Ryan Tubongbanua / The Collegian

OK, I admit it, I was a little scared.

Who am I kidding? I was absolutely terrified.

With Fresno State’s offense in the first half moving at the pace of Fantasia, the slowest Disney film ever made, I began to fear the worst – no BCS? No WAC title? A 0-1 start to the season?

I thought the offense was supposed to be the strong point this season, not something that propels me to down a Valium.

But, then, like the sun burning through the clouds after a storm, came sophomore running back Ryan Mathews.

Actually, Mathews is more comparable to a lightning bolt during a thunderstorm, but enough about the weather.

If there were any doubters coming into the 2008 season, Mathews silenced them with his performance in New Jersey on Monday.

Mathews rushed for 163 yards and three scores in the Bulldogs̢۪ 24-7, season-opener victory over Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ.

Some skeptics talked about a possible “sophomore slumpâ€Â for Mathews, or that defensive coordinators would figure out a weakness in Mathews’ game.

I think the only thing Rutgers found out about Mathews is that he has the potential to be one of the top tailbacks in the country this season.

With all the hype surrounding fellow sophomores Knowshon Moreno (Georgia) and LeSean McCoy (Pittsburgh), many forgot about the quiet kid from West High in Bakersfield.

For those who don̢۪t know, Mathews scored 14 times last season, which tied the national lead among freshmen and he had to sit out two games because of an injury.

He also set a Fresno State freshman record by rushing for 866 yards in 2007.

But, if you try to get Mathews to talk about any of this you might as well go ask Bill Belichick to talk about the Patriots injury report.

The humble Mathews rarely talks about himself and always gives credit to his offensive line for opening up the holes for him to run through.

Mathews provided over one-third of Fresno State̢۪s total offensive yardage Monday and scored 21 of the 24 points.

Fresno State may be working with a three-back system in the form of Mathews, Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding, but Monday̢۪s performance may have propelled Mathews to elite status among the group.

Mathews has made an art form of scoring in the red zone. He has a nose for the end zone and does anything to get in and he usually does.

All three of his touchdowns came in the red zone Monday and were from four yards out or less.

He has a keen sense of where the right hole is and when he finds it, he comes out of the chute like Secretariat at the Kentucky Derby.

So what can̢۪t this guy do?

Well, he won̢۪t be making a speech anytime soon. Mathews claims to be painfully shy and said this summer if he doesn̢۪t talk to you, it̢۪s not because he doesn̢۪t like you, it̢۪s because he̢۪s so shy.

But, when Sept. 13 rolls around, you can bet Mathews will be ready to show a national audience and the Wisconsin Badgers what he̢۪s all about.

The good thing is he won’t need to do any talking – he just needs a football and a sliver of a hole to run through.