There was supposed to be a respite. At least a small one.
Andy Dalton, the TCU quarterback who made defending against that offense nearly impossible for the better part of four years, was finally gone, now starting for the Cincinnati Bengals. In his place was a young, albeit talented, sophomore named Casey Pachall. There would be a learning curve, right?
Wrong.
“Well, he’s 8-2. I judge quarterbacks by wins,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “But he’s had pretty good presence in the games we’ve played, and he’s handled himself real well.”
This is who CSU’s defense is charged to stop today, when the Rams play at No. 19 TCU. Pachall doesn’t yet have Dalton’s full winning resume, but he’s off to a resounding start. And he’s doing it in a different way — with a cannon arm.
He’s sixth in the nation in passing efficiency (167.2) and is the highest-ranked non-junior or non-senior in the category. He’s on pace to set school single-season records in completions, completion percentage, passing yards and touchdown passes.
“Casey Pachall, I tell you what, pure, physical throwing the football ability,” CSU defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said. “We’ve faced some good quarterbacks, and physically this guy throws the ball as good as any of them. He can fire that ball in there. He’s big, he’s strong. He’s got a great arm. He’s very impressive at quarterback. Look what he did last week in a huge game.”
Last week at Boise State, Pachall threw for 473 yards and five touchdowns in TCU’s win, which knocked the Broncos out of the national title race and led coach Chris Petersen to deadpan, “He’s a good quarterback.”
Because of a Patterson rule that his players are not allowed to talk with media who cover the Horned Frogs’ opponents, Pachall was not made available to talk this week about his season.
Pachall (pronounced Pah-hall) has completed 185-of-272 passes for 2,413 yards and 24 touchdowns, about one touchdown for every 100 yards thrown.
“When you lose a guy like Andy Dalton and then turn around and be able to play like we have on offense, you have to have a guy that has a little maturity,” Patterson said. “But I’m not ready to go anoint him or do anything else with him just yet. . . . But definitely all of the question marks that we had at the beginning of the season about that position, a few of those have been answered.”
Colorado State ranks 13th in the nation in pass defense, so players feel they have a fighting chance.
And no matter how gaudy Pachall’s stats become, Patterson lives by one rule for his quarterbacks.
“Quarterbacks are here to manage the ballgame,” he said. “That’s what Andy Dalton’s job was, that’s what Casey Pachall’s job is. Some offenses, they put the ball in the hands of the quarterback and he has to do it all. . . . What we try to get the guy to do is to get us into the right play, throw to the right person and not try to make him any more than what it is.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
