RB Respect Month Vol. 3, Day 23: LaDainian Tomlinson makes Northwestern pay for their disrespect (2000)
LT would've been a superstar in any league.
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Welcome to day 23 of Running Back Respect Month! Yesterday, Garrett Wolfe and Northern Illinois got their yearly RBRM flowers. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:
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Today: LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Northwestern (2000)
RB Respect Month Vol. 3, Day 23: LaDainian Tomlinson makes Northwestern pay for their disrespect (2000)
Few players in college football history have made a larger leap from relative unknown to a bonafide superstar in one year than TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson. In his first two seasons (1997-98), Tomlinson ran for 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns. Solid numbers, just not grand enough to catch the eye of the larger CFB world. Who was really paying attention to the backup RB for a WAC team who went a combined 8-15 those two seasons? With the starting job finally his in 1999, Tomlinson went supernova. He sliced No. 24 Arizona for 170 yards and a TD in the season opener. He burned Arkansas State for 269-2 two weeks later, then went for 300-2 on San Jose State in October. After a modest 75 yards in a 27-3 win against North Texas on November 13, Tomlinson sat at 1,319 yards through nine games. It'd be the last week he'd live in obscurity for the rest of his career.
Seven days later, Tomlinson broke the Division I-A single-game rushing record, slashing UTEP for 406 yards and six TD. The record garnered him plenty of national attention, and the 406 yards left him just 109 behind Wisconsin's Ron Dayne for the 1999 rushing crown. (Funnily enough, Dayne broke the all-time rushing record the week prior.) With Dayne's regular season already done, Tomlinson stole the crown by running for 125 yards on SMU, finishing 16 ahead of the eventual Heisman Trophy winner. Tomlinson's surge unfortunately came too late for him to be a Doak Walker finalist. He made up for it by gaining 124 yards and two TD in TCU's 28-14 Alabama Bowl win over No. 20 ECU, guiding the Horned Frogs to their best record (8-4) since 1984. By the end of the game, there was no question that LaDainian Tomlinson had put himself on the national radar, and that he was a legitimate Heisman contender heading into 2000.
Somehow, there were still doubters. Chief among them were members of Northwestern's defense. The Horned Frogs and Wildcats played in week two of 1999 - a 17-7 Northwestern win where Tomlinson played well (18 carries, 94 yards, one TD), but didn't go off. They'd meet again in week three of 2000, this time in Fort Worth. With Tomlinson fresh off 176 yards and three TD at Nevada in TCU's season-opener, lighting up a Big Ten opponent would be exactly what he needed to give his Heisman candidacy legs. That week, Northwestern's players were clearly tired of hearing how great Tomlinson was. A couple gave some choice quotes to Chicago media to the effect of how he, "Wouldn't be as good if he played in the Big Ten." According to Fox Sports Net's Trevor Matich, Tomlinson actually had the quotes taped to his locker, before ripping them down and saying he'd, "Address [those] on game day." He did more than that, running 39 times for 243 yards and two TD in a 41-14 TCU beatdown:
The best part is how disgusted Tomlinson still was about the trash talk after the game. He had two touchdown runs –34 and 75 yards– called back by questionable penalties that prevented him from an even more prolific day. Tell me if you think these quotes read like a guy satisfied with a 27-point whupping, or his national perception:
