Kellen Moore's career wins record* is going to stand for a long, long time. This much we can all agree on, especially since it's Christmas and we are all best friends. Only Texas' Colt McCoy (45) and Georgia's David Greene (42) have come close, and Greene finished an entire respectable season short**. Both also got to play in conference championship games, unlike Moore.
Kellen Moore Exits: Will We Ever See Another 50-Game Winner?
But will it last for 100 years, as Moore’s final downed counterpart speculates?
If we assume the sport sticks to 12- to 14-game seasons, then it does seem all but impossible. Only four-year starters can make runs at the record, and most programs with starting freshman quarterbacks aren’t in any position to win double-digit games -- take a look at the teams that started freshmen this year.
But who’s convinced college football will forever stick with 12-game regular seasons? Won’t 32-team mega-conferences require either extended seasons to even seem like conferences or their own mini-playoffs just to decide champions? And once the inevitable plus-one game becomes a multi-round playoff ...
Look at FCS tournament finalists Sam Houston State and North Dakota State, who’ll soon play the 15th game of their respective seasons. Just as with NFL records, extended schedules will threaten older records.
And here’s the thing. Even if we tack a four-round playoff onto a 12-game regular season, a 50-game winner would still be hard to fathom. Averaging 12.5 wins per year means pulling off combinations like four unbeaten regular seasons and two playoff wins, a perfect 16-0 year plus 34 wins in three years, or four playoff wins to complement only two career regular season losses.
And staying healthy. And not leaving for the NFL Draft despite never losing at football. And having lots of really good teammates. And having a brilliant coach who doesn’t like money all that much.
With most sports records, we get to peer ahead and see who could make a late career run. Maybe Tony Gonzalez can play until he’s 44 and pass Jerry Rice. Alex Rodriguez can still catch Barry Bonds. But that can’t happen here. Everyone with a chance has already lost and is thus already not Kellen Moore.
* One Bronco Nation Under God points out this is a senior class achievement, not just Moore's.
** Yes yes yes, the SEC and Big 12 are tougher than Boise State’s competition. But if winning 50 games against WAC and Mountain West competition by using WAC and Mountain West talent is so easy, shouldn’t the runners-up on the wins list be WAC and Mountain West quarterbacks?
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