For the past eight years, Louisiana Tech has become one of the premier passing teams in the country.
From Tim Rattay (now with the San Francisco 49ers) to Luke McCown, the Bulldogs have put up more yards through the air than any other school in Division I-A since 1996.
In his fourth year as the starting quarterback of Louisiana Tech, McCown ranks fifth in the NCAA record books with 11,909 career passing yards and still has four games to go.
As a sophomore, McCown led the Bulldogs to a Western Athletic Conference championship in only their first year as a member.
LSU coach Nick Saban is impressed with McCown’s abilities and said the Tigers will have to remain disciplined in their defensive approach Saturday night.
“He can move. He can scramble,” Saban said. “He keeps his eyes downfield and makes a lot of plays. He’s very smart and intelligent. He’s got arm strength, and he’s got touch.”
Saban said compared to the other quarterbacks LSU has faced this season, only Georgia quarterback David Greene is in the same ballpark.
McCown said he thinks his athleticism and his ability to make throws on the run is what makes him such an effective quarterback. And he said the pass-happy offense the Bulldogs run allows him to display those abilities.
“I love it,” McCown said about playing in a passing offense. “It gives me the chance to showcase my talents. It’s all fun out there. It’s like backyard football.”
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior was a top recruit out of Jacksonville, Texas and said the Bulldogs’ style of offense is what made him choose to attend Tech instead of Oklahoma and Texas A&M, the school where his older brother played quarterback.
Although he has made his mark on the NCAA record books, McCown has seen his ups and downs during his tenure as the Bulldogs’ signal caller.
After two incredible seasons as a freshman and sophomore, McCown entered his junior season as the preseason WAC Offensive Player of the Year. But he did not live up to those expectations as he finished his junior campaign with 19 interceptions. And a year after leading Tech to the WAC championship, McCown and the Bulldogs faltered to a 4-8 season.
“I don’t think I felt any pressure at all,” McCown said. “The burden of pressure is what you put on yourself. The ball just didn’t bounce my way a couple times last year. That’s just the way it went.”
Hanging from his locker is a sign reading, “19,” signifying the amount of interceptions he threw a year ago. Underneath it is a note that states, “Turnovers Cost Games.”
“I think he’s a good quarterback,” said LSU safety Jack Hunt. “I think sometimes he just makes bad decisions, almost like [former LSU quarterback] Josh Booty. You know Josh is really good, just every now and then he would make some bone-head decisions, and I think that is what gets Luke in trouble.”
Hunt said he wouldn’t mind if McCown makes a few bad decisions in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.
“And I wouldn’t mind if I were on the receiving end of one or two,” Hunt continued.
After eight games this year, McCown seems to be back in his sophomore form by throwing for 2,489 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and he ranks ninth in the country with 307.8 yards of total offense per game.
McCown said he expects LSU to bring pressure on him, forcing him to make quick decisions.
“They’ll bring the blitz and try and get us into third-and-long situations,” McCown said. “They want to get us off the field and make us punt.”
McCown said he is well aware of the loud reputation of Tiger Stadium, but to him, it is just another great experience in his fun college career.
“Obviously it’s going to be loud,” he said. “But to me, it’s just like a fun vacation. Only a handful of people actually get to go and see it, and I get to play in it.
“I’ve played in a lot of places. How many people can say they’ve played in the Orange Bowl (against Miami), Kyle Field (against Texas A&M), Happy Valley (against Penn State), Kansas State, Clemson and Auburn?”
McCown will add Tiger Stadium to the mix Saturday night as he continues to rewrite the NCAA record books and establish a legacy in the pass-happy offense of Louisiana Tech football.