Cade McNown may be the best quarterback in UCLA's history.

Senior quarterback has done it all at UCLA.

December 11, 1998

By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Above all else, quarterback Cade McNown has been a leader and winner at UCLA.

Ironically, those qualities were most apparent in a Heisman Trophy-type performance during a rare loss that cost the Bruins a shot at the national championship.

A senior who has started 42 straight games at UCLA with the Rose Bowl game against Wisconsin remaining, McNown guided the Bruins to a school-record 20 straight victories before a numbing 49-45 loss at Miami last weekend.

With so much riding on the outcome, McNown was at his absolute best, completing 26-of-35 passes for a school-record 513 yards and five touchdowns.

He also ran for a TD, but it wasn't enough because of the Bruins' two costly fourth-quarter fumbles and a sieve-like UCLA defense.

It took a few days, but McNown declared earlier this week he had put the defeat behind him, certainly no easy task considering the fact that he spoke all season about having one goal above all others - competing for the national championship.

"I've moved on," he said. "For that first day or two, you think about what could have been. But you can't go any longer because once the past starts affecting the future, you've got to change your mind-set.

"The season is not a disappointment, the loss is a disappointment. I think what happens in this Rose Bowl and how we respond to that will really dictate what kind of a season it will be."

Those remarks are typical of McNown, who has left coach Bob Toledo speechless on several occasions with the explanation that there's nothing more the coach can say about his quarterback except he's sorry to have to see him go.

The Miami game turned on fumbles by UCLA wide receivers Brian Poli-Dixon and Brad Melsby in Hurricane territory after they caught passes from McNown for long gains. On both occasions, the UCLA defense couldn't stop Miami from scoring.

Realistically, McNown couldn't have done much more. It was certainly the best performance ever by a UCLA quarterback.

It came after McNown was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, but probably too late to influence the voters, most of whom already had sent in their ballots.

The Heisman will be presented Saturday in New York, and Texas star Ricky Williams, who became the leading rusher in NCAA history last month, is considered the front-runner for college football's most prestigious award.

"I'm just going to enjoy it," McNown said of the ceremony. "You'd really like to win, but it's for others to decide. I'm not expecting anything. I'll be happy one way or the other. I'm looking forward to meeting the other players. It'll be a memorable experience."

McNown has shattered just about every single-season and career passing record at UCLA, throwing for 10,368 yards and 66 touchdowns, including a school-record 3,130 yards and 23 TDs this year with one game remaining.

With McNown at the controls, the Bruins averaged 40 1/2 points - fifth-most in the nation. And they did it against one of the country's toughest schedules.

He has done enough to impress Gary Beban, who won the Heisman Trophy 31 years ago - the only UCLA player ever to do so.

"This is a year in which there were some athletes with outstanding Heisman Trophy credentials, Cade is certainly one of them," Beban said. "He's the finest quarterback to play the position at UCLA. His team's won-lost record is support for that as well as his individual statistics.

"Cade performed, 20 (wins) in a row, never losing to USC, which may be the best accolade of all."

Kenny Washington, Bob Waterfield, Beban, Tom Ramsey and current Dallas Cowboys star Troy Aikman, who finished third in the 1988 Heisman Trophy balloting, are among the past standout quarterbacks at UCLA.

Toledo agreed wholeheartedly with Beban concerning McNown's status as No. 1 of all time.

"All you have to do is go back over the statistics, all the things he has done at UCLA," the coach said. "Gary was a great one, but this guy is the best to play that position at UCLA, ever."

Because of his size (6-foot-1) and a perceived lack of arm strength, some have wondered about McNown's future in the NFL.

McNown has repeatedly expressed confidence he can do the job, and Toledo agrees.

"Some NFL team's going to take a chance on him," Toledo said. "Once they get him, they're going to realize how fortunate they are.

"Cade's got a lot of intangibles, he's got a huge heart."

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