5 feet and 6 inches.  New Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers (all 5′6″ of him) made the USC defensive front his personal playground to the tune of 186 rushing yards and 2tds in the Beavers’ upset win.  The little dynamo ran right up the middle on USC and there was nothing Rey Maualuga or anyone else could do about it.  It was a slap in the face to all the amusement parks signs you used to fear as a kid (you must be this tall to ride), that stopped you from riding the Magnum, and sent your ass to the Smurf Ride.  No more.  Rodgers proved that little people can do what they want, and it has made me wonder if the world will ever be the same.  Introducing…

The new and improved uber recruit–the under 5′8″,190lb, can barely bench press the bar, harder to find in a crowd than Waldo, running back.  Power teams, take notice.  Rodgers used his diminutive stature and vision to run for more yards on USC than the visitors traveled in their flight to Oregon.  His quickness and strength were superb, but it was also as if he had stealth technology because the Trojan linebackers wouldn’t have found him with radar.  (Was it an advanced uniform prototype?  And you thought the Ducks’ weight-reducing unis were state of the art.)  The few times they did locate him, the defense tried to tackle him as if he was as big as Shaquille O’Neal. Wasn’t going to work.

The only downside to the emergence of the mouse-sized running back?

The beloved big backs, aka the Jerome Bettis and Beanie Wells types will go the way of the dinosaur.

Recruiter:  I see you are incredibly strong and surprisingly fast.  I see that the sudden impact of your stiff arm has caused several hearts to explode upon contact, and that linebackers are afraid to tackle you.  But you see that little guy over there, well maybe you can’t see him-that large t-shirt covers him up a bit, but yeah…I’m gonna take my chances with him.

A new world order, big men beware.