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Stellar plays speak louder than hype in showdown

DeShaun Foster lets his numbers do the talking, rushes 147 yards, three TDs

Scott Bair
Published: Monday, October 1, 2001

BRIDGET O'BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Showcasing his quickness, DeShaun Foster sets the pace against OSU with a 147-yard, three touchdown performance

By Scott Bair

Daily Bruin Reporter

CORVALLIS, Ore. – By the position of the sun, one could tell that it was just after high noon. The showdown at the OK Corral was about to begin.

The two gunslingers were UCLA running back DeShaun Foster and Oregon State running back Ken Simonton. The prize for the last one standing was front-running status for the Heisman trophy.

Simonton came into the showdown as the obvious favorite in the public eye because of all the preseason hype surrounding his chances of earning the Downtown Athletic Club’s most coveted trophy.

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college football preview. He was on the cover of Oregon State notebooks passed out before the season began. He even has his own Web site (ken35.net) and a CD-ROM with his greatest achievements, both of which are approved by the OSU athletic department.

Foster on the other hand, came with nothing but his quickness and on-the-field performance.

And when the shoot-out was all said and done, Foster was the only one standing.

Not only did Foster win the draw, he killed him with the first shot. Foster led off the first drive with a 25-yard scamper that set the tone for his 147-yard, three-touchdown performance.

Foster did have some help from his friends on defense in holding Simonton at bay. The OSU back emerged from the contest with a career-low 26 yards on 13 carries. Simonton registered negative three yards after the first quarter, fumbled once and was pulled from the game when the score got out of hand.

“We heard about all of the Heisman hype surrounding Simonton, but we didn’t think about it because we face a better back in practice every day,” UCLA linebacker Robert Thomas said.

Foster had extra motivation on this Saturday. It sprung from his memories of the previous week – a four fumble debacle against Ohio State on national television.

“I don’t think about the Heisman much after last week,” Foster said. “I just want to stay focused, take it game by game and let by on the field performance speak for me.”

His performance spoke to the same national network that saw him stumble last week, and all of the viewers who witnessed all of the preseason Simonton hype.

The UCLA Athletic Department chose not to promote Foster’s Heisman chances before the 2001 season began.

“Nobody (in the Heisman selection committee) votes on hype, they vote based upon results,” UCLA sports information director Marc Dellins said.

By outdeuling Simonton, Foster earned more Heisman votes than any Web site or CD could ever provide.