BTI's Rants and Ramblings: 2-QB System Not Common Amongst BCS Schools

Obviously the big news of the week coming into Saturday’s game against South Carolina will be the quarterback position and if Mark Stoops will land on just 1 QB for the rest of the year.  Certainly there have been large hints that is the way he wants to go.  But at this point, we really haven’t seen too much separation between Max Smith and Jalen Whitlow.  Which has been the issue all along.  Neither of these guys has stepped up and taken the reins and control of this job.  It seems the defense has been holding it’s own outside of the WKU game.  But the offense has just been less than stellar all year.

A bigger concern is if neither guy steps up and becomes the #1 QB, will Kentucky be forced to continue bouncing back and forth.  I did a quick search through BCS teams to find which schools have been using a 2-QB system so far this year.  I found 8 teams in BCS conferences currently doing this.  Take note: this does not include schools forced to use a 2nd QB because of injury and teams must have been using the 2 QB system CONSISTENTLY for the entire year.  Take a look at those 8 teams that meet the criteria and who those teams have beaten this season.

INDIANA (2-2)
Wins over Indiana State and Bowling Green

MICHIGAN STATE (3-1)
Wins over Western Michigan, South Florida, and Youngstown State

MISSISSIPPI STATE (2-2) *playing 2 QB’s now after starter Tyler Russell went down with injury in 1st game
Wins over Alcorn State and Troy

NORTHWESTERN (4-0)
Wins over California, Syracuse, Western Michigan and Maine

SOUTH FLORIDA (0-4)
No wins

SYRACUSE (2-2)
Wins over Wagner and Tulane

TEXAS (2-2)
Wins over New Mexico State and Kansas State

WEST VIRGINIA (3-2)
Wins over William & Mary, Georgia State, and Oklahoma State

These 8 teams have combined for a 18-15 record.  Certainly nothing to shake a fist at.  But, when examining how these 8 teams got to 18-15 is where you have to be concerned.  Northwestern is the only team ranked using a 2-QB system.  And of the 18 wins total, only THREE have come against BCS opponents, while SIX have come against 1-AA foes.  And 2 of those 3 BCS wins have been by that ranked Northwestern squad.

Going even further, of those 18 wins, only 1 was over a ranked team (WVU over Oklahoma State) and only 1 has been a road victory (Northwestern over California).  Meaning when the feet are placed to the fire, these teams using a 2-QB system have not seen much success at all over quality opponents or on the road.

Point being, for better or worse, a choice needs to be made.  And it looks like Stoops and Brown are going to do that eventually.  The experiment with both guys playing significant time was a worthwhile one.  It seemed to be the best option at the time, but it’s just not working.  It hasn’t worked in general for most college football teams in the past, and as you see above, it’s barely working for college teams trying it this season.  Who knows if the offense can actually improve with just 1 guy playing?  But I know it can’t get much worse.