In years past, any Air Force quarterback was expected to be among the top 10 rushers in the Mountain West, along with an NFL-bound dual threat such as Bradlee Van Pelt at Colorado State or Alex Smith at Utah.
Now, with MWC teams tripping over each other to adopt versions of the spread option popularized by Utah, there are three quarterbacks in the top 10.
There’s Air Force’s Shaun Carney and two surprise entries: New Mexico’s Kole McKamey and UNLV’s Shane Steichen. McKamey, the most improved quarterback in the league, is fifth in MWC rushing (77 yards per game), and Steichen is seventh (73.3). Carney is sixth (76.0). McKamey and Steichen have the MWC’s two longest runs from scrimmage at 71 and 70 yards.
The most curious statistic has McKamey, with 231 yards rushing this season, just 22 yards behind teammate DonTrell Moore – the MWC’s all-time rushing leader with 3,928 yards.
“You wouldn’t have guessed that, but since we copied Utah’s offense, the quarterback has become an extra running back and the running back gets to be an extra blocker,” New Mexico coach Rocky Long said Tuesday during the MWC conference call. “We know how hard it is to defense because we can’t defend the people who run it.”
Last season McKamey netted 417 yards rushing while passing for 1,272 yards and six touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions. This season he has passed for 648 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. He leads the MWC in total offense (293.0), 15th in the nation.
Long said he noticed McKamey maturing in the last three games of 2004. “He started off this season as a confident, veteran quarterback,” Long said.
In the loss column
Thursday had to be one of the more forgettable days in first-year Utah coach Kyle Whittingham’s life. The Utes’ 18-game win streak ended in a 23-20 overtime loss at TCU.
He learned later his championship rings from his playing days at BYU and coaching tenure as an assistant with the Utes were stolen from a display case at Utah’s athletic center.
“It boggles my mind that someone would do that,” he said.
Replaying guidelines
Overtime is exempt from challenges by coaches in the MWC instant replay rules. That topic came up for discussion after a possible offensive pass interference call on TCU’s winning touchdown last week.
MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said the coaches didn’t think it was necessary when the guidelines were set.
The MWC officiating crew was criticized by ESPN announcers over a number of plays, including not stopping the clock late in regulation when a Utah receiver stepped out of bounds. Whittingham said he didn’t use a coach’s challenge because he was afraid of losing a timeout if the call wasn’t upheld. Thompson said Ken Rivera, coordinator of MWC football officials, reviewed the game tape and concurred that the receiver’s forward progress was stopped when he was still in bounds.
Coaches made 10 challenges in the first three weeks of the season, four by visiting nonconference coaches. Only two calls were overturned. Of the additional nine replays ordered by the replay booth, four were overturned.
Footnotes
New Mexico senior cornerback Gabriel Fulbright ranks No. 1 nationally in interceptions with five. … TCU freshman tailback Aaron Brown had 163 rushing yards last week in his debut.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
