Stellar plays speak louder than hype in showdown
By Daily Bruin Staff
Sept. 30, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Showcasing his
quickness, DeShaun Foster sets the pace against
OSU with a 147-yard, three touchdown performance
By Scott Bair
Daily Bruin Reporter
CORVALLIS, Ore. ““ By the position of the sun, one could
tell that it was just after high noon. The showdown at the OK
Corral was about to begin.
The two gunslingers were UCLA running back DeShaun Foster and
Oregon State running back Ken Simonton. The prize for the last one
standing was front-running status for the Heisman trophy.
Simonton came into the showdown as the obvious favorite in the
public eye because of all the preseason hype surrounding his
chances of earning the Downtown Athletic Club’s most coveted
trophy.
He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college
football preview. He was on the cover of Oregon State notebooks
passed out before the season began. He even has his own Web site
(ken35.net) and a CD-ROM with his greatest achievements, both of
which are approved by the OSU athletic department.
Foster on the other hand, came with nothing but his quickness
and on-the-field performance.
And when the shoot-out was all said and done, Foster was the
only one standing.
Not only did Foster win the draw, he killed him with the first
shot. Foster led off the first drive with a 25-yard scamper that
set the tone for his 147-yard, three-touchdown performance.
Foster did have some help from his friends on defense in holding
Simonton at bay. The OSU back emerged from the contest with a
career-low 26 yards on 13 carries. Simonton registered negative
three yards after the first quarter, fumbled once and was pulled
from the game when the score got out of hand.
“We heard about all of the Heisman hype surrounding
Simonton, but we didn’t think about it because we face a
better back in practice every day,” UCLA linebacker Robert
Thomas said.
Foster had extra motivation on this Saturday. It sprung from his
memories of the previous week ““ a four fumble debacle against
Ohio State on national television.
“I don’t think about the Heisman much after last
week,” Foster said. “I just want to stay focused, take
it game by game and let by on the field performance speak for
me.”
His performance spoke to the same national network that saw him
stumble last week, and all of the viewers who witnessed all of the
preseason Simonton hype.
The UCLA Athletic Department chose not to promote Foster’s
Heisman chances before the 2001 season began.
“Nobody (in the Heisman selection committee) votes on
hype, they vote based upon results,” UCLA sports information
director Marc Dellins said.
By outdeuling Simonton, Foster earned more Heisman votes than
any Web site or CD could ever provide.
