... Trophy candidate?

For those of you who missed it (which is probably pretty much everyone), Cal's punter Nick Harris had such a phenomenal game last week that the Illinois coach was moved to a new level of hyperbole -- as seen in this article from the Cal football website:

*****************

Nick Harris Should Be a Heisman Candidate

It may have been just a regular day in the office for brilliant Cal punter Nick
Harris last week at Illinois, but those who witnessed his performance considered
it one of the top punting performances in college football history. Illinois
head coach Ron Turner even declared after the game that, if he had a Heisman
Trophy vote, he would cast it for Harris. Harris had a bigger influence on the
game than any other player on the field, and that's almost never said about a
punter who was only on the field 12 times. His stat line - 12 punts for a 41.4
average - may seem just solid to those who don't analyze things a little deeper.
He pinned a potent Illinois offense deep time after time.

Ten of his 12 punts were downed at or inside Illinois' 13-yard-line, including
punts downed at the Illini 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 9 and 10 yard lines. One of his kicks was a 64-yarder (downed at the Illinois 3-yard-line), the second longest punt in
his career. The average field position for opponents after his 15 punts this
season is the opponent 13.3-yard-line. In terms of pure contribution to his team, it's hard to imagine any of the more highly publicized Heisman Trophy
candidates having better credentials than Harris. The 6-4, 220-pound senior now has 264 career punts for 11,572 yards and is on pace to break the NCAA record in both categories (Cameron Young of TCU: 320 punts for 12,947 yards from 1976-79).

********************

Harris' heroics went for naught, as Cal lost 17-15 when a two point conversion attempt in the last two minutes failed. Cal did get a safety on the first play after the punt to the two, but otherwise wasted the great punting game. The Bears started on their own 40 or better eight times after Harris punts and scored exactly 0 points (the eight drives resulted in seven punts and a missed FG).

Four hour drive to Fresno tomorrow to see Cal play Fresno State; the Bears are underdogs again, anywhere from 3 to 6 points. ----- jim o\-S