RB Respect Month Vol. 2, Day 11: Toby Gerhart's Heisman statement vs. Notre Dame (2009)

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Welcome to day 11 of Running Back Respect Month™! Yesterday, Carlos Hyde carried Ohio State to a thrilling win over Michigan. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:

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Today: Toby Gerhart vs. Notre Dame (2009)

On November 28, 2009, the 7-4 Stanford Cardinal were wrapping up their first winning season since 2001. It was a far cry from the pits of running back Toby Gerhart's 2006 freshman season, where they went 1-11. Their resurgence under third-year coach Jim Harbaugh put the program back in the national spotlight, with Gerhart leading the way. The bruising senior had already smashed the single-season program rushing record, and was right in the thick of the Heisman race alongside the biggest names in the country:

The major issue for Gerhart's Heisman hopes –outside of playing for Stanford– was that unlike Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Mark Ingram (and Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh), he didn't have a conference championship game to add to his resume the next week. A primetime, ABC-broadcasted home date with 6-5 Notre Dame and their embattled head coach Charlie Weis would have to serve as his final argument. By the end of the night, Gerhart's case was convincing:

He ran for 205 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for a TD in the Cardinal's exciting 45-38 win. It was enough for ABC's Brent Musburger to say he didn't think he'd ever seen a better single-game performance: