Trent Richardson needed many things to break right in the 2011 college football season to upset Andrew Luck and the rest of a Heisman field full of quarterbacks. Saturday night, in Alabama's heartbreaking 9-6 overtime loss to LSU, one of the worst possible breaks came for Richardson: a loss.
Heisman Trophy 2011 Watch: Trent Richardson’s Stock Falling, Despite Showing Against LSU
Trent Richardson performed valiantly for Alabama against LSU. But the Crimson Tide’s loss may have irrevocably damaged his Heisman stock.
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Richardson was unquestionably great in the game, rushing for 89 yards against an LSU defense that allows fewer than 80 yards on the ground per game and tying a career-high for receptions with five catches for an additional 80 yards. But Alabama lost, through no fault of Richardson’s, and Alabama will need help from other teams to get back into position to play for a national championship.
That could spell doom for Richardson: the last Heisman winner who didn't play for a BCS National Championship Game participant was Tim Tebow in 2007, whose unprecedented numbers trumped his team's relative lack of excellence in a wild college football season. And Richardson simply won't have eye-popping numbers this year, unless he goes on an all-time tear in the next three weeks.
For more on the Crimson Tide, visit Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll, and head to SB Nation’s college football hub any time for plenty more on the Heisman Trophy race and the rest of the college football landscape.
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