Real McCoy ‘nearly perfect’
Posted on Sunday, September 28, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas — Colt Mc-Coy jogged out to take his position midway through the third quarter, split out wide as a receiver.
Why not ?
McCoy, Texas’ do-everything quarterback, was already the team’s leading passer and rusher and had expertly directed the Longhorns to scores on six of Texas’ first seven possessions. Might as well get some receiving yards.
McCoy was used only as a decoy during his one snap as a receiver while his backup, John Chiles, ran a play, but based on McCoy’s performance in Texas ’ 52-10 whipping of Arkansas, there is little reason to believe there is something he can’t do on the field.
“Colt continues to play as well as any quarterback in the country,” Texas Coach Mack Brown said. “I haven’t seen Chase Daniel at Missouri, but I don’t see how anyone can be playing better than Colt. Maybe as good, but no one’s playing better. He’s been nearly perfect.
“ Colt’s confidence is just oozing over everyone.”
McCoy finished his precision afternoon 17 for 19 for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns and ran 9 times for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns. McCoy has completed 80 of 100 passes for the season, and after the game Brown was asked if Texas ever had a quarterback complete passes with that type of accuracy.
“No, we’ve never had that,” Brown said. “Coach [Darrell ] Royal might have had [a quarterback ] that was 3 for 4.”
What was more impressive than McCoy’s actual numbers Saturday was the ease with which he moved the ball.
Texas punted once and scored on seven of eight possessions before McCoy left with Texas up 42 points in the third quarter. McCoy was not sacked and was knocked down only one time. And it was McCoy who helped up Arkansas linebacker Freddie Burton after that hit.
“Give credit to the defense. They gave us a lot of short fields,” McCoy said. “That’s why we didn’t have as many total yards, because we didn’t have to go a long way. For us as an offense, that’s easy, quick strike, and we love doing that.”
The Longhorns needed to convert only four third downs during the six touchdown drives led by McCoy. Texas needed more than nine plays to score only once.
“The way he managed the game was really, really special for all of us,” Brown said. “He’s playing with so much confidence, and it’s fun to watch him.”
Not so much fun for Arkansas, but an offense-minded coach like Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino was able to appreciate McCoy’s effort.
“Their quarterback was very impressive — a guy that can throw the ball, run the ball, but probably most of all, just the way he ran their operation and executed their offense,” Petrino said. “We’d try to blitz, he’d make a pass-check for a touchdown. We’d try to blitz another way, and he’d make a run check and get a big play.
“ McCoy executed the offense almost to perfection today.”
Arkansas linebacker Jerry Franklin put it another way.
“He’s the best quarterback I’ve seen,” he said.
One of McCoy’s two incompletions came on a screen pass when a running back ran to the wrong spot. The other was a slight overthrow to the tight end.
Both incompletions came during scoring drives, but the ball on the ground left McCoy irritated, if only somewhat.
“You want to complete them all,” McCoy said. “But give credit to offensive line, they’re giving me a lot of time. Going into the game our goal as an offense was to win in trenches. If they did that, we felt like we had an opportunity to score every time we had the ball.”
The Longhorns came close.
An 8-yard pass from McCoy to Jordan Shipley and a 1-yard run by Cody Johnson gave Texas its first two touchdowns, and then McCoy showed his versatility.
On first down he sprinted out around left end and raced 35 yards for a touchdown, diving headlong, ball outstretched, for the pylon. The play made the score 24-3, and the rest of the game was a televised showcase for McCoy’s Heisman campaign. McCoy even laid a nice block on Arkansas safety Jerico Nelson on a reverse, leading to a 5-yard gain and first down for Shipley. Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis just smiled when he was asked how many bad throws McCoy has made. Not on Saturday, but for the entire season.
“I don’t know what the number is,” Davis said, “but it’s not many.”
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