Keenum's Heisman Campaign Heats Up

If Central Florida's maligned pass defense is looking for motivation, well, here it is: The last time Case Keenum did not throw a touchdown pass was on Nov. 10, 2007, in a 56-7 defeat at Tulsa.

So it can be done.

Keenum's aerial show visits the Sunshine State on Saturday, when No. 12 Houston meets UCF in a key Conference USA showdown in Orlando. Better yet, it's also another great opportunity for Keenum, who has thrown for more than 1,000 yards in his past two games alone, to impress Heisman Trophy voters. That's if Keenum cares.

"I don't know what the Heisman voters are thinking," Keenum said.

"My goal right now is to beat UCF. My goal is not to win the Heisman or break records. Any individual award is a team award. If you're not being successful and winning games, those team accolades are not going to come your way."

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For the poor Knights, who were carved like a Thanksgiving turkey by another Heisman hopeful last week -- Texas quarterback Colt McCoy threw for 470 yards -- it might be a case of jumping out of the roasting pan into the fire.

The game pits Houston's strength (No. 1 in the nation in pass offense and scoring) against UCF's biggest weakness (No. 114 in the nation against the pass).

The Knights are surrendering 267.6 passing yards per game -- a mark that Keenum usually reaches, and surpasses, by the third quarter.

Keenum's on pace to break almost every Cougar passing and total offense record, and he's the runaway national passing leader while directing the Cougars to their best start (8-1) since 1990 and highest national ranking since 1991.

And remember, this is a program that produced Kevin Kolb, David Klingler and 1989 Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware.

"They have a very dynamic offense, but we feel like we're up for the challenge," UCF safety Derrick Hallman said. "It's a big opportunity and I can't really explain how excited I am to be facing a team that throws the ball 50 or 60 times a game."

Keenum's heroics last Saturday helped Houston avoid a major upset on the final play against Tulsa. Keenum led the offense to nine points in the final 21 seconds, and completed 40-of-60 passes for 522 yards and three touchdowns in the 46-45 victory.

It marked the third time -- and second in a row -- that Keenum led the Cougars on a last-minute scoring drive in the fourth quarter to win the game.

"His character -- he is the same on and off the field. A great leader and I know he will lead us to victory," senior receiver Tim Monroe said when asked to describe Keenum's best attributes.

"The past game he didn't show any feelings. He had it in his head and believed we were going to win that game. Now we are winning games, with his numbers, there shouldn't be any reason why he shouldn't win the Heisman Trophy this year."

Houston and Conference USA have begun trying to drum up publicity for Keenum in what has turned out to be a wide-open Heisman race.

In ESPN's weekly Heisman Watch, Keenum ranked second this week behind Alabama running back Mark Ingram, who has rushed for 1,148 yards this season, 719 coming against four ranked opponents.

Ingram had 144 yards on 22 carries, 16 in the second half, in the Tide's 24-15 home win over LSU last Saturday that clinched the SEC West.

Keenum was listed fourth behind Ingram, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and running back C.J. Spiller of Clemson in SI.com's weekly countdown.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is trying to become the only player other than Archie Griffin (Ohio State 1974 and 1975) to win two Heismans, while McCoy is trying to win his first in his final season.

Keenum, who is a one pass-at-a-time and one-game-at-a-time player, says he's more worried about the big picture than an invitation to the Nokia Theater Times Square, home to the Heisman presentation in New York City next month.

Don't worry that he has had at least 359 yards passing in every game but one, he's topped 500 yards three times and he's thrown at least three touchdowns in six games this season.

At this rate, he's on pace to throw for 5,087 yards (just under three miles) and 37 touchdowns.

Overall, Keenum has thrown at least one touchdown in 30 of 32 career games. If UCF is counting, the only other game, besides the Tulsa contest, that Keenum didn't throw a scoring pass was in a 56-48 win over Rice in October 2007.

Keenum cares more about wins than numbers.

"We have to be careful about patting ourselves on the back and getting a big head," said Keenum, who is averaging 434.44 yards of total offense per game, 423.89 of it passing.

"It's nothing if we don't win on Saturday. UCF is a tough football team, so we have our work cut out."

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin agrees, pointing to a UCF defense that actually ranks first in Conference USA in total defense and is one of the country's top units in delivering pressure.

"It means something to me, but they're also sixth in the country in sacks and total tackles per loss," Sumlin said in reference to UCF's struggling pass defense.

"Some people aren't getting the ball off, so there are some other issues too. If you can get it off, maybe those statistics mean something. They're one of the top teams in the country in pressuring the quarterback.

"That ought to tell you a little something about their philosophy. When you start looking at total defense and averaging out those numbers, they're still top in our league."