Say what you want about Case Keenum 's gaudy numbers against C-USA competition; he's the real deal and the real No. 2 quarterback behind Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL draft.
If you need further proof of this, Keenum's 532 passing yards in a 30-14 victory over Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl today should quiet your concerns.
During the regular season, Keenum put up 5,099 passing yards with 45 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Those kinds of numbers are typically relegated to the realm of video game play.
However, the argument could easily be made that those numbers are only so incredible because he was playing against inferior Conference USA opponents. After all, his lowest completion percentage came against Southern Miss in the conference title game, against arguably the only team with a real defense Houston had faced all year.
His out-of-conference slate consisted of UCLA, North Texas, Louisiana Tech and Georgia State, so he wasn't exactly challenged in any of those contests either.
Meanwhile, Penn State may have a multitude of issues that have plagued their season, but defensive performance wasn't really one of them.
The Nittany Lions ranked 10th in the nation in total defense and fourth in the nation in passing defense . There's no question that this is the best defense Houston had faced all year and is one of the best defenses in the entire nation.
I had argued many times leading up to the game that Keenum and the vaunted Houston offense would hit a brick wall against Penn State and would fare even worse than they did in the the conference championship game.
I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
In just the first quarter of the TicketCity Bowl, Keenum threw for over 200 yards and led Houston to a 17-0 lead. By halftime, Keenum had 380 passing yards with three touchdowns.
Put that into context again.
Most quarterbacks are lucky to put up 380 yards in a full game against modest defensive competition. Keenum did that in one half and against the fourth rated pass defense in the nation to boot.
On the day, Keenum ended up with astronomical numbers. He completed 45-of-69 for 532 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
In the biggest game of the season, against the best defense he faced all year, Case put up some of his best numbers. Any questions?
Nobody with any knowledge of the game is going to argue that Andrew Luck isn't a good quarterback. He's made a fantastic case over his career at Stanford.
The chances are, he will still be the first quarterback picked in the NFL draft in April, and will likely be the first overall pick.
However, Case Keenum has made his case too. Time and again this season, he has demonstrated a tremendous ability to throw the ball accurately, to protect against interceptions and to lead his team to new heights.
Who should be the No. 2 quarterback drafted this April? Case Keenum - Houston Robert Griffin I - Baylor Kellen Moore - Boise State Brandon Weeden - Oklahoma State Other (please explain in comments) Total votes: 96Whatever doubts there may have been in regards to his ability to perform against solid defenses has been answered. He can play at any level.
Certainly, there are other great quarterbacks entering the draft as well. Baylor's Robert Griffin I will toss his number in the lot and will undoubtedly come out with a good place in the draft selection. Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden and Boise State's Kellen Moore should all receive paychecks from the NFL next season.
However, it's hard to argue the numbers. It's tough to argue against 5,631 yards, 48 touchdowns and only five interceptions. It's hard to argue that he doesn't have enough arm or isn't accurate enough.
Keenum showed his moxy, standing in the pocket and delivering strike after strike.
Talk about Conference USA all you want. Talk about how weak the regular season schedule was.
Case Keenum had an opportunity to prove he belonged with the "big boys," and he answered with numbers that show he might be the biggest boy of them all.
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