5 yards per carry average and 16 touchdowns

I personally made my own here last August and had my share of hits and misses.With all that said, here are my 2009 awards for college football: Most Valuable Player: Toby Gerhart, RB, StanfordStanford went from no postseason in the past two seasons with Jim Harbaugh to an 8-4 year and a New Year's Eve bowl date.The big senior Toby Gerhart is the reason why, racking up 26 TDs while running for 1736 yards and 5.6 yards per carry.Mark Ingram won the Heisman, and very well earned it too, but no player meant more to his team and their successes than Gerhart with the Cardinal.Gerhart ended the season with six straight 100-plus yard games and 16 touchdowns, going 4-2 in a critical stretch including wins against USC, Oregon, and Notre Dame.All this proved Gerhart worthy of the closest runner-up in Heisman history, and MVP-worthy in these eyes. Breakout Star: LaMichael James, RB, OregonThe loss of LeGarrette Blount to a season-long suspension opened the doors for the redshirt freshman from Texas to pace the high-flying Ducks to the 2010 Rose Bowl.James is only 5'9", but his lower-body strength and great speed led him to 1476 yards and 14 touchdowns, with a blistering 6.9 yards per carry average.It's no coincidence that when the Ducks hit their stride in late September, James was lighting up the field, running for over 100 yards in all but one game, and being the main cog in UO's spread zone read attack.The young man has been the toast of Eugene, and one of the main reasons why Oregon is heading to Pasadena after the loss at the start of 2009, where everyone thought that they were done... Coach of the Year: Chip Kelly, Oregon...which leads me to the reason why Oregon was able to make their dramatic turnaround.First-year coach Chip Kelly, who brought the high-octane offense to Oregon, turned the lowest low a talented team like Oregon could possibly have into the motivation they needed to play amazing football all season long.The offense has been as good as ever, and UO's pass defense is very underrated despite a young secondary.Kelly led the Ducks to a 10-2 record, including 4-1 against top 25 teams, and the program's signature win in a 47-20 blowout over then-ranked USC at home.The win on national television sent the message that Kelly's Ducks are as plucky as ever, and because of their new leader, are BCS bound for the first time since 2001. Biggest Surprise Team: Cincinnati BearcatsThe Bearcats were a sweet surprise in winning the Big East last year, and proved in 2009 they were no fluke, running the table with two different QBs and maybe one second away from playing for the national title.Tony Pike was as consistent as ever, and UC might have found their next starter in young Zach Collaros, who showed his dual-threat ability in front of a national audience.UC's perfect season even invoked some debate that the 'Cats were better than in-state rival Ohio State.But with Brian Kelly out of commission for the biggest bowl game in school history, it will be up to star receiver Mardy Gilyard, Pike, and the Bearcats to finish their dream season and prove that they can win without their chief. Biggest Disappointment Team: Oklahoma SoonersWhile USC had a rough season, no doubt losing so many players to the draft and untold amounts of key injuries took their toll on the Trojans.The same could be said for Oklahoma, although the Big XII as a whole was not very good this season.Last year, the Sooners set all kinds of offensive records with Sam Bradford and a slew of talented receivers in town.Losing all their receivers, plus TE Jermaine Gresham and Bradford's shoulder problems were just too much to overcome.Landry Jones could be a good one at QB, but a bad loss to Texas Tech by 28 was the microcosm of their season: they just could never put it together despite a good OU defense. (True) Freshman of the Year: Dion Lewis, RB, PittWhile Alabama's Trent Richardson was no doubt the most electrifying true freshman of 2009, the best of the year hailed from the Steel City in small Dion Lewis.Lewis, in his first year at Pitt, rushed for 1640 yards, a 5.5 yards per carry average, and 16 touchdowns.He helped to lead the Panthers to a shot at the Big East title in the final weeks.They lost their final two games to West Virginia and Cincinnati by a combined four points. But young Lewis, at 5'7", might just be the best young back from Pitt since Tony Dorsett.He has at least two years to build on what he has done, but no doubt Lewis is off to a great start to his college career.. Greivis Vasquez and Landon Milbourne score 20 and 19 points, respectively, to help lead the Maryland Terps to a 83-72 victory over the visiting Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Saturday.Teammates Eric Hayes added 16 and Sean Mosley chipped in with 13. The Terps continue to get a well rounded scoring attack, as Milbourne, Vasquez, Mosely and Hayes all average double figures. The game also marked the return of Dino Gregory, who had missed the first 8 games. Gregory stared and scored the first basket. Although Vasquez did not start the game, he came in and played extremely well. I think it may have been his best all around game of the season. Will the Terps decide to bring him in off the bench Milbourne also lead the team with 9 rebounds and went 7-7 from the free throw line. He is currently 22-25 for the season from the free throw line and ranked in the top 10 in the ACC. Maryland's three seniors, Milbourne, Vasquez and Hayes went 13-13 from the free throw line.The win raised the Terps record to 6-3. Eastern Kentucky, 7-3, got 16 from Justin Stommes, 15 from Papa Oppong and 14 from Spencer Perrin. . Besides that, I just like the franchise.They went through a period of losing, but, I believe, now they are coming back (even after today).Damali: When did you become a fanVenny Boy: I noticed the team when they were Oakland before they moved to Los Angeles. I became a fan when they were in Los Angeles and stayed with the team.Damali: When they began to have a challenging era, what did you do and what did you thinkVenny Boy: What I did is I put my faith in the owner, believing they were going to draft the right people to pull them out.I really believe they are going to come out of their slump.(With a smile) They might come out of it, if they move back to Los Angeles.Damali: What else can you tell usVenny Boy: I like it a lot when our Raiders team plays one of the other teams that I like.

For example, the Giants, the Saints and the Redskins.Damali: The score at this time, Dec. 13 in the fourth quarter in the game between the Raiders and the Redskins, it's not looking good. What can you sayVenny Boy: It's kind of strange to be talking highly of the team that I am a fan of, and they lost. But at least they lost to one of my other favorite teams.Damali: What do you see for the futureVenny Boy: They will take this season in 2009 and, hopefully, build on top of it for 2010.Venny Boy is an aspiring writer and he does construction work. He says he is a "handy man" so if you need a hand, he's the man.Contact Venny Boy at . I thought he was better than this.

I thought that this time it would be more about the team, more about the fans, and more about the prestige of putting on the Yankee Pinstripes.I was wrong.With Johnny Damon, no matter what he said in November after helping the Yankees win the World Series, it is still only about the money.And that is just plain stupid of Damon.I wrote a piece recently saying it would be in Damon's best interest to stay with the Yankees as long as he can. And playing in New York always increases your chances for the Hall consideration (Sorry Padre and Royal fans). This is not to say that Damon is HOF material (I don't believe he is Hall worthy), but other voters might see differently if Damon hangs on to get 3,000 hits.Padding career stats would be easier in that Yankee lineup rather than say, the Chicago White Sox lineup or the San Francisco Giants lineup.Damon is saying through his windbag agent, Scott Boras, that there are teams who might be willing to pay for three or even four years of his services. Even now, after the Winter Meetings trade which brought Curtis Granderson to Yankees, reports indicate Boras and Damon are insisting on four years and around $45 million, while the Yankees are looking at two years at the most.Damon and Boras thought they could outlast the Yankees.Damon and Boras thought wrong.