FORT COLLINS — Colorado State coach Jim McElwain, Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for four seasons before coming to Fort Collins, recently was on the SiriusXM Radio’s “First Team” college football show co-hosted by former Crimson Tide QB Greg McElroy.
“I think he brought up the time he was like 24 of 26 in a game and I think had the best rating or one of those deals, and how much I picked at one of the ones that probably should have (made it) 25 of 26,” McElwain said at his Monday news conference.
Oh, those perfectionist quarterback coaches.
That was the lead-in to McElwain commenting on the Mountain West Conference on Monday naming Garrett Grayson, who was 18-for-21 for 390 yards and five touchdowns against Wyoming, .
“I think when you look at the efficiency with which he played in that game, that’s something that’s very satisfying for our offensive staff,” McElwain said. “And I think it speaks volumes for what the guys are doing around him too.”
Grayson’s passing efficiency rating of 320.29 was the highest in a game this season nationally, 43 points more than Baylor’s Seth Russell.
With a Saturday game at San Jose coming up, the 7-1 Rams at least are within shouting distance of the top 25 — if the lists were extended to “others receiving votes.” UCLA is No. 25 in both.
The intriguing thing there is that if Colorado had managed to beat UCLA on Saturday in Boulder — — it seems likely Colorado State would have passed the Bruins in the AP poll to reach the top 25.
McElwain addressed the poll attention, beginning, “We’re starting to …”
Then he caught himself.
“You know what, we’re not starting to, we’ve caught some national spotlight and attention and we’ve brought that back to the state of Colorado, which I feel is part of the reason I’m here,” McElwain said. “And I think our coaches have done an outstanding job of getting our guys prepared each week to face whatever it is we’re going to face. It’s kind of neat deal. I see the energy on campus. Look at that student section, man.”
The Southeastern Conference has three teams — undefeated Mississippi State and once-beaten Alabama and Auburn — in the top four in both polls, and a total six teams in the top 25, including twice-beaten LSU. That’s led to some national talk about the SEC, which has its own network in partnership with ESPN, being overrated, or at least getting the benefit of the doubt.
But McElwain, as the coach of a once-beaten team that hasn’t cracked the top 25, won’t join that chorus. Yes, he came to CSU from four seasons at Alabama, but that was his first SEC stop in his long coaching career.
In fact, he laughed at the thought that the SEC is overrated.
“No, heck no,” McElwain said. “I’ve been through that murderers’ row and know what kind of creatures they’ve got playing there. I’ll say this as part of that. Part of what you need to do, you have to establish a legacy as a program. We’re battling from behind. I don’t know the last time we were even receiving votes … where somebody may say, ‘What about these guys over here in Fort Collins? What’s going on over there?’ So I think part of this is building for the future so you become kind of in that conversation. But you have to start somewhere.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or twitter.com/TFrei
