THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8,2006
SPORTS
3B
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Freshman quarterback has Heisman-worthy numbers
Bill Wauoh/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy celebrates a 36-10 victory against Oklahoma State after their college football game at Darell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday in Austin, Texas. McCoy threw for 346 and three touchdowns, while setting a new UT single-season record for touchdowns in a season, passing Vince Young and Chris Simms.
The Texas Longhorns have lost only once, to the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes. In Monday's Daily Texan, Eric Ransom attributes that success to the Longhorns' freshman quarterback.
Another game, another solid performance from Texas' Colt McCov.
If he were any more consistent. Swiss craftsmen would design watches according to McCoy standard time.
The talk following the game against Oklahoma State centered almost completely on Colt McCoy.
And why not, the redshirt freshman broke the school's single-season touchdown mark. McCoy also sits two touchdowns from tying the NCAA mark for freshmen.
With 27 touchdowns, McCoy passed former stud freshmen like Philip Rivers of North Carolina State, Chad Henne of Michigan and Ben Roethlsberger of Miami (Ohio).
But does Texas' freshman quarterback deserve Heisman recognition?
The numbers show he does.
McCoy is currently the nation's No. 2-rated passer, judged by pass efficiency.
He has passed for 2,051 yards after 10 games, completing 69 percent of his passes for 27 touchdowns and four interceptions.
McCoy's numbers give him more touchdowns, yards and completions than Ohio State's Troy Smith. He also tops Notre Dame's Brady Quinn in touchdowns.
McCoy sits around 172.
The pass efficiency stat is tricker than a normal statistic — NASA also uses it to find black holes. Just know that a rating of around 100 means the quarterback is pretty good.
More importantly, he's playing well every game and winning the hearts and minds of his teammates.
But the Heisman is different from other college football awards.
The candidates normally have to mount campaigns for an entire season to even be considered in the running. Many Heisman voters look to
And McCoy is building his own following with Texas' fans. People know he drinks half a gallon of milk a day. He swam across a lake to save
"I just don't personally believe freshmen should be up for the Heisman," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "You look at Troy Smith and Brady Quinn, and they've been around for four years."
the previous year's bowl game to look for indicators. The player then has to perform week after week the next year, beating both the opponent and the scrutiny.
a man suffering from a seizure.
The word on the street is he also loves his mom.
It's like college football's season-long beauty pageant.
The biggest thing working against McCoy is his age. He's only 20, even if he's playing like a junior or senior.
There are exceptions, of course. Barry Sanders won the Heisman in his first year as Oklahoma State's running back. Adrian Peterson also gained a Heisman invitation in his freshman year.
After playing Ohio State this season, McCoy has yet to show a
dropoff in performance. He passed for six touchdowns against Baylor. October brought a slew of straight comebacks. Texas is on course to win the Big 12 South and sits just outside the national title picture.
Naturally, not all of that is the quarterback.
Football is a team game, maybe the ultimate team game. But quarterbacks are similar to running backs, the other typical Heisman position, in that their performances are dependent on others.
The offensive line has to give McCoy time. The receivers have to get open. The waterbores must maintain the water at room temperature.
And following Oklahoma State, McCoy was the first one to credit all the above.
McCoy is putting up Heisman-
like numbers, and he might even gain an invitation. But for starters, McCoy could finish the season as the Big 12's top offensive player and a name on the All-American lists.
Before all that happens, let's hold off on the coronation.
He's going to be around a while.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
'Huskers' goal for season within reach after victory
Nebraska is in position to win the Big 12 North after defeating Missouri 34-20 Saturday. In Monday's Daily Nebraskan, Evan Bland said that it's a sign the Cornhuskers are starting to mature into a complete football team.
Nebraska's victory earned the team more than just the right to the Nebraska-Missouri Bell.
Nebraska-Missouri Bell this year.
Interestingly, Nebraska senior defensive end Adam Carriker said after the game he had never seen the Nebraska-Missouri Bell before except when playing the "NCAA Football" video games.
Similarly, those games are the only places Nebraska has seen a North Division title since 1999.
As fans and players are well aware, the Cornhuskers' 34-20 victory Saturday was a crucial step in retaking the Big 12 Conference's North Division and playing for a league championship in December.
With one victory in their next two games, the 'Huskers will punch their tickets to Kansas City, Mo., for the Big 12 title game on Dec. 2, probably against a certain familiar team in burnt orange.
The. Huskers have made it clear from the beginning of the season that winning the North is goal numero uno for this team. This weekend*
see Nebraska's win over Michigan in last year's Alamo Bowl as Callahan's best of his 20 with the 'Huskers. Not only was it an exciting game featured on national television, it also returned optimism and confidence to a pro-
So does that make Missouri the biggest victory for NU Coach Bill Callahan in his nearly three years in Lincoln?
victory will make that happen, barring an unforeseen loss at home to a hapless Colorado team in a few weeks.
The short answer is "no." I still
gram sorely in need of both at the time.
A victory against Southern California or Texas this year would probably have been viewed as bigger wins on the national scene. But those games, had the 'Huskers won, would have been novelty wins against teams who, right now, have more talent.
winning convincingly against Missouri is a sign that Nebraska might, just might, become a more consistent club.
That starts on the ground, where NU ran 47 times against the Tigers for 183 yards to dominate the time-of-possession category for the seventh time in 10 games this season. Complement that with the efficiency of senior quarterback Zac
Taylor, who completed 13 passes in 21 attempts, and there's a reason Callahan said his offense played the best he'd seen since the Colorado game in November 2005.
All in all, not a bad day to try ringing that old bell.