Colt Brennan Blog

It’s a common criticism against Colt: he only racks-up his huge numbers because he plays in the lowly WAC.

Part of the argument is true: several teams in the WAC aren’t very good. In fact, they’re awful. And yes, if you play bad teams like Idaho and New Mexico State, you’ll likely rack up big numbers.

But when you examine the teams that Colt has played and aren’t in the WAC, we actually find Colt’s numbers are still excellent:

ARIZONA STATE:
33/42, 79%, 559 Yards, 5 TD, 1 INT, 224.9

OREGON STATE:
37/50, 74%, 401 Yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 146.57

PURDUE:
33/48, 69%, 434 Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 161.16

UNLV:
24/35, 68%, 296 Yards, 2TD, 2INT, 147.04 rating

ALABAMA:
30/44, 68%, 350 Yards, 2TD, 1INT, 145.46 rating

Overall, in those 5 games, Colt averages:

• 408 yards a game
• 157/219 = 71.6% completion rate.
• 18 TDs, and 7 picks.

John David Booty is considered a Heisman candidate (#3 ranking — CFN; Colt is #2) for next year. Yet his numbers don’t even come close to Colt’s when using the Arizona State and Oregon State defenses for the comparison:

John David Booty in two games: 36/64, 56%, 554 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INT

Colt Brennan in two games: 70/92, 76%, 960 yards, 7 TDs, 3 INT.

I bring up Booty not to knock him down — he is clearly a great QB who’ll someday play in the NFL (and becoming a starter at USC is an achievement in itself) — but to point out that Colt stands his own against non-WAC opponents and, compared to USC’s starting QB, plays even better statistically.

Another example: Erik Ainge, #13 on CFN’s Heisman rankings, and someone who shared a common opponent in 2006.

Versus Alabama:

Ainge: 28-46, 302, 60.9%, 3 INTs, 102.97 rating

Colt: 30/44, 68%, 350 Yards, 2TD, 1INT, 145.46 rating

In other words, Colt of the WAC was 40% more efficient than Ainge in that game.

(To be fair, Tennessee won that game versus Alabama, 16-13, but that game ball probably went to the defense).