Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson had a Heisman Trophy moment tonight…called back due to a C.J. Prosise offensive pass interference penalty. It would have complemented the true Heisman moment he had closing out the win over Stanford. However, tonight, and the Stanford game are negated by the Syracuse and North Carolina contests. Both of those were the best of times. They were the worst of times. At least from a box score standpoint.
Next year could be different though. Golson is just in his second season as a starter. His third year is when he could make the leap to the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City. ESPN Analyst and Florida State icon Danny Kanell summated it perfectly on conference call with the media this week.
He said that Golson was a game manager on the 2012 national runner-up team. Now he is the offense.
Couldn’t have said it better.
In 2012, Golson had a 12 TDs and 6 INTS for the entire season. He had a 16-4 entering the FSU game. The ’12 Irish were led by their defense. The ’14 team is more balanced. ND out-gained the defending national champions and winners of 23 straight by 150 yards tonight. They deserved to win as much as they deserved to lose.
Maybe if he throws one pick instead of two, ND wins. Even the guys on the Chicago radio home of the Fighting Irish said the referees made the correct call tonight on the game’s critical play. They also said that a lot of times that penalty flag is not thrown. Which is also true. However, what’s done is done, and now ND has to run the table to make the playoff.
Everett Golson is one of four Notre Dame quarterbacks with at least three career 300-yard games, joining Brady Quinn, Jimmy Clausen and Tommy Rees. But all those turnovers will keep him from winning the Heisman Trophy.
Kelly (last week) on how Golson handled and responded to the turnovers:
“It tested him, because I tested him a little bit. I got in his face a little bit about the first interception. He’s above that interception. That’s a stick route that he’s seen a million times.”
“But I thought he handled it well. He bounced back and obviously put the ball on the ground again, which we weren’t too thrilled about. But he bounced back, threw the ball with authority and he was decisive, made some good decisions.”
Everett understands that he can’t be turning the ball over and still be considered an elite player.
“I understand the severity of it. You can’t turn the ball over, especially in that type of field position. I got to do a better job,” he said.
” I think I have to be patient.”
With a 16-2 record as a starter, Everett Golson has a potential Heisman future; next year.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2