Buffet, Jaret Patterson, could have been a player that many fans knew nothing about coming to the 2020 college football season. But as we get to the end of it, his name needs to be mentioned to tell the full story of the year.
Patterson, a junior, caught the sport’s attention on Nov. 28 against Kent State when he equaled the FBS record for heavy touchdowns in a game with eight and scored his second-highest total speed in a single game with 409 meters in the 70-41 victory.
He had come a long way from a visit to Eastern Michigan as a high school student when his twin brother, James, found him in a bathroom on campus crying after he was the only one on the recruitment visit who did not receive an offer. . Now Jaret Patterson is one of the best players in Buffalo history, along with guys like Branden Oliver and Khalil Mack.
As Patterson and Buffalo (5-1) enter a Christmas matchup with Marshall (7-2) in the Camellia Bowl (14:30 ET, ESPN and ESPN App), let’s take a closer look at the outburst. Bulls star.
Big games are Patterson’s specialty
As a senior at St. Vincent Pallotti of Laurel, Maryland, did a bit of everything in a 2016 game against Riverside Baptist, with 558 multifunction yards, an interception and two forced fumbles.
“You can ask anyone in the Maryland area,” Patterson said. “I know this game.”
His talent translated perfectly in Buffalo. In 15 of the 28 games in which he carried the ball 11 times or more, he ran over 100 meters. And in more than half of them, he ran at least 160 meters.
In 2019 – a season in which he ran for 1,799 meters and 19 touchdowns, as well as to compile 209 meters receiving with another score – he entered a fast and remarkable explosion playing Toledo and Bowling Green. Against the rackets, Patterson had 227 yards and five touchdowns; taking the Falcons, he was 298 meters in a hurry and six touchdowns.
“In those two games alone, there are 11 touchdowns. It’s a whole season for some,” he said. “This is not a coincidence.”
There is a good football player and then he is an overwhelming good one. Patterson is often the latter.
In the 2019 Bahamas Bowl, he led the Bulls to the first bowl victory of the program with 173 yards and two touchdowns against Charlotte.
“The fourth trimester came, and the boys were just tired and we imposed our will,” Patterson said.
He remembered Charlotte’s coach, Hea Healy, who approached him after the game, impressed and saying, “As the game gets stronger.”
Post-game praise and right in the middle of the game became the norm for Patterson. Either between games or climbing the scrimmage line, the boys from Bowling Green and Kent State shouted for him not to run the ball anymore or even suggested that the Bulls pass.
“I know she’s coming, but she has to stop at the end of the day,” Patterson said. – Sometimes I can’t.
Patterson entered the game against Golden Flashes in search of revenge. When the two teams played in 2019, the Bulls grew 27-6 in the fourth quarter, only to allow 24 unanswered points, including a winning goal, as time expired to lose 30-27. Patterson ran 141 yards in that game.
At the start of the 2020 game, Patterson knew he would have a good game, but he didn’t How good.
“The first two touchdowns were untouched,” he said. “I’m talking about the holes being so big you could drive a truck over there.”
At the break, Patterson said he had a moment when he stopped and knew he was doing something big.
“I didn’t know the amount, but I knew I was running pretty well and I scored a lot,” he said.
Many college football fans were upset when Bulls coach Lance Leipold fired Patterson before he could break the touchdown record. After the match, Leipold said: “I didn’t even know he had eight touchdowns. I wish I knew a little. “
Patterson became aware of what he had done only after he was taken out of the game and said he had no serious feelings about not breaking the record. Since then, Patterson and Leipold have been joking about it.
Patterson even labeled that game as “easy,” crediting his offensive line.
“Without those guys in front, I wouldn’t run 1,000 meters in five games,” Patterson said. “That’s unheard of. Even the perimeter receivers, everyone plays a part in that. The long races you see, guys trying to finish defenders, everyone plays a part in that.”
He added: “I don’t see a better line than them and what they did. I feel that their CV speaks for itself ”.
Awards or not, Patterson knows he’s one of the best RBs in the country
Doak Walker Award finalists were announced on Tuesday, and he was not one of them. He was also not among the finalists for the Heisman Trophy. But Patterson knows he belongs.
In a season where rules have been made and thrown out the window, one thing that has not changed is Patterson’s ability to present statistics at an overwhelming pace for the defense. And he has raised 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns in just five games, which he continues to emphasize when he argues why he should be in these award talks.
“Like I did, it was different from the others,” Patterson said. “I don’t take – they certainly put numbers on their own – but just like I did backwards. The boys don’t score eight touchdowns and run 300 meters backwards. But I think the two biggest things are just short games and how late I started. That’s why I should definitely be a competitor. “
Because all of Heisman’s votes will be cast until Patterson has a chance to play on Christmas Day, Camellia Bowl’s statistics will not contribute to his case. But he will still play with that chip on his shoulder for the rest of his career.
“If he comes back in the fall or goes to the NFL, I’ll still have that chip, I’ll still be the same player,” said Patterson, who turned 21 this week. “Nothing will change. That’s what I stick to, it’s my moral, and whether it’s in Buffalo or the next level, I’ll still have that motivation to prove that people are wrong and that I’m right that I can be a great runner. back to college and to the next level. “