Stop living in denial: Get used to Clausen as No. 1

Under the radar, flying where no Notre Dame quarterback has flown before, Jimmy Clausen is the top-rated in college football.

I know, I know. That sentence is startling in about five different places, starting with the very first words. Under the radar? The quarterback at Notre Dame? Over the years, Catholic guilt or the media machine or the pope or Beano Cook made sure the quarterback at Notre Dame had more hype than anyone. Four Notre Dame quarterbacks have won the Heisman, including Paul Hornung, the only winner from a losing team. Notre Dame was a lowly 2-8 in 1956, so what Herculean numbers did Hornung put up to win the Heisman over a field that included Johnny Majors and Jim Brown? He, um, ran for 420 yards. And he threw for 917 yards. All season. Yeesh.

Whether it was Hornung winning the Heisman or Ron Powlus being anointed (by Cook) as a multiple Heisman winner before playing his first game at Notre Dame or unimpressive Tony Rice almost winning the Heisman in 1989 or Joe Theismann changing the pronunciation of his name to rhyme with Heisman ... the quarterback at Notre Dame has been, historically speaking, the most overrated player in college football.

Key word in that last sentence: Historically.

History changes, and we've moved into a different era. The media has changed. Catholic guilt and the pope have lost their influence. So has Beano Cook. After years of getting more TV time, headlines and awards than his play deserved -- whoever he was -- the quarterback at Notre Dame no longer has the wind at his back. Now the wind is in his face, and it's a wet wind. From everyone spitting at him.

Which is why I'm sticking up for Jimmy Clausen, even if he has made some major tactical errors over the years. He's the guy who committed to Notre Dame in 2006 and was so impressed with himself that he held the commitment ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame. Clausen showed up in a stretch Hummer limousine. Full of himself? You could say that.

Notre Dame has had a lot of great recruits over the years -- combine the words "Parade All-American" and "verbal commitment" and "Notre Dame" and watch it rain hyperbole -- but nothing like Clausen. He was showing up just as Brady Quinn was leaving for the NFL, and less than two years after Charlie Weis had descended to South Bend and gone 19-6 in his first two seasons with the Irish. Clausen was Weis' first superstar quarterback recruit.

It was the perfect storm of hype, and we pretty much rebelled against it. The media rebelled. Blogs. Radio shows. Fans. And then when the games began in 2007 and Clausen was overmatched that first season -- like most true freshman quarterbacks are overmatched that first season -- we rejoiced. Full of yourself now, Jimmy?

And then we turned the page. All of us did.

And we missed a hell of a story. Because Jimmy Clausen has become the best passer in college football.

Jimmy Clausen is completing 67.6 percent of his passes and has a passer rating of 179.25. (Getty Images)

Did I say "the best quarterback"? I did not. Florida's Tim Tebow can't throw like Clausen, but he can run and lead and make speeches. Texas' Colt McCoy is a smaller, sleeker Tebow. Neither is a better passer than Clausen, but you could make the argument that they're a better quarterback. Nationally, there is no argument. Last year's three Heisman finalists were Tebow, McCoy and eventual winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma. All returned this season, and they have plenty of quarterback company jockeying for Heisman position this season: Cincinnati's Tony Pike, Kansas' Todd Reesing, Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, Miami's Jacory Harris ...

There are some fabulous quarterbacks in college football.

None of them throws the football better than the guy at Notre Dame.

This is not an easy position for me to take. All that stuff about the arrogance of Clausen and the hype of Notre Dame? That was me three years ago. Clausen stepped out of that Hummer limo in 2006 and I despised him for it. I might even have written a few words about it at the time. Did I take some glee in his early struggles? It's possible. And I wasn't the only one, believe that.

But stories change. Clausen isn't the overmatched freshman of 2007 putting up putrid numbers like a 56.3 completion percentage or a 7-to-6 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions or a 103.85 passer rating that would rank No. 102 in the country this season.

Nor is he the solid sophomore of 2008: 60.9 completion percentage, 25 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, and a 132.5 passer rating (would be 57th nationally this season).

Nope. Clausen has blossomed into an absolute stud. He is completing 67.6 percent of his passes. He averages 315 passing yards per game. He has 12 touchdowns. Just two interceptions. And his passer rating of 179.25?

It leads the country.

Clausen deserves every bit of praise normally afforded the quarterback at Notre Dame -- only, he's not getting it. And neither is Notre Dame. The Irish don't deserve a spot in the BCS title conversation, but at 4-1 with a loss only in the final seconds at Michigan, they deserve better than the No. 25 ranking in both major polls this week.

And Clausen deserves a place in the Heisman Trophy ballot. I mean, high up the ballot -- maybe on that line next to the No. 1. He has led Notre Dame to a series of close victories, and in the fourth quarter (and overtime) he has gone 29 for 45 for 396 yards and four touchdowns. No interceptions.

Clausen is on pace to throw for almost 3,800 yards, 29 touchdowns and five picks. Those are Heisman numbers, and not just because he plays at Notre Dame, where Angelo Bertelli won the Heisman over Otto Graham in 1943, and where Johnny Lujack won over Doak Walker, Bobby Layne and Chuck Bednarik in 1947, and where John Huarte won the Heisman over Dick Butkus in 1964.

Jimmy Clausen has Heisman numbers because he's the top-rated quarterback in college football. Whether you like it or not.