So I've been doing some research on running backs. As we all know, Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews is leading Division I in yards rushing. It's not even close, actually. Here are your updated totals through Week 9* ...

1. Ryan Mathews, Fresno State...........1,316
2. Ben Tate, Auburn..........................1,067
*3. Bernard Pierce, Temple..................1,033
4. Darius Marshall, Marshall.................1,032
5. Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh.....................1,029
6. Mark Ingram, Alabama.....................1,004
7. Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State.........1,001
8. Toby Gerhart, Stanford......................994
*9. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech...............930
10. Joe Webb, UAB..............................983

*Bernard Pierce and Ryan Williams have already played Week 10, and both had great games, but I'm leaving those stats out since no one else has played yet.

Several blogs are stacked up inside my head, including the most ridiculous outdoor adventure I've had in a long time, as well as another Ryan Mathews/Heisman update. But for now, I just can't stop thinking about the excitement of a season opener.

I'm sitting courtside at Fresno State's exhibition against Fresno Pacific, and really, there's no great reason to get excited about an exhibition game against an NAIA team. There just isn't. You might also remember the Bulldogs were pretty much the worst team in the WAC last year. They did not rebound especially well. They did not handle the ball well at all. The team was three scholarships short, and some of the ones they had weren't being used by D-I talent.

It looks like Ryan Mathews sustained some sort of injury on the long run that ended at the 1-yard line. Mathews was blindsided by a defender he didn't see coming from his left side, and waved to the sideline for a replacement as he jogged gingerly off the field. Lonyae Miller then punched in for the touchdown in the third quarter.

This is total speculation, but it appears to be some sort of rib injury, because he's been holding his left side ever since coming off the field. He sat on the bench for quite a while being looked at by trainers, and then was worked on while lying on his back on a wooden bench on the Bulldogs sideline. Now he's walking around on the sideline, holding his helmet and looking like he might try to come back.

He really looks sore, so this might just be posturing so Utah State thinks he's coming back. He's had the headset on a couple times, talking to the coaches up in the booth. He's also done some quick steps and cuts, testing it out, so maybe he is coming back.

You'd hate to see the national rushing leader get more seriously injured, but the Bulldogs really really need him right now.

We're live here at the Fresno State-Utah State game, and stalled due to about 84 penalties in a row. So let's talk some football, using the time-tested shotgun method.

Iowa: There's always some team that gets good breaks every week and somehow goes undefeated, or nearly undefeated. Apparently that team for 2009 is Iowa. The Hawkbirds, or Eyepatches, whatever Iowa's mascot is, just keep winning. Today they were impossibly down to Indiana and then somehow win a blowout. I hear they were helped by a reversed touchdown call. Figures. The Big Ten is overrated, even though everyone knows they're no good. That's how bad it is. I'm telling you right now, Fresno State could beat Iowa. It's not going undefeated. Promise.

This is the weekend that will decide if Boise State has a chance at the national title game. And now that you mention it, the same could be said for TCU.

The Broncos' fate is the most at stake this weekend, though, and any shot at making the BCS title game will depend on Oregon beating USC. If the Trojans beat the Ducks in Eugene, then that's all the ammo voters will need to keep USC ahead of Boise State, even with a loss, and it also weakens Boise State's strength of schedule for the computer polls. If the Trojans blow out the Ducks, it would be devastating for the Broncos.

The late Joe Lusk, faking a smooch toward his friend, Nate Thompson. They were both pilots in the Army.

You have by now read the story of Nate Thompson, who is road-tripping all over America to see a game in all 31 NFL stadiums* this season. If you haven't heard about it, Nate's effort and cause is certainly worth the time it takes to read about it. Here it is. We'll wait while you catch up.

*Yes, there are 32 NFL teams, but the Jets and Giants play in the same stadium. But you probably knew that. I had forgotten until I wrote the column.

People are starting to take notice. I'm telling you, it's only a matter of time before the whole world is on the Ryan Mathews For Heisman Trophy bandwagon and you can say, "I was there from the beginning. I was there when it was just a pipe dream on that blog by ... oh crap, what was his name again?"

Yes, it started here, and now the Heisman campaign is taking off. And by that, I mean, it still really hasn't taken off. But there is a flicker. Here is the Heisman Trophy watch list on ESPN.com. See, Ryan Mathews is getting one vote. Looking through the voter list, I'd have to guess it is Graham Watson* putting Mathews fifth on her ballot, seeing as she's probably the only one on that list who's seen Mathews play in person. She covers the non-BCS conferences for ESPN.com. She's also really nice, in case you were wondering.

*I just sent her a Facebook** message asking if she's the one voting for Mathews, but haven't heard anything yet. Isn't technology cool?

**Edit: Just got a message back from Graham. Yep, it was her. Here is her message: "That's me. I think he's been excellent this season and not just against weak WAC opponents." So there you go. Excellent point, by the way, which I hadn't brought up before, that Mathews has rolled up his yardage against two undefeated Top 10 teams.

A story about Fresno State running back Lonyae Miller and then the explanation for it: Lonyae Miller played football and ran track at Kaiser High School down south in Fontana. Really, he played football and track was sort of an afterthought. He and Chris Carter were football stars and two of the fastest kids at the school, so the track coach begged them to run track. They never went to track practice, just showed up for meets*. Miller ran the 100-meter dash and never even used starting blocks, he'd just get down in a three-point football stance and then win anyway.

*Some of the other track athletes used to get fairly annoyed that the football players didn't have to practice, so occasionally they came to the start of practice, stretched and left.

Towards the end of their senior year, a big meet was coming up, so the coaches told Miller he would probably need to use starting blocks. He really didn't know anything about starting blocks. And when they fired the gun, Miller stumbled and fell down. I mean, all the way to the ground. Flat on his chest and stomach. And then he got up and flew past everyone and won the race going away. Remember, this was at a big meet in L.A., not some Division VII race in eastern Montana. He fell down and still won easily. That's how fast he is.

Obviously, I wasn't at the Fresno State game this weekend in the state of Ohio. I was taking some vacation time and saving the company some travel costs since we're tightening the belt as much as we can around here, so I'll offer a little post-game thought here on the blog.

Once in a while, I find Fresno State football coach Pat Hill to be frustrating. A lot of people do. On the Pat Frustration Scale, though, I am way, way down on the list. If the average score on P.F.S. is a 50, I'm about a 13. He's mostly entertaining and a darn nice guy, and for a sports reporter, that's far more important than wins and losses and all that. But I get why fans become frustrated at times.

Writer's note: All of the following is contingent on Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews staying healthy this autumn. He is, as has been previously stated, a running back, and running backs get injured a lot. This is thought to be because large men jump on them repeatedly. Mathews has shown great potential -- of all the running backs currently playing in Division I football, he has gained more yards per carry than all but two of them -- but he has missed a good portion of the last two seasons with injuries. Again, the Large Man Theory. You may now continue to your regularly scheduled blog.

Ryan Mathews is the Heisman Trophy front-runner. Why? Because I said so. Do I have that sort of authority? Hard to say. Allegedly, the award goes to the best player in Division I football, so I present the following video as Exhibit A ...