Monday, December 16, 2002
Marshall and Louisville are each expected to put up big offensive numbers.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- Byron Leftwich and Dave Ragone walked among old war planes at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park on Sunday.
The quarterbacks are expected to put on their own air show Wednesday night when Marshall (10-2) and Louisville (7-5) meet in the GMAC Bowl.
With apologies to the Orange Bowl, which will feature Heisman winner Carson Palmer of Southern California and runner-up Brad Banks of Iowa, coaches for Marshall and Louisville believe the GMAC may have the top matchup of pro prospects.
"The two best quarterbacks in the country are probably in that game," Marshall coach Bob Pruett said.
"Without a doubt, these two kids, from all the NFL guys that come through, they're 1-2," said Louisville's John L. Smith. "Where their stock ends up has yet to be determined, but they're as good as there is in the country."
More of the same
It's the continuation of a tradition for two schools that have produced top quarterbacks.
Chad Pennington led Marshall to a 48-29 win in the 1998 Motor City Bowl over a Louisville team led by Chris Redman. Both hold school career passing marks that neither Leftwich nor Ragone have been able to match.
Pennington now starts for the New York Jets, and Redman started for the Baltimore Ravens this season before getting injured.
"It's funny looking back when Chris threw for all the yards that he did, and everybody said, 'What are you going to do now that he's gone?"' Smith said Sunday. "I said, 'Hey, wait until you see the next guy."'
Even though Ragone is left-handed and more mobile than Leftwich, the careers of the two quarterbacks are closely matched and they've each endured an inconsistent season.
Ragone and Leftwich were their conference's top offensive threats, combining for 6,706 yards and 49 touchdowns this season.
Both have 27 career wins as starters -- Ragone's is a school record -- and both were finalists for the Unitas Award, given to the nation's top quarterback.
Inconsistent seasons
Ragone was the Conference USA offensive player of the year for the third straight season. Leftwich is the two-time Mid-American Conference player of the year.
Several losses by their teams and an injury to Leftwich took the quarterbacks out of serious consideration for the Heisman Trophy. Leftwich finished sixth in the voting. Ragone lost his top two receivers and most of his offensive line from a year ago, and his statistics weren't as impressive as those of his previous two seasons.
A strange year has included a bitter loss at home to Kentucky and a loss at Houston in the regular season finale, and a home win over then-No. 4 Florida State in a driving rain.
"All in all, it's not what we thought it would be, but that's why we're not fortune tellers," Ragone said. "It's been the weirdest season I've ever experienced."
Still, he threw for 2,687 yards and 23 touchdowns, and his running at times has given defenses fits. He gained 521 yards this season, including a 41-yarder, but he was tackled for 304 yards in losses.
"Ragone is a really good player and I think he will prove out to be a great player," Pruett said.
Pruett believes that Leftwich will be the first quarterback taken in next April's NFL draft, but that has come into question lately because of his health.
Leftwich hurt his shin on Nov. 2 and missed one game. His mobility is still severely limited, but he still threw for 4,019 yards for the second straight year.