RB Respect Month, Day 17: Jonathan Stewart vs. USF (2007 Sun Bowl)

For those reading on e-mail: click 'view in browser' to see the full contents of today's post

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and welcome to day 17 of Running Back Respect Month™️! Yesterday, Lendale White and Reggie Bush put the boots to Arizona State in 2005. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:

Today: Jonathan Stewart vs. USF (2007)

I haven't done a good job throughout this project acknowledging that running the ball well is a team effort. Whether it's effective playcalling/scheming, or just excellent blocking (sometimes both!) a lot more goes into a great rushing performance than just having a running back capable of breaking tackles and making guys miss. I'd like to make up for that today.

Join the hundreds of college football fans like yourself with a subscription to 2StripesCPD 👇

Subscribe

Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart had a career day against South Florida in the 2007 Sun Bowl. In his final game as a Duck, Stewart ran 23 times for 253 yards (11.0!) with a touchdown, and caught two passes for 29 yards and another score in a 56-21 win. A 5'10, 220-pound (at least) running back shouldn't have this kind of speed:

Jonathan Stewart was a joy to watch. His speed/power combo gave him a unique dimension not many other backs in the late 2000s had, and he was perfect for Oregon's offense. He's a UO Hall of Famer, ran for nearly 3,000 yards in college, and only 61 players in NFL history have more rushing yards than he does. Jonathan Stewart was a spectacular running back, and the 2007 Sun Bowl is the statistical highlight of his career. That said, look at the room he had to work with:

I'm not saying you or I could've gone for 200, but I think 21-year old me gets 70/80 if I've got these kinds of lanes and can fall to the ground before a defender breaks me in half. This was Chip Kelly's first season as Oregon's Offensive Coordinator, and what Stewart did that day was merely a preview of what was to come from one of the best rushing attacks of the last 20 years.

Again, Stewart was awesome in his own right, but the combination of him, Kelly's offense, and stellar execution from everyone else on the field equaled an offense that was nearly impossible to stop, even if JUSTIN ROPER was operating it:

BONUS CONTENT:

I've found some pretty wild stuff in the thousands of college football games I've dug through over the years. Baby Bash performing at halftime of this game is near the top of the list: