Record, title, turmoil in Kansas vs. No. 3 Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—When Colt McCoy started his first game at Texas in 2006, the second pass of his career was a sign of things to come: a 60-yard touchdown in a rout of North Texas.
He still calls it one of his fondest memories at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
On Saturday night, McCoy will trot onto the home-field turf for the last time with a chance to grab a record of a lifetime.
If the third-ranked Longhorns beat a Kansas team mired in a losing streak and a school investigation of coach Mark Mangino, McCoy will set the NCAA record for career victories by a starting quarterback with 43.
And he will get his first Big 12 South championship.
Over his four seasons as a starter, McCoy has built a resume that ranks among the best in college history in terms of wins, school records and name recognition—a Texas QB named Colt is pretty catchy.
McCoy credits some of that success to being in the right place at the right time.
“It’s rare for somebody to have the opportunity to play four years at a program that has the ability to win 10 or 11 games each year,” McCoy said. “This has been an awesome four years. We have a lot of goals still in front of us.”
What McCoy is missing is a championship. Texas hasn’t won a Big 12 or even a division title since the national championship season of 2005 when Vince Young was leading the Longhorns. A win over Kansas clinches a berth in the Big 12 title game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Dec. 5.
If the Longhorns (10-0, 6-0 Big 12) remain undefeated, they’ll likely earn a shot at the Bowl Championship Series title game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 7.
“It just feels good to get the program back in the direction of how it used to be when VY was here,” safety Earl Thomas said. “We’re just trying to get this win and see what happens after that.”
While Texas is aiming for records and titles, Kansas (5-5, 1-5) seems on the verge of imploding.
The Jayhawks have lost five in a row and the university confirmed this week that Mangino is being investigated on allegations of verbal and emotional abuse of his players. Mangino was the 2007 coach of the year.
Mangino defended himself Thursday night on his weekly radio program, saying there were “people who are embarrassing this program just for their 15 minutes of fame.” He also said some allegations are just wrong.
Mangino said he has not lost the support of his current players.
“I may have lost some people around here but it’s not players,” Mangino said.
Kansas senior quarterback Todd Reesing said Jayhawks players are trying to focus on the game, not the losing streak or the allegations about their coach.
“There’s no turmoil within the team. No one’s pointing fingers as anybody. All we can do is keep fighting,” Reesing said. “We’ve played hard for each other and you can never say anything against that.”
The trip to Austin was supposed to be a special one for Reesing, who grew up and played high school football in the area. He was one of the top high school players in Texas when he signed with Kansas.
He dreamed of playing for the Longhorns, but they didn’t offer a scholarship.
“All I want to do is spend the last (two weeks) that I have guaranteed as a football player at this university to be fun and to be enjoyed with my teammates and coaches,” Reesing said.
