The REAL McCoy?

Excuse the cheesy headline and overall homeristic post.

I am an obsessed football fan. Some guys, like Jason, stay up late at night surfing the web for porn. I stay up until 2 in the morning running down football stats, recruitment sites and fan message boards to get the inside scoop of our opponent. (With the occasional porn breaks) My mood greatly depends on what happens each Saturday my Horns take the field.

I never thought that we would be in the position we are right now. For me, nothing in the sports world will EVER top what I witnessed last year in the Rose Bowl. Even if Texas goes on to win 10 more championships before I am put in the ground, they won't hold a candle to Superman scampering across the goal line with 19 seconds left on the clock. For as much grief fans give their opponents, or even their own team, no one can ever take away the emotions and pride you feel when your passion is etched into the history books. For Vince Young to not win the Heisman was a shame. Reggie Bush was certainly deserving, but there is little doubt how the voting would have gone January 5, 2006.

Forgive me for saying it...but can we take a look at Colt for a second?

"Shenanigans!" you will undoubtedly say. Believe me I would have said the same thing a few months ago too. Colt looks like he should be learning how to write the word Heisman in cursive rather than having the downtown athletic club look at his stats. When Texas and Ohio State left the field, there was no question as to who was the better team...or quarterback. But, when you look at comparison with some of the other QBs on the Heisman watch list, you have to scratch your head a second.

The obvious first pick is Troy Smith. At the risk of sounding classless, I am not overwhelmingly impressed with how he plays. He is an amazing athlete, an accurate passer and a true leader. But he lacks the sexiness of some of the past races. Brady Quinn started off as the media golden boy playing for the "America's Team" of college football. But, a meltdown against Michigan coupled with several close calls fanned the flames enough for ESPN to not run a 10-part series of how Brady Quinn gets crunk off the field. There is still a lot of football to be played, but here are the comparisons thus far:

Troy Smith CMP:145 ATT:214 YDS:1898 CMP%:67.8% TD:22 INT:2 RAT:174.3

Brady Quinn CMP:193 ATT:303 YDS:2233 CMP%:63.7% TD:21 INT:4 RAT:145.8

Colt McCoy CMP:147 ATT:217 YDS:1705 CMP%:67.7% TD:24 INT:4 RAT:166.6

Now, I'm not wearing a "Colt for Heisman" button anytime soon but these are pretty outstanding. McCoy is losing the yardage and INT battle to Smith, but is neck in neck with the completion percentage. He has also thrown for 2 more TDs than Smith has. McCoy has had almost 50 less passing attempts than Quinn and is beating him in the TD stat and tied in the INT stat. McCoy also has the better completion percentage and overall rating.

Did I mention that Colt has outgained both QBs in rushing yards?

The competition played by all three are very similar, but Smith and Quinn will have the big stages against Michigan and USC later on in the season. Colt is on pace to shatter the passing TD record for a single season. Not the UT record...the NCAA freshman record.

But, Colt has two factors working against him that will ultimately cost him a trip to NY: This is his first year as a starter, and more importantly, he isn't Vince Young. Despite this, the future is looking bright for the burnt orange nation.