McCoy needs a big game against UCF for Heisman bounce
November, 6, 2009
Nov 6
2:45
PM ET
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
Colt McCoy doesn't like to talk much about the Heisman Trophy or other individual awards.
That much is clear after interviewing McCoy for the past three-plus seasons. But his career will culminate in the next few weeks with a legitimate chance to become the first Texas quarterback in school history to claim college football's most revered individual honor.
The Heisman race is still up for grabs without a dominant candidate. And despite having statistics not nearly as gaudy as last season, McCoy is right in the middle of it.
By most accounts, McCoy has made a move over the last several weeks as the Longhorns have streaked to their 8-0 record and jumped to No. 2 in the most recent BCS standings.
Ryan McCrystal of ESPN Stats & Information, has come up with an evaluation tool where he plugs individual and team statistics to ascertain a ranking of the top Heisman candidates. The formula has correctly predicted the Heisman winner each of the last six seasons.
McCrystal gauges the leading candidates as part of our Insider content. And it's interesting that McCoy has jumped into first place for the first time in front of Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram after last week's games. It's the first time that McCoy has been ranked No. 1 this season.
His statistics in recent strong performances against Missouri and Oklahoma State have boosted him up the list.
McCoy has completed 80.8 percent of his passes during those two games, with a scintillating 8.5 yard-per-pass attempt average as the Longhorns have won those games by a combined margin of 82-21. He also snapped his interception streak last week after throwing at least one pick in every other game this season.
And his quarterback efficiency rating -- the best tool to judge the overall effectiveness of a quarterback -- was at 173.38 in those two games compared to an average of 137.85 for the first six games of the season.
The recent surge by McCoy has been noticeable to Texas coach Mack Brown.
"I do feel like, the way Colt has been playing the last two weeks, that he's right back in the middle of the Heisman race," Brown said. "People have asked about numbers, Colt being three wins away from being the winningest quarterback in college football history is special, and that is something that we hope he gets."
And he'll have the opportunity Saturday against a leaky UCF defense that ranks 85th in pass efficiency defense and 90th in pass defense. The Knights have one of the nation's strongest pass rushes, but if McCoy remains upright, he should have a lot of passing success.
The nation will be watching. And McCoy will receive another big break by the late-morning kickoff. That will give him the benefit of an entire day of highlights if he has a big game.
But McCoy insists he isn't looking past his first play against the Knights on Saturday when he playfully chided reporters earlier this week.
"I think it's hard for y'all not to think about it, but for us, we understand that there still is a lot of football left to be played," McCoy said. "We are through the first two parts of our season. The most important part is now. We've got to finish, and it [the UCF game] is just one more step to that."
For all of the gaudy passing statistics of Houston's Case Keenum or the leadership qualities of Tebow, McCoy's top statistical nugget remains his career won-loss record.
McCoy is only three victories from surpassing David Greene of Georgia as the winningest starting quarterback in history.
And in the end, those numbers might be McCoy's ultimate trump card. Although it is interesting that among the 12 players who top that particular list, only one won a Heisman Trophy. That was Matt Leinart, who claimed the award in 2004 for USC.
Here's a look at the all-time NCAA list heading into this weekend's games.
Colt McCoy doesn't like to talk much about the Heisman Trophy or other individual awards.
 | |
| Jamie Squire/Getty Images | |
| Colt McCoy has a 40-7 career record as a starting quarterback. |
The Heisman race is still up for grabs without a dominant candidate. And despite having statistics not nearly as gaudy as last season, McCoy is right in the middle of it.
By most accounts, McCoy has made a move over the last several weeks as the Longhorns have streaked to their 8-0 record and jumped to No. 2 in the most recent BCS standings.
Ryan McCrystal of ESPN Stats & Information, has come up with an evaluation tool where he plugs individual and team statistics to ascertain a ranking of the top Heisman candidates. The formula has correctly predicted the Heisman winner each of the last six seasons.
McCrystal gauges the leading candidates as part of our Insider content. And it's interesting that McCoy has jumped into first place for the first time in front of Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram after last week's games. It's the first time that McCoy has been ranked No. 1 this season.
His statistics in recent strong performances against Missouri and Oklahoma State have boosted him up the list.
McCoy has completed 80.8 percent of his passes during those two games, with a scintillating 8.5 yard-per-pass attempt average as the Longhorns have won those games by a combined margin of 82-21. He also snapped his interception streak last week after throwing at least one pick in every other game this season.
And his quarterback efficiency rating -- the best tool to judge the overall effectiveness of a quarterback -- was at 173.38 in those two games compared to an average of 137.85 for the first six games of the season.
The recent surge by McCoy has been noticeable to Texas coach Mack Brown.
"I do feel like, the way Colt has been playing the last two weeks, that he's right back in the middle of the Heisman race," Brown said. "People have asked about numbers, Colt being three wins away from being the winningest quarterback in college football history is special, and that is something that we hope he gets."
And he'll have the opportunity Saturday against a leaky UCF defense that ranks 85th in pass efficiency defense and 90th in pass defense. The Knights have one of the nation's strongest pass rushes, but if McCoy remains upright, he should have a lot of passing success.
The nation will be watching. And McCoy will receive another big break by the late-morning kickoff. That will give him the benefit of an entire day of highlights if he has a big game.
But McCoy insists he isn't looking past his first play against the Knights on Saturday when he playfully chided reporters earlier this week.
"I think it's hard for y'all not to think about it, but for us, we understand that there still is a lot of football left to be played," McCoy said. "We are through the first two parts of our season. The most important part is now. We've got to finish, and it [the UCF game] is just one more step to that."
For all of the gaudy passing statistics of Houston's Case Keenum or the leadership qualities of Tebow, McCoy's top statistical nugget remains his career won-loss record.
McCoy is only three victories from surpassing David Greene of Georgia as the winningest starting quarterback in history.
And in the end, those numbers might be McCoy's ultimate trump card. Although it is interesting that among the 12 players who top that particular list, only one won a Heisman Trophy. That was Matt Leinart, who claimed the award in 2004 for USC.
Here's a look at the all-time NCAA list heading into this weekend's games.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Tim Griffin
Griffin joined ESPN.com in February 2008. He has covered the Big 12 since its inception, among a variety of beats during a 24-year career at the San Antonio Express-News. Griffin, a Memphis State University graduate, lives in San Antonio with his wife and son.
BIG 12 SCOREBOARD
Saturday, 11/21
13:53 2nd Qtr Kansas State 3 Nebraska 3 10:38 1st Qtr Kansas 0 3 Texas 0 Final Oklahoma 13 Texas Tech 41 Final Iowa State 24 Missouri 34 Final Baylor 3 Texas A&M 38
Thursday, 11/19
Final Colorado 28 12 Oklahoma State 31
