Judging which college football player was the best over the past decade can be a tricky endeavor. Do you rank a player that has won a Heisman higher than one that has not? Do you penalize a player if he played in a pass-happy system that allowed him to put up lofty numbers? Do you judge his performance based on the talent around him or the difficulty of his competition? As part of our ongoing Decade Debate series, here is a top 15 ranking of the best college football players of the past decade. Perhaps more than any of our lists in this decade series, this one could be debated the most given the factors that surround it.

15. C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson

If you want to be entertained, try turning on a Clemson game and watching Spiller for three-plus hours. He’s a terrific runner, an electrifying return man and one of the deadliest weapons in college football. He is the only player besides Reggie Bush to post 2,500 yards rushing, 1,500 yards in kickoff returns, 1,000 yards receiving and 5,000 yards in punt returns. He’s also tied a NCAA record for most kickoff returns for touchdowns with six. If it weren’t for a lackluster junior season, he’d probably rank higher on this list.

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His team on defense and trailing 21-7 with 44 seconds remaining, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel called for a time out. Back on the field, USC quarterback Matt Barkley took the snap and connected with receiver Damian Williams for a 48-yard touchdown. The Bruins looked completely dumbfounded on the play, leaving Williams with plenty of room to make an easy grab. Of course, Neuheisel and his team didn’t seem too pleased.

The Trojans (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10) followed Williams’ dramatic score by jumping and yelling on their sideline before moving onto the field in unison. They appeared to be taunting the Bruins (6-6, 3-6), who then came across midfield to challenge them before coaches and officials kept them apart.

After the game, Neuheisel and USC coach Pete Carroll exchanged possibly the shortest handshake in the history of college football. The announcers on the Fox Sports telecast were trying to blow up the situation and I hope people don’t buy into it. Both coaches live to compete and this type of stuff is expected.

The bottom line is that Neuheisel called a meaningless timeout when his team was obviously beaten. Sensing Neuheisel intended to keep this game going, Pete Carroll went for a final score. I have no clue why the Bruins neglected to play defense on Williams’ touchdown. If Neuheisel did indeed call the timeout to discuss a defensive strategy, then his team failed to listen. On the other hand, if he just wanted to irritate the Coliseum (which is how it looked), then Carroll had every right to order a deep pass.

Even though Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis probably had the pink slip in his wallet, the guy would have appreciated a win today against Stanford. Unfortunately for him, Toby Gerhart is an amazing football player. With less than 6 minutes left in the game, Gerhart carried seven times for 54 yards on the Cardinals’ winning drive.

On a night when Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate put on an aerial show for the Irish (6-6) in a showcase for Weis’ offense, it was Gerhart who won the game for Stanford (8-4) and possibly earned a trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist in two weeks.

After Stanford stopped Robert Hughes on third-and-2 from the Irish 35 with less than 6 minutes left, Gerhart carried seven times for 54 yards on the winning drive, bowling over would-be tacklers before scoring his 26th rushing touchdown of the season. The fans chanted “To-by! To-by!” throughout the drive.

Clausen and Tate weren’t done, driving to the 24 before Chase Thomas sacked Clausen at the 31. On the final play, Clausen’s desperation heave into the end zone was batted down by Michael Thomas, giving Stanford its first win against Notre Dame since 2001.

Earlier today, I took the train through Palo Alto en route to San Jose. I was sitting by a few Notre Dame fans. They couldn’t have been less excited. Their team was hours away from losing, but they looked as if they were solemnly preparing themselves for a sour outcome.

After getting shut out by their in-state rivals, Oklahoma State relinquished its bid in the Bowl Championship Series.

DeMarco Murray ran for two touchdowns, Ryan Broyles returned a punt 88 yards for a score and Oklahoma knocked No. 11 Oklahoma State out of contention for its first BCS appearance with a 27-0 win Saturday.

With representatives of the Fiesta and Orange bowls watching, the Cowboys (9-3, 6-2 Big 12) fell completely flat with their worst offensive performance of the decade. Oklahoma State was shut out for the first time since 2005 by an Oklahoma defense coming off its worst outing of the year, a 41-13 loss at Texas Tech last week.

Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson threw for only 44 yards on 9-for-21 passing after missing last week’s game with injuries to his head and shoulder. He was pulled in the fourth quarter with his lowest passing total since taking over as the starting quarterback early in the 2007 season.

Oklahoma State didn’t have a single first down in the second half and finished with only 109 yards of total offense.

Neither team — or the referees, for that matter — gave the fans much to cheer for early on as the game was marred by fumbles and constant replay reviews, including one that required a second look for officials to get the down and distance correct. But while the Sooners made up for their early mistakes, OSU never got anything going.

Considering the injuries they’ve dealt with all season, this is a huge win for the Sooners. The victory is also Oklahoma’s seventh straight in the Bedlam rivalry and its 30th consecutive at home.

Boise State knocks off Nevada, wins share of WAC title With their 44-33 win over Nevada on Friday night, Boise State seized a share of the WAC title.

The two teams repeated recent history after the Broncos jumped out a big lead only to have the Wolf Pack make it a game towards the end of the first half. Last season, Boise was up 21 points twice before Nevada came back and made it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. In 2007, the Broncos had a 21-7 lead evaporate before finally beating the Wolf Pack in the fourth overtime.

On Friday, Boise cruised to a 27-3 second quarter lead before Nevada crawled back right before half with two touchdowns under four minutes. The Broncos also had a 44-26 lead in the fourth until the Wolf Pack added a garbage touchdown at the end to make the score respectable.

Kellen Moore finished with 262 yards on 17-of-33 passing for five touchdowns. Sophomore tailback Doug Martin also added 128 yards on 16 carries as the Broncos racked up 165 rushing yards.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the 242 rushing yards Nevada compiled. Vai Taua was once again as good as advertised, rushing for 160 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown (which went for 71 yards).

In the end, Nevada just couldn’t string enough drives together in the second half to seize the momentum in the game and turn the tide in their favor. Even after Taua busted off the 71-yard to put them up by eight and they recovered a Boise fumble on the next possession, the Wolf Pack couldn’t flip the script.

A win once again just wasn’t in the cards for Nevada.

After Stanford failed to top Cal earlier in the evening, Jermiah Masoli provided some late-game heroics for his Oregon Ducks. In double overtime, Masoli took the snap at the Arizona Wildcats’ 1-yard line and ran the ball in for a touchdown. The Ducks will now face Oregon St. next week to see which team advances to the Rose Bowl.

The Rose Bowl race is no longer complicated: The winner of Oregon (7-1) versus Oregon State (6-2) on Dec. 3 (a Thursday) in the most important Civil War ever played will earn the Pac-10′s automatic bid to Pasadena.

Arizona, the only Pac-10 or Big Ten Conference team never to play in the Rose Bowl, is still that team after a wrenching defeat pinned a third league loss on the Wildcats. Arizona had already succumbed this season, to Washington, on a game-winning touchdown that deflected off a receiver’s foot.

What else could bounce off something to torture Arizona?

How about Oregon’s kicker, Morgan Flint, tying the score, 24-24, in the fourth quarter with a 43-yard field goal that deflected in off the crossbar?

Assuming the Ducks win their all-state showdown, they’ll finish the season with a record of 10-2. They would then meet the Ohio State Buckeyes, another 10-2 team ranked in the top 10, in the Rose Bowl. We’ll see how the other Bowl games take shape, but this one at least sounds appealing.

At least the Wolverines managed to keep the Buckeyes in check for the first half. Nevertheless, countless mistakes led to their downfall in front of their fans in Ann Arbor.

Michigan had given up at least 400 yards per game all season, so they were facing a huge challenge against a high-scoring Buckeyes team. Although they’ve done well against the pass, their front seven has been weak at best. That being said, Jim Tressell wisely had his team run the ball throughout the game. Terrelle Pryor’s arm has improved, but nobody expected him to throw into Michigan’s pass coverage. Thus, Pryor only passed for 67 yards, but his Buckeyes rushed for 251 yards total, including 74 of his own.

Without considering Ohio State’s proficient running game, there is no way Michigan is going to beat their rivals when their quarterback, Tate Forcier, is tossing four interceptions. From the outset, things didn’t look good for the Wolverines. During Michigan’s first drive, Forcier fumbled the ball outside of his own end zone, providing an easy touchdown for the Buckeyes’ Cameron Heyward. For all his shortcomings, the freshman quarterback did throw for 226 yards against an intimidating Buckeyes defense, so there’s promise.

In the third quarter, Pryor connected with Daniel Herron on a beautifully constructed play for a 12-yard touchdown. That brought the score to 21-10, giving the Buckeyes a large enough lead to focus on containing the Wolverines’ offense.

In defeating Michigan for the sixth year in a row, the Buckeyes also clinched an outright Big Ten championship. They will head into the Rose Bowl on a five-game winning streak. With guys like Kurt Coleman, Brandon Saine, and Herron stepping up, Ohio State will have a great chance in their BCS game. Their losses to USC and Purdue earlier this season must have never happened.

Many expected this game to be closer, but the Longhorns easily handled the Cowboys.

Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Cody Johnson had two short TD runs as the No. 3 Longhorns routed No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-14 on Saturday night to establish themselves as the clear frontrunner in the Big 12 South.

McCoy had an efficient 171-yard performance and threw his 100th career touchdown pass, and the Longhorns avoided the kind of letdown on Halloween weekend that cost them a chance to play for the Big 12 and national championships a year ago.

Texas (8-0, 5-0) came in with the nation’s toughest defense against the run, then played havoc with Zac Robinson and the Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-1) passing attack. Robinson came in as the conference’s top-rated passer after breaking the Cowboys’ record for accuracy in a game last week, but threw a career-high four picks against the Longhorns.

Texas scored 28 points off of Oklahoma State’s five turnovers, with Brown and Thomas cashing in immediately and Johnson scoring on runs of 2 and 1 yards after two other takeaways.

Let’s see. Texas cruises by a talented opponent. In the meantime, USC is upset by Oregon, college football’s dark horse. The Longhorns are looking better by the game, while USC is at a standstill. The Longhorns are obviously one of the best teams in the nation, but do they deserve to make the National Championship Game?

Maybe. As for USC, this day couldn’t get any worse.