COLLEGE FOOTBALL / GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI : Sorry, Rashaan, but 2,055 Yards Too Much to Ignore

Time for awards banquets, tuxedos, cummerbunds, speeches and trophy hoisting. One hack’s season-ending ballot:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

1. Rashaan Salaam, Colorado running back.

Only three other Division I-A players--Mike Rozier, Barry Sanders and Marcus Allen--gained 2,000 or more yards and each won the Heisman Trophy. Salaam gained more than half of his 2,055 yards against ranked teams, and his 6.9-yard average per carry is fourth best in NCAA history.

“He’s not necessarily the most elusive type of guy, but he has great bursts of acceleration and a real home run ability,” said John Becker, the director of player personnel for the Rams.

In all, Salaam had 10 games of at least 100 yards and four of at least 200. He also scored 24 touchdowns. Salaam may be the first Heisman candidate who ever said he didn’t want to win the statuette. Too late. It’s his.

2. Steve McNair, Alcorn State quarterback.

Put him on any Division I-A team, in any Division I-A conference and McNair still would be one of the three best players on the roster. Would he be the best player in the country? Uh. . . . Nonetheless, his Division I-AA statistics--44 touchdowns passing, nine touchdowns rushing, 4,863 yards passing, and 936 yards rushing--are mind-numbing and so is his talent.

“He’s the kind of guy, if you were watching a game with your grandma, she would say, ‘Who is that? ‘ “ Becker said. “This guy dominates a game.”

3. Jay Barker, Alabama quarterback.

If intangibles counted, Barker would be the runaway winner. He is 34-1-1 as a starter and is the Crimson Tide’s career leader in passing yardage and completions. He led undefeated Alabama to seven comeback victories this season, is ranked fourth in pass efficiency and has thrown only three interceptions among his 207 passes.

“In the environment that he’s in, at the school that he’s at and the results that he’s gotten, then I think you’ve got to consider him (as player of year),” said Tommy Bowden, Auburn’s offensive coordinator and a friend of the Barker family.

“The pressure on a quarterback there with Namath, with Stabler, with Sloan, with Scott Hunter, with Rutledge. . .you can go on and on--11 national championships at Alabama. How he’s handled the pressure and the amount of criticism he’s gotten is amazing. Not one year, not two years, not three years, but even at the beginning of this year, they wanted the other guy.”

4. Warren Sapp, Miami defensive tackle.

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said earlier this season, “Sapp ought to be illegal. He’s practically unblockable.” You’ll get no argument from Miami’s 10 other opponents.

“He commands the double team, gets it, gets it a lot, and breaks the double team,” Becker said. “A dominant defensive lineman.”

5. A tie--Lawrence Phillips, Nebraska I-back, Ki-Jana Carter, Penn State running back

Yes, Phillips is blessed with the best offensive line in the country. Then again, the Cornhusker offensive line is blessed with the second-best running back in the country. Because of the early-season injury to quarterback Tommie Frazier, everyone keyed on Phillips. Even so, he has gained 1,672 yards.

As for Carter: “He does everything effortlessly,” Becker said. “He could have 225 yards and hardly break a sweat. A complete back.”

Honorable mention: Kerry Collins, Penn State quarterback; Napoleon Kaufman, Washington running back; Dan Conley, Syracuse linebacker.

COACH OF THE YEAR

1. Rich Brooks, Oregon.

Now the rest of the country knows what Pacific 10 coaches have realized for years--Brooks is one of the best in the business.

2. Bill Snyder, Kansas State.

This was one of the worst programs in America before Snyder’s arrival. Thanks to no-nonsense, hyper-intense Snyder, the Wildcats are 8-2, ranked No. 11 and nearly pulled off upsets of Nebraska and Colorado.

3. Fred Goldsmith, Duke.

An 8-3 record at Duke is like 11-0 anywhere else.

4. Tom Osborne, Nebraska.

OK, so he’s duller than a tax-law symposium. But Osborne is the ultimate professional, one of the few coaches capable of leading a Frazier-less team to the No. 1 ranking.

5. Terry Bowden, Auburn.

He persuaded the Tigers to stay interested, despite a crippling two-year stay on NCAA probation. Auburn went 20-1-1 during that span and actually challenged for a national championship.

Honorable mention: Gene Stallings, Alabama; Jeff Horton, Nevada Las Vegas; Ron McBride, Utah.

UN-COACH OF THE YEAR

1. Gary Moeller, Michigan.

He somehow wasted maybe the most talented roster in the country from top to bottom. See tape of Ohio State game for proof.

2. John Mackovic, Texas.

The eyes of Texas are burning a hole through Mackovic’s 17-14-1 record--0-3 against archrival Texas A&M.;

3. Bill Curry, Kentucky.

“It’s never as dismal as it appears,” Curry said after last Saturday’s 52-0 loss at Tennessee. In this case it might be. The likable Curry has endured death threats and 10 consecutive losses. This was supposed to be the breakthrough season for the Wildcats. Instead, Year No. 5 of the Kentucky rebuilding program is worse than Year No. 1. Curry went 4-7 in 1990, 1-10 in 1994.

4. Curley Hallman, Louisiana State.

Wrong coach, wrong place, wrong time.

5. Bill Walsh, Stanford.

A 3-7-1 record? With that team?

Honorable mention: Lou Holtz, Notre Dame; Larry Smith, Missouri; Steve Spurrier, Florida.

SURPRISE OF THE YEAR

1. Colorado Coach Bill McCartney’s resignation.

McCartney has always marched to the beat of his own percussion section. Quirky, controversial, but a man of principle and too good a coach to stay retired for long.

2. Oregon and Rose Bowl in the same sentence.

The Ducks earned every Rose petal.

3. Notre Dame fighting for a major bowl.

A first-year quarterback. Injuries. A soft defense. An inexperienced offensive line. Off-the-field distractions. Notre Dame’s would-be special season will have to wait until next year.

4. UCLA falling to pieces when J.J. Stokes got hurt.

5. Washington ending Miami’s NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak.

The Hurricanes still don’t know what hit them.

Honorable mention: Undefeated Alabama defying logic and the law of averages; Florida quarterback Terry Dean, a midseason Heisman candidate, demoted to third string; Nebraska 24, Colorado 7; Auburn 36, Florida 33.

WORST DECISION OF THE YEAR

1. Wisconsin running back Brent Moss and crack cocaine. From Rose Bowl MVP to drug arrest. And won’t that impress the NFL scouts.

2. Michigan captain Walter Smith announcing that the Wolverines were out to get Ohio State Coach John Cooper fired. Saying it the week of the Michigan-Ohio State game. The Wolverines lose, 22-6. Two days later, Cooper and the Ohio State administration start negotiating a contract extension.

3. Holtz’s decision to approve a pass play in the waning seconds of the rout of Navy. The Irish scored on the throw and squeezed past the Midshipmen, 58-21. Holtz later wrote a letter of apology to Navy Coach George Chaump.

4. West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen’s preseason grousing about the lack of respect given the Mountaineers, who promptly lost four of their first five games.

5. Hallman inexplicably calling pass play after pass play in the fourth quarter against Auburn, even though LSU led, 23-9. Auburn intercepted three of the passes, returned them for touchdowns and eventually won, 30-26.

Honorable mention: Sports Illustrated naming Arizona as its preseason No. 1; parts of our preseason top 25, in which we had Penn State No. 17 and Notre Dame No. 4. We also took fliers on Arizona State (No. 21) and Clemson (No. 24) and died a slow, agonizing death; Alabama’s Stallings putting the shackles on Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Homer Smith.

THE REST

LSU Athletic Director Joe Dean returned Tuesday from an interview session with Terry Robiskie, the former Raider assistant who now is on Norv Turner’s Washington Redskin staff. Robiskie was a star tailback for the Tigers in the 1970s. Dean wants to hire a replacement for Hallman within two weeks. Among the other possibilities: New York Giant assistant Pete Mangurian, a former LSU offensive line coach; Duke’s Goldsmith and Baylor’s Chuck Reedy. Texas A&M;’s R.C. Slocum was mentioned as a candidate, but he took himself out of the running late last week. . .

All sorts of rumors are surfacing on the “real” reason why McCartney resigned at Colorado. School officials insist that he quit because he truly wanted to spend more time with his family. Most hilarious replacement rumor: Former Dallas Cowboy coach Jimmy Johnson. Colorado Athletic Director Bill Marolt almost burst out laughing at that one. More plausible choices: Vanderbilt’s Gary DiNardo, Illinois’ Lou Tepper, Northwestern’s Gary Barnett, Denver Bronco assistant Les Steckel. All are former Colorado assistant coaches. . .

Salaam has said he would definitely return for his senior season if Buffalo offensive coordinator Elliot Uzelac or assistant head coach Bob Simmons were named as McCartney’s successor. If not, Salaam said his chances of returning were 50-50. . .If 1-9 Georgia Tech loses to Georgia on Saturday, it will become the first Yellow Jacket team since 1904--the year John Heisman became coach--to finish a season without a victory against a Division I-A team. Georgia Tech beat Division I-AA Western Carolina early in the season.

Sun Bowl officials are telling people that the loser of Saturday’s USC-Notre Dame game could wind up at El Paso for a Dec. 30 matchup against Texas, Baylor, Virginia or North Carolina State. Anything is possible in the goofy bowl coalition, which keeps changing the rules. Notre Dame supposedly was tied to the Cotton, Sugar, Orange or Fiesta if it finished 7-4. If it finished 6-5, the bowl and Notre Dame would have to mutually agree to an invitation--and as recently as a week ago, the Irish were talking about staying home with a 6-5 record. But that was last week. Now it appears Notre Dame would accept a Cotton or Sugar bid or possibly play in a non-Big Four bowl.

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski.

No. School Record 1. Penn State 10-0 2. Nebraska 11-0 3. Alabama 11-0 4. Miami 9-1 5. Colorado 10-1 6. Florida 9-1 7. Auburn 9-1-1 8. Florida State 9-1 9. Kansas State 8-2 10. Oregon 9-3

Waiting list: Texas A&M; (10-0-1), Colorado State (10-1), Virginia (8-2), Ohio State (9-2), Utah (9-2).