Sometimes the best just isn’t good enough, and in the case of Colgate tailback Jamaal Branch, sometimes the best just isn’t the best.

The Mashpee native and former Falmouth High School star had a fantastic season for the Red Raiders in 2003, setting single-season I-AA records for rushing yards (2,326), carries (450), touchdowns (29) and 100-yard games (12) in being named the recipient of the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in Division I-AA. Yet the staff, supporters and members of the Massachusetts football team have to be wondering if the 6-foot 225-pounder is the real deal.

Twice now Branch has taken the field against the Minutemen in big games, and twice he has failed to impress. On the frozen tundra of Andy Kerr Stadium during the I-AA playoffs back in November, the big man gained just 59 yards sloshing through drifts of snow and huge clods of frozen mud. Colgate supporters blamed it on the weather, but UMass junior Steve Baylark waddled through the same slop and finished with 84 yards.

Saturday night, on a clean field and under a beautiful, moonlit sky Branch finished with a paltry 62 yards on 23 carries – a 2.7 yards-per-carry average. His long run of the night was 10 yards.

Obviously, the truth lies somewhere in between what Branch accomplished throughout most of last season and what he’s done against the Maroon and White. Playing against Ivy League schools and those within the confines of the non-scholarship Patriot League last season, Branch shined. However against teams outside the league he was less than stellar.

After being held in check by the Minutemen, Branch again gained just 69 yards on 22 carries the following week in a 28-27 win over Western Illinois. His long that afternoon was just 13 yards to go along with just 2.5 yards-per-carry, and in similar fashion to the week before, his counterpart Travis Glasford picked up 85 yards on 18 carries in the same snow and mud.

The next week was strikingly different for Branch, as he amassed a more impressive 148 yards against Florida Atlantic on a clean field. However he did so on a whopping 48 carries, and with a long run of 14 yards. In addition, his yards-per-carry average that afternoon was just 2.9.

Finally, the night after being honored with the Payton Award, Branch accentuated his mediocrity against scholarship schools. Facing eventual national champion Delaware, who shared the Atlantic 10 Conference championship with UMass, Branch carried 20 times for 58 yards and did not find the end zone. His long rush of that evening was a paltry eight yards and his average rush was again less than impressive, at 2.8 yards per carry.

In comparison, the Blue Hens ran for 197 total yards that evening. Branch’s total yards were eclipsed by UD tailback Germaine Bennett’s, and he came within seven total yards of being equaled not only by Delaware’s second back, Antawn Jenkins, but also by quarterback Andy Hall.

So while No. 25 remains on the Payton Award’s “watch list”, and will surely enjoy another fine campaign in his last year in Hamilton, the truth may finally be out.

“I don’t think he’s the best back in the nation.” Baylark said. “I know that if I keep working hard and stay focused, I can get to that level.

“I can be better than him.”