Texas Tech quarterback B.J Symons has made quite an impression on NCAA football. The senior, who waited patiently before his starting debut, has thrown for 2,467 yards in five games and has already set two Big 12 conference passing records. For three consecutive games, Symons has passed for more than 500 yards.
The Red Raiders quarterback has wowed football analysts and fans everywhere, especially after his performance this past weekend. The 6-foot-1, 217-pound star threw for 505 yards and a Big 12-record eight touchdowns against Texas A&M to solidify himself as a Heisman candidate.
“Is B.J. the best player in the country?” Texas Tech coach Mike Leach said. “Yeah, I think he is.”
Symons has helped lead Texas Tech to a 4-1 record and instilled confidence in a school often considered the third-best team in Texas behind Texas and Texas A&M.
“Taking the field with the chip on our shoulder, we do know there’s that perception out there,” said Symons. “We take the field with an attitude, we want to put it on every team we play so that when they leave the field, they say, ‘That was one of the best offenses I’ve ever played against.'”
Symons is on pace to crush NCAA records for average passing yards per game, touchdown passes, and total offense. The senior has set the Big 12 record for passing yards in a game (661 — good enough for third in NCAA history), and his 1,752 passing yards in the past three weeks will go down as the best in NCAA history.
Too Optimistic: So far this season, the Florida Gators haven’t had the best year imaginable. Although boasting an unimpressive 3-3 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play, the Gators are still hoping for a title.
“We still have a chance to go to the SEC championship,” cornerback Johnny Lamar said.
The optimistic attitude comes as a surprise to the rest of the NCAA, which has seen Florida drop to the .500 mark this late in the season for the first time since 1987. The Gators also saw themselves drop out of the Associated Press Top 25 and face a daunting challenge if they want to win the SEC.
Only once in the past eight years has a team made it to the SEC championship with two losses. That was in 1992, the inaugural year of the championship when the Gators made the game despite two losses. With a schedule that includes three top-10 teams in the next three games, most fans are wondering if the Gators will even make a bowl game.
The players, however, have blocked out the bad press and held a team meeting this week where they could “put something out on the table.”
Inches to go: Washington State suspended linebacker Will Derting after he was cited for driving under the influence. Derting, the Cougars’ leader in tackles, made a preliminary appearance Monday in the Whitman County District Court in Colfax, Wash. The linebacker faces a maximum penalty of one year in jail and up to a $5,000 fine … There were no changes in the AP Poll’s top six leading up to a weekend that features many high-powered matchups. Oklahoma continues to sit at the top following a 53-7 victory over Iowa State and is preparing for the Red River Shootout against No. 11 Texas. After No. 1 Miami, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Florida State and LSU round out the top five. Florida, Washington and Oregon all dropped out of the top 25 while Wisconsin, Virginia and Oregon State moved into the rankings. Michigan had the biggest drop, falling to No. 20 from No. 9 after a 30-27 loss to Iowa. The Hawkeyes made the biggest jump, moving up nine places. The Big Ten leads all conferences with seven teams in the poll, followed by four each for the SEC and the Big 12. The Big East and Pac-10 each has three teams and the ACC has two.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
