12.10.2009

Race for the Heisman – Colt McCoy


Season statistics: 330-468 (70.5% completion percentage), 3,512 yards, 27 touchdowns, 12 interceptions.

Why he deserves to win: There is no Deadly Accurate Tree from which quarterbacks grow, so McCoy is a rare breed. For the second straight season, his completion percentage broke 70 percent; a remarkable statistic given how much Texas relies on its passing game.

McCoy has led the Texas Longhorns to the BCS national championship game and a 13-0 record. History is on his side. Three of the past five Heisman winners were quarterbacks gearing up for the title game that year.

Why he wouldn’t win: It’s tough to envision McCoy winning the award for a couple reasons. For one, his production in 2008 was unparalleled, and this year he simply did not live up to that standard he set for himself.

Second, in the two games the Longhorns played in with the biggest national audience, McCoy floundered. Against Oklahoma and Nebraska, he completed only 54 percent of his passes, and the offense only scored an average of 14.5 points per game. For many voters around the country, those two games may have been their only chance to see McCoy play this year.

Because the Nebraska game was this past Saturday, and fresh on the voters’ minds as they turned in their ballots Sunday afternoon, it puts McCoy in a tough spot. He will probably lose a lot of votes in the Big 12 area to Nebraska’s Ndamokung Suh, who outplayed McCoy by miles on Saturday.

Best game of 2009:

The week before the Nebraska debacle, McCoy had seemingly put himself in the forefront of the race with the most complete performance of his season against Texas A & M.

Early on in the game, McCoy dashed 65 yards for a touchdown, setting the tone for a big game.

He would throw for 304 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions….and that’s not all. He also ran for 175 yards on 18 carries in the ‘Horns 49-39 win. Had he not flopped the following week in the championship game, this would have easily been his signature Heisman-winning moment.

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