Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Tale of the Tape: Sizing up the pinball quarterbacks of 2011

Part of Mid-Major Week.

We all want to impress friends, workers and comely barmaids with the perfect fantasy/All-American/dark horse Heisman pick that will turn out to be devastatingly accurate in December. But who? As usual, your best option this fall is to mine the tried-and-true ranks of stat-busting quarterbacks with a schedule full of ripe defenses for the picking.

In 2011, that means four names: Dual-threat Tulsa senior G.J. Kinne, tireless Hawaii senior Bryant Moniz, unflappable Boise State junior Kellen Moore and the elder statesman, sixth-year Houston senior Case Keenum. Between Keenum's arm, Kinne's versatility, Moniz's flowing locks and Moore's eerie consistency, they make a complete set of prolific overachievement. But if you only need one, there is only one place to go: To the tape!

. . .

CASE KEENUM G.J. KINNE BRYANT MONIZ KELLEN MORE ADVANTAGE
GENERIC PROFILE Prolific slinger gets second chance at grand finale. Texas refugee found perfect fit just as Longhorn offense went off the rails. Hawaii quarterback. Unassuming winner is seven victories away from Colt McCoy's career record.
Moore
MOST IMPRESSIVE STAT Well within reach of NCAA career records with 3,486 yards and/or 27 touchdowns. Accounted for two-thirds of total yards by nation's No. 5 offense. Went over 300 yards passing in 11 different games, with at least three TD passes in ten. 182.6 efficiency rating was third-highest in I-A/FBS history.
Moore
SIGNATURE WIN 29-28 over Texas Tech (9/26/09) 62-35 over Hawaii (12/24/10) 27-21 over Nevada (10/16/10) 17-10 over TCU (01/04/10)
Moore
SUPPORTING CAST Four seniors with 10,291 total yards and 98 career TDs. NCAA's career leader in all-purpose yards. Huna spirits filling in for loss of five of the top six receivers. "Muscle Hamster."
Keenum
ACHILLES HEEL Anterior cruciate ligament. Road trips: Pass efficiency dropped by 30 percent in road games. Head shots. Wait, what was the question again? Kickers, man. Kickers.
Moore
DRAFT PROSPECTS Possible late-round pick with full return from ACL injury. Possible late-round pick at best due to questions about arm strength and the spread offense. Create-a-Player mode on Madden. Solid late-round pick due to size and questionable arm strength.
Moore
FUN FACT Has attempted at least 50 passes in 12 of 30 career starts. Led C-USA's No. 1 rush offense with 561 yards. Delivered pizzas as a walk-on and has an unfairly cute daughter. 36-1 as a starter when Broncos are favored. (2-1 when they're not.)
Moniz
SEASON IS A SUCCESS IF... Passing marks fall with all limbs attached and functioning. Texas fans still regret his transfer in December. "We're going to the Hawaii Bowl!" Boise's back in the BCS after a one-year hiatus.
Kinne

There you have it: When in doubt, double down on the reigning Heisman finalist to reprise the Broncos' long-running reign of death in the WAC in their new home in the Mountain West, en route to becoming the winningest quarterback in the history of college football. The barmaids of the Northwest are counting on you, Kellen.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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