Photo: Julio Aguilar
Brady Quinn: "We should be upset about the fact that the NCAA is allowing a career record for touchdown passes to count for Cam Ward. Cam Ward played 5 years, 2 of which were at Incarnate Word, an FCS school. So is it really comparable to compare Case Keenum, who at least played at the FBS level for 4 years and 3 games, to 5 years of playing, because that first year at Incarnate Word was a COVID year, so all those stats count. Kudos to Cam Ward for the success that he's had. But what's starting to bother me a lot about everything that's happened in the college football space is that we talk about the history, we talk about tradition. You know what we do an awful job of? Protecting that history and that tradition. The legacy of guys like Barry Sanders, who set his record in 11 games. Ashton Jeanty is incredible, but let's not compare him to Barry Sanders. As much as we want to talk about these records being a part of Ashton Jeanty's legacy or Cam Ward's legacy, that's true. But what are we doing to protect the legacy of the guys who came before them? It's not even comparable. What Barry Sanders did in 11 games versus what Ashton Jeanty is still doing, we're still counting his stats, it isn't fair. It's not fair to the past players who only had 4 years of eligibility to do it. Now you've got guys who have stats that are counting for 5, 6 years, because of COVID, because of red-shirt years, medical red-shirt years that they're counting. If you really want to dig in with what the issue should be with this conversation on Cam Ward is, the fact that he was playing in the first half at all to try and break this career touchdown record is part of the issue with the NCAA. We keep changing and moving the goalposts with what these records are. That's the most ridiculous part about all of this that no one is talking about. Yeah, it's awesome that Cam Ward is able to throw all these touchdown passes. But in reality, he didn't do it on a per game basis the way Case Keenum did. He didn't do it consistently at a higher level, like at Houston during the time Keenum did. So you can give Cam Ward the record. I think there will be an asterisk next to it."
Jonas Knox and Brady Quinn, in for Dan Patrick, react to Miami QB Cam Ward breaking the NCAA record for career TD passes by playing in the first half of the Pop-Tart Bowl against Iowa State. The guys explain why the real controversy of the game is not Ward choosing to only play the first half, but rather the NCAA's acknowledgment of Ward's FCS stats when considering him the new record holder for career TD passes in college football history, giving him incentive to even play in the bowl game in the first place. Brady rips the NCAA for neglecting to protect the records of incredible seasons and careers of the past, as recent history has given players more possibility than ever before to have more years of eligibility, inflating their numbers and erasing records that were set with tighter parameters on games played.