to 200 yards per game the rest of the way, and other candidates trail off like many usually do, Memphis would be a ranked team led by their running back.
Then the Memphis quarterback situation comes up. Will Hudgens has been solid so far in his short time taking over for Patrick Byrne, and his throwing accuracy will only improve over the season.
In that context, with Hudgens throwing better and forcing defenses to take some focus off DeAngelo, the run game would open up, and when Williams gets hot the team will skyrocket.
A 12th game on the schedule, the new C-USA Championship game, gives Williams even more of a chance to influence voters on national television.
Another thing voters like is plenty of attention when it comes to a candidate. Joey Harrington got a New York billboard during his Heisman campaign while at Oregon. Leinart is practically a celebrity in Heisman terms, hanging out in Los Angeles and taking ballroom dancing classes at USC.
DeAngelo has gotten plenty of publicity lately, too. His custom-made racing car sent out to members of the media before the season made an appearance on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption."
Williams is getting fine-tuned now, and his stats will climb quickly over the next few games. Add that to an improving defense and a quarterback easily learning on the fly, and the Tigers can pull a perfect season the rest of the way.
DeAngelo Williams has a great case for the Heisman...just as long as his quarterback doesn't start hanging out with the Hilton family.
