PACIFIC 10 FOOTBALL / MAL FLORENCE : Best Man Doesn’t Always Get the Heisman

A Heisman Trophy ballot came in the mail recently. The award is supposed to recognize the best college football player in the country.

Since the Heisman’s inception in 1935, only two linemen, ends Larry Kelley of Yale in 1936 and Leon Hart of Notre Dame in 1949, have been honored.

The voters have ignored linemen, as quarterbacks and running backs have been alternately selected--with the exception of Notre Dame wide receiver Tim Brown in 1987.

Another wide receiver, Michigan’s Desmond Howard, will most likely get the award for 1991 because it isn’t a vintage year for quarterbacks or running backs.

It would seem that this could be the year when the voters break from tradition and actually select the best college player in the country, which, of course, is a subjective determination.

Nonetheless, Washington defensive tackle Steve Emtman is seemingly the most dominating player at his position in the country.

Opposing teams often double- and triple-team him to no avail. At 6 feet 5 and 285 pounds, Emtman can’t be handled.

He is one of the main reasons the unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Huskies lead the nation in total defense, yielding an average of 217.8 yards per game.

Linemen don’t compile glossy statistics like running backs, quarterbacks or receivers. However, Emtman’s statistics are commendable.

He has recorded 54 tackles (17 for losses), six sacks, one interception and two passes batted away. His statistics would be even better if he played an entire game. But Washington often gets so far ahead that it can rest its starting players.

Husky center Ed Cunningham, in evaluating Emtman, said:

“Everyone said, ‘Gosh, what a great sophomore year he had in 1990.’ Now everyone is saying, ‘Gosh, he’s just blowing his sophomore year away (by comparison with 1991).’ I think it’s a real tribute to him as a person to be able to improve what everyone considered an incredible year last year.”

Emtman’s next level of improvement might be in the NFL, if he makes himself available for the draft after the current season. He is projected as a first-round choice, perhaps the first player to be chosen in the NFL draft.

Asked if he will come back to Washington next year, Emtman said: “I tell the same thing to everybody. I’m not worrying about that. I don’t think it’s fair for anybody to talk to me about that right now.”

In any event, Emtman has my vote for the Heisman Trophy, along with that of my colleague, Bob Oates, even though the Husky star won’t come close to getting the award.

Trivia question: USC had a 1-9 record in 1957, its worst ever. What team did the Trojans beat?

The Big Game is indeed big this year. The California-Stanford matchup Saturday in Palo Alto will be televised nationally by ABC, replacing UCLA-USC, which has been relegated to a cable network, Prime Ticket, after many years of national exposure.

Cal’s outspoken players, such as quarterback Mike Pawlawski and wide receiver Brian Treggs, have given the Golden Bears the reputation as the Miami of the West.

Now Stanford, notably offensive tackle Bob Whitfield, is trying to match Cal, insult for insult.

“They’re 9-1, but we’re going to bust them up,” Whitfield told the San Francisco Chronicle. “They’re not good enough to beat Stanford.”

He was responding to these remarks made by Treggs in the San Francisco Examiner: “I don’t want it to be close. I would like to embarrass them. I’m going to embarrass their defensive backs, you can count on that. Stanford doesn’t have a defensive back that can cover me.”

Treggs can back up his words in the sense that he is Cal’s career leader in receiving yards with 2,279.

Pawlawski, not to be outdone, took this shot at Stanford, the university, not its players: “If you look at Stanford as an entity, it’s posh, uppity arrogance. They look down on Cal because it’s a public university. Well, sorry, we’re still one of the best institutions in the country, but we don’t deal with all of Daddy’s money.”

Cal is headed for the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1 to play Clemson, and Stanford will play Georgia Tech in the Aloha Bowl on Dec. 25.

The Bears have not beaten the Cardinal since 1986, so that is an added incentive.

Stanford (7-3) has won six consecutive games, coinciding with Steve Stenstrom becoming the starting quarterback.

He is the first Cardinal quarterback since Frankie Albert in 1940 to win his first six starts.

Albert played on Stanford’s last unbeaten team (10-0) in 1940. It was called the “Wow Boys.” Stanford Coach Dennis Green calls his current team the “Now Boys.”

Stenstrom, from El Toro High, leads the Pacific 10 in passing efficiency. He has thrown 13 touchdown passes since his promotion, with five interceptions.

“I keep forgetting he’s only a redshirt freshman,” Stanford fullback Tommy Vardell said. “He has three years left. It’s scary to think what he can do.”

As for Stanford’s comeback after a 5-6 record last season, Vardell said: “The last four years, we’ve been setting the table. Now it’s time to eat.”

Trivia answer: USC defeated Washington, 19-12.