Collaros might keep starting job for Cincy

CINCINNATI (AP)—By keeping his team perfect, Zach Collaros has forced his coach to reconsider.

When senior quarterback Tony Pike hurt his non-passing arm, Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said he’d get this job back when he was ready. In the meantime, his sophomore backup got to run one of the nation’s most potent offenses.

Collaros has made it even more dangerous.

He threw for 480 yards—the second-best passing total in school history— and set a school record for total offense in a 47-45 victory over Connecticut on Saturday night, a sensational performance that might have won him the starting job indefinitely.

“He just sees the field extremely well and made plays all over the place,” Kelly said.

For the second season in a row, fifth-ranked Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0 Big East) is flourishing behind a backup quarterback.

Pike took over last season when senior Dustin Grutza broke his leg. Pike then broke his non-passing forearm, got a plate inserted to help the injury heal, missed two games, and returned wearing a protective brace. Pike, who wasn’t even on the depth chart in summer camp, led the Bearcats to their first Big East title and an Orange Bowl appearance.

He was getting the attention of NFL scouts for his strong arm—and some mentions as a Heisman Trophy long shot—when he was hit during the first half of a win over South Florida on Oct. 15. The plate was damaged and had to be replaced. Cincinnati’s fate was in the hands of Pike’s backup, who was recruited as a baseball player out of high school even though his Steubenville, Ohio, football team went 30-0 his last two seasons.

Collaros has taken the offense to new levels, growing week by week. His performance against UConn was the best yet.

He went 29 of 37 for 480 yards and a touchdown, trailing only Greg Cook’s 554-yard passing game on the school record list. Collaros also ran for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns, setting a school record with his combined 555 yards.

In so many ways, it was unprecedented.

“Zach went for, who knows? Five million yards or something like that?” said receiver Mardy Gilyard, who caught 12 passes for 172 yards. “Zach had an excellent day. When we’ve got a quarterback who can throw and run, we’ve got so many weapons that it’s hard to defend us.”

Collaros provided the final proof on the last drive, when Cincinnati needed to score to close it out. He completed all four of his passes, setting up Isaiah Pead’s clinching touchdown run.

Kelly wasn’t surprised. After watching Collaros grow so much in the last three weeks, he was confident he would handle the pressure like he has everything else thrown at him.

“He’s so wide-eyed and interactive in terms of his conversation all the time,” Kelly said. “He’s a really unique guy in that sense. He’s looking at you and he’s talking to you about things that are occurring, and it’s a pretty special conversation that you have. So I knew none of that stuff was going to bother him.”

In the most pressure-packed minutes of his brief college career, he was perfect.

“There was definitely a sense of urgency,” Collaros said. “There really was the whole second half. Everyone on offense was saying, ‘They can’t beat us if they can’t stop us.’ On that last drive, everybody just cowboyed up and we did it.”

Collaros has been the Bearcats’ cavalry. Now, the big question: Which quarterback gets to take Cincinnati the rest of the way?

Kelly had maintained since Pike got hurt that the senior would get his job back when he’s capable of playing. He got a custom-made splint last week and was able to practice more fully. Kelly had considered getting him into the game on Saturday night to try to get his passing touch back, but the chance never came.

“We thought about doing it if the circumstance were right,” Kelly said. “I would have preferred to get him in and throw a couple of balls around there and kind of get the butterflies out, but it never really presented itself.”

The Bearcats have a short practice week leading up to their home game on Friday night against West Virginia. Pike will practice, but he’ll have to do a lot to convince Kelly that he deserves his job back instead of Collaros, who is 79 of 89 for 1,100 yards with eight touchdown throws in the last three games.

The decision is no longer clear-cut.

“He’s made it hard,” Kelly said. “OK, I’ve changed my mind based on the way he’s played the last three games. I think I have to reconsider my decision.”