Posted: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:23 PM - 6,322 Readers
By: STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Colt McCoy is poised to become the all-time winningest quarterback
in NCAA history with Texas set to book a trip to the Big 12
championship as it faces a team that appears to be in turmoil.
McCoy
and the third-ranked Longhorns can clinch the South Division in his
final home game Saturday night when they meet Kansas, which has lost
five straight and is conducting an internal investigation involving
coach Mark Mangino.
Last week, Texas (10-0, 6-0) built a 40-point
halftime lead and cruised to a 47-14 victory over Baylor. McCoy
completed 23 of 34 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns and sat out
most of the second half.
The Longhorns star tied former Georgia
quarterback David Greene's record of 42 victories as a starter. McCoy
can break it in his final game at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and put
Texas into the Big 12 championship Dec. 5 at Cowboys Stadium in
Arlington.
"We win this game we clinch the South," McCoy said.
"It's a big game, so you can't let your emotions get too high, you have
to treat it like another game. After the game you can think about it a
little bit. Twenty years from now, you can look back and really
appreciate what has gone on."
McCoy remains the nation's most
accurate passer at 72.4 percent as he completes a steady season in
which his numbers won't reach last year's totals of 2,628 yards and 34
touchdowns when he was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to good friend Sam
Bradford of Oklahoma. That's not a concern for the Longhorns as they
close in on a BCS title game berth.
"I did not realize that he is
the only quarterback to lead his team to 10-plus wins each of the four
years, and that again is a phenomenal stat when you start looking at
what he's done," coach Mack Brown said. "The seniors and Colt have 42
wins."
Texas isn't expected to face much of a challenge from a
struggling Kansas team that has lost all seven Big 12 meetings with the
Longhorns. The Jayhawks (5-5, 1-5) fell 35-7 at home to Texas last year
as McCoy was 24 of 34 for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
Kansas
would like the storyline of this visit to Austin to center around Big
12 passing leader Todd Reesing's return to his hometown, but the
situation surrounding Mangino has overshadowed that.
Athletic
director Lew Perkins issued a brief statement Tuesday confirming the
review of the eighth-year coach. Perkins met with the entire team
Monday night and Mangino, the national coach of the year two seasons
ago, was not present.
Mangino said he met with Perkins for "10 or
15 minutes" on Tuesday and would not disclose details. Kansas has not
won since its 5-0 start.
"You lose a few games in a row, those
type of things surface. It's not uncommon," Mangino said. "I don't take
it lightly, but I'm focused on Texas and I'm very comfortable the way
we manage and run the football program here. This is what comes when
things aren't going well. You're going to find disgruntled people."
The
coach got a vote of confidence from Reesing, who has thrown five
touchdowns during the skid after having 13 over the unbeaten start.
"There's
been certain things that have been said but I don't really want to
focus on that right now," Reesing said. "It is what it is. It's
happening. It has nothing to do with playing Texas so I don't really
see the relevancy for me talking about that."
Reesing holds
nearly every Kansas passing record as he plays for the first time in
Austin, where he was a star at Lake Travis High School and was Central
Texas player of the year as a senior. Reesing was not recruited by
Texas, and Brown admitted two years ago that "anyone who did not
recruit him made a mistake."
The Longhorns coach is full of admiration for the player he didn't go after.
"Todd
Reesing is a great story," Brown said. "He did a tremendous job at Lake
Travis. We were all able to watch him for many years and admire what
he's done. He's been for Kansas what Colt's been for us. He's accurate,
he's got a quick release, they have some great receivers, and they can
move the ball."
Reesing could be in for a difficult night against
the nation's top-ranked defense, which is allowing 232.3 yards per
game. He went 25 of 50 with one touchdown last season against Texas.
