POST-GAME STORY
By Danny Reagan
SAN ANTONIO - As the first half of the Alamo Bowl wound down Saturday night, Burnt Orange Nation finally grasped that Colt McCoy had indeed recovered from the infamous pinched nerve.
In a matter of those few minutes, McCoy delivered a 7-of-10 performance for 86 yards which not only gave renewed vigor to the sea of orange filling the Alamodome, it proved that the former Jim Ned standout had all the nerves (of steel) to make the University of Texas fans forget the last six weeks' worth of two losses and mounting doubt.
McCoy's performance in Texas' come-from-behind, 26-24 victory over Iowa proved he no longer has a pain in the neck, but rather - as a press box colleague mentioned - WAS a pain in the neck for the Hawkeyes.
Later in the interview room, McCoy waited for the first "nerve" question.
"No sir!" That's all he said when someone asked him if his pinched nerve bothered him at all during the game. Earlier in the week, the redshirt freshman told the press he was getting a little tired of talking about that nerve all the time.
The topic didn't come up much after that, thanks mostly to his stellar performance on the field. McCoy, who was voted Most Outstanding Offensive player of the game by the press corps, finished the night 26-of-40 for 308 yards and two TDs. His longest pass, a 72-yard scoring strike to Jamaal Charles, tied the NCAA record of 29 TD passes for a freshman quarterback.
"I wasn't scared to get hit," McCoy added, just to make sure everyone understood. "I put the injury behind me and didn't think about it."
He was busy enough thinking about the hits he was taking "post-nerve." McCoy was knocked down time after time throughout the game, winding up on his backside numerous times. A busted lip and several scrapes on his arms and elbows proved he will remember this Alamo for a while.
"You tell me," McCoy said when someone tried to disguise a "nerve" question with a "rust" question. "I'm just glad to be back. I had my confidence back. Coach Brown talked about dedication and family, and I dedicated that game, and those three senior offensive linemen are like family to me. I can't say enought about them; I'll miss them so much. They're incredible!"
Earlier, the young quarterback said that coming into the season, all he wanted to do was win and earn the respect of the rest of the player.
McCoy has kept his head on straight throughout a season when many young men might "eat the cheese," as Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells refers to buying into the publicity and praise.
"It's not me," McCoy said when asked another praise-laden question. "It's the team. It's the blockers and the receivers getting open."
Minutes later, in the same interview room, UT head coach Mack Brown begged to differ and offered some "cheese" of his own.
"To step into the shoes of one of the greatest quarterbacks in college history and to give us the chance he did this year, it's amazing." said Brown, who also was impressed with McCoy's fight back from the injury and how quick he regained his poise.
"His leadership and his confidence, bringing the offense back the way he did, it was just incredible," said Brown.
As McCoy was being escorted out of the interview room, one plucky reporter broke protocol and garnered the glare of a burly "escortee" to ask one final question some fans in and around the Big Country might find interesting:
"Are you going to try to talk (brother) Chance into attending Texas?"
Colt and wide receiver Chance connected for dozens of TD passes during their time at Jim Ned together.
"He's already made up his mind," McCoy said smiling at the mention of his brother. "He's going to Abilene Christian. That's what he wants to do."
And that was all he was able to say on the subject before the aforementioned "escortee" spoke some pain-in-the-neckish words to the aforementioned pain-in-the-neck (or lower) reporter and scooted the pride of Tuscola out the door.
The nerve!