A long and winding road came to an end atop the NCAA record books on Nov. 27. Four seasons ago, Ricky Williams arrived at Texas as a fullback from Southern California, who didn't know a thing about Earl Campbell.

	WORDS OF WISDOM
	What writers in Texas are saying about Ricky Williams:
	"Some teams stumble onto the occasional storybook ending. Ricky Williams leads the storybook life." -- Tim Cowlishaw The Dallas Morning News
	"At halftime, A&M's ground game had produced just 5 yards. Williams in a wheelchair might have bettered that on six or seven tries." -- Dan Cook San Antonio Express News
	"Williams hasn't just done the right things for four years, he has said them and acted the way most fans hope their heroes act. He did it all again Friday, doing the right things, saying the right things and acting the right way." -- John Lopez Houston Chronicle

On Friday, Campbell was among the celebrities on the sidelines to bid Williams adieu. Williams left Austin, Texas, as the all-time leading rusher in NCAA Division I.

Williams didn't make a bee-line to the record books. There were extracurricular activities and there were piercings as Williams flirted with a baseball career in the Phillies' minor league system and added jjewelry to his tongue and nose while at Texas. And while working toward a degree in education, he found time to bone up on his college football history. His tribute to Doak Walker after the SMU great died earlier this year pulled at the heart strings.

In the past two years, he resisted the lure of the barber and the big bucks of an early entry to the NFL to stick around for a final year at Texas. Now the dredded Texas back sits ahead of Tony Dorsett on the all-time rushing charts. Dorsett also was on hand for Friday's record-breaking performance as was five-time Cy Young Award winner and Texas graduate Roger Clemens.

The regular-season finale against Texas A&M was advertised as Williams' make-or-break day in the Heisman chase. He faced a Wrecking Crew defense ranked No. 2 overall in the country. And Williams had it made early in the day, breaking off a 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. That broke Tony Dorsett's Division I-A career rushing mark. Williams finished with 259 yards.

And as the star-studded cast congratulated Williams following Friday's game, the dredded back was still trying to catch his breath when it came to measuring his accomplishments.

"I haven't really thought about how long it will last," Williams told the Dallas Morning News. "I just broke it about an hour ago."

Candidates ranked

RICKY WILLIAMS		STATS
1.	Breaking it down: The suspense ended early. After gaining 52 yards on his first 13 carries, Williams carried Texas A&M defense back Jason Webster into the end zone to punctuate his 60-yard touchdown run, which pushed him to the top of the all-time Division I rushing charts. Williams finished with 259 yards on a season-high 44 carries. It was the highest rushing total the Aggies have given up this season. But Williams' two fumbles in the fourth quarter nearly cost the Longhorns the game. Stock:	Opponent vs. N.Mexico St. Sept. 5 at UCLA Sept. 12 at Kansas State Sept. 19 vs. Rice Sept. 26 vs. Iowa St. Oct. 3 at Oklahoma Oct. 10 vs. Baylor Oct. 24 at Nebraska Oct. 31 vs. Oklahoma St. Nov. 7 at Texas Tech Nov. 14 vs. Texas A&M Nov. 27 Season	Car-Yds 36-215   29-160   25-43   30-318   37-350   31-139   39-259   37-150   23-90   30-141   44-259   361-2,124	TD 6   3   0   6   5   2   2   0   1   2   1   28
MICHAEL BISHOP		STATS
2.	Breaking it down: It's the fourth quarter and the team needs a game-clinching touchdown to seal its first 11-0 season. The coach turns to the quarterback and tells him to do what he does best ... and Michael Bishop responds by rushing for 35 yards on Kansas State's 38-yard drive to a touchdown. Bishop rushed for 104 yards against Missouri, posting a game-high rushing total for the second straight week. He also rushed for a touchdown, giving him 13 this season. Only Devin West and Ricky Williams have rushed for more touchdowns in the Big 12. Stock: Idle Dec. 5: vs. Texas A&M Big 12 Championship	Opponent vs. Indiana St. Sept. 5 vs. N. Illinois Sept. 12 vs. Texas Sept. 19 vs. NE Louisiana Sept. 26 at Colorado Oct. 10 vs. Oklahoma St. Oct. 17 vs. Iowa St. Oct. 24 vs. Iowa St. Oct. 31 at Baylor Nov. 7 vs. Nebraska Nov. 14 at Missouri Nov. 21 Season	Cmp-Att-Yds 6-11-149   6-13-130   14-20-182   23-40-441   9-25-148   8-23-287   14-21-216   16-26-225   17-29-262   19-33-306   13-26-157   145-267-2,503	TD-INT 1-0   2-0   2-0   4-0   0-1   3-0   3-0   1-0   2-0   2-1   1-1   21-3
TIM COUCH		STATS
3.	Breaking it down: Couch finished the season with a 72.3 completion percentage. Any other year and that would have been a Division I-A single-season record. But this year, Daunte Culpepper finished with a completion percentage of 73.6. And Couch has a big problem: He was 0-4 against teams ranked in the top 25 this year. In those four games he has completed 67.8 percent of his passes for an average of 392 yards. In games against opponents currently outside the top 25, his completion percentage is 75.5 percent with an average of 451 yards.	Opponent at Louisville Sept. 5 vs. E. Kentucky Sept. 12 vs. Indiana Sept. 19 at Florida Sept. 26 at Arkansas Oct. 3 vs. South Carolina Oct. 10 at LSU Oct. 17 vs. Georgia Oct. 24 vs. Mississippi St. Nov. 7 vs. Vanderbilt Nov. 14 at Tennessee Nov. 21 Season	Cmp-Att-Yds 29-39-498   32-41-372   38-53-301   40-61-406   47-67-499   29-42-315   37-50-391   34-46-326   35-45-338   44-53-492   35-56-337   400-553-4,275	TD-INT 7-0   5-0   1-4   3-2   3-1   3-0   3-1   2-2   2-1   5-3   2-1   36-15
CADE McNOWN		STATS
4.	Breaking it down: He will never know what it's like to lose to USC. Saturday's 34-17 win over the Trojans extended UCLA's win streak over its cross-town rivals to eight. But it was freshman DeShaun Foster -- not McNown -- who stole Saturday's show. And it's not just stats that are working against the Bruins quarterback. A Pac-10 player has finished among the top four in the Heisman voting in only three of the past 10 years. McNown has one game left to impress voters. A strong showing won't win him the award, but it could ensure he makes the trip to the awards ceremony. Stock: Idle Dec. 5: at Miami	Opponent vs. Texas Sept. 12 at Houston Sept. 19 at Miami Sept. 26 vs. Wash. St. Oct. 3 at Arizona Oct. 10 vs. Oregon Oct. 17 at California Oct. 24 vs. Stanford Oct. 31 at Oregon St. Nov. 7 at Washington Nov. 14 vs. USC Nov. 21 Season	Cmp-Att-Yds 20-30-339   17-32-315   Postponed   14-27-205   10-24-171   20-36-395   15-27-182   19-31-254   23-37-377   12-24-233   12-20-146   162-288-2,617	TD-INT 3-1   1-1       1-1   2-0   3-2   2-0   1-2   4-1   0-0   1-2   18-10