|
|
|
|
 Saturday, December 8, 2001
Crouch: What a great day
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
NEW YORK -- Nearly three hours after being awarded the Heisman Trophy, Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch had someone else to thank: LSU.
With the Tigers' 31-20 upset of second-ranked Tennessee in the SEC Championship game late Saturday night, all indications point towards a matchup between undefeated Miami and 11-1 Nebraska for the national championship in the Rose Bowl Presented by AT&T.
As long as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll doesn't get turned upset down by renegade voters who catapult Colorado past Nebraska, the Cornhuskers should get the call from the BCS as the one-loss team to face Miami over Oregon, Illinois, Maryland and the two-loss Buffaloes.
While countless interview requests kept Crouch from watching the game until the middle of third quarter, he sat in a private suite with family, friends and former Heisman Trophy winners at the ESPN Zone in Times Square as LSU gave the Huskers the inside track to the Rose Bowl.
"The (voters) are going to do what they're going to do," he said. "I don't think Oregon has enough points to be there, Colorado lost two games -- I don't know how that's going to play in there -- and we've been on top all year."
For all those who will scream and cry for a major change in the system, Crouch said that the right thing to do is have a one-loss team face the nation's only undefeated squad.
"No matter who plays in the Rose Bowl, everyone has one loss," said Crouch, who ran for 1,115 yards and 18 touchdowns as well as passed for 1,510 yards and seven TDs this fall. "And a loss is a loss no matter by who (or how much)."
Nebraska's loss, of course, was the stunning 62-36 upset to Colorado the day after Thanksgiving.
One of only three major college quarterbacks to run for 3,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards in a career, Crouch seemed in awe of everything that came into place for him as a series of losses by Florida, Texas and now Tennessee over the past two weeks put the Big Red back in contention for the Rose Bowl.
"When I came to New York," Crouch said, "(I thought) 'Wouldn't it be a great day if I won the Heisman and LSU won their game?'"
Yeah, that's a pretty good day.
Now, the Walter Camp Player of the Year will now try to do what Danny Wuerffel (1996) and Charlie Ward (1993) did last decade and Chris Weinke failed to do last year: quarterback their teams to the national championship after winning the Heisman Trophy.
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online. He can be reached at marc.connolly@abc.com.
|
|
|
|
ESPN.com:
HELP |
ADVERTISER INFO |
CONTACT US |
TOOLS |
SITE MAP
Copyright ©2001 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.
|
 |
 Eric Crouch is chosen as the 2001 Heisman winner.
RealVideo: 56.6
|
|
