ESPNMAG.com - Hurricane Ken

How do you know when things are going great? When people try stirring up drama about who is your team's biggest reason for success. At Miami, it's gotten so good (or in this case, so silly) that there's actually been a backlash to the emergence of game-breaking tailback Willis McGahee and star QB Ken Dorsey has gotten caught in the undertow.

Too skinny? Too slow? How about a 31-1 record?
The local media has been tripping over each other to explain why McGahee is Heisman worthy -- and in that case, why Dorsey is not. They cry that Dorsey's too skinny, he doesn't always throw lasers, he doesn't run a 4.4. They pick at everything but the size of his ears. Somehow, they forget the guy is 4-0 against FSU and UF and 31-1 as a starter. Still, not since Custer has a guy with only one loss gotten so much abuse.

The debate has left Hurricane coaches shaking their heads. Sure, McGahee has been awesome, and yes, he is making a good run at Heisman consideration, but they say this is just the latest dig at Dorsey. "It seems like people expect him to come out and throw for 400 yards a game, and that's just not our offense," says Miami quarterbacks coach Dan Werner. "We don't throw it 40 or 50 times a game here."

Last season, Dorsey threw 26 TDs against only 10 picks while leading UM to the national title, yet critics still carped that he didn't have Dan Marino's arm strength or that his 6'5", 188-pound frame looked frail and he was the product of great skill talent and a sensational O-line that surrendered just four sacks the whole year. One "expert," while doing a positional breakdown before last year's game against Washington, actually gave Cody Pickett an edge over Dorsey, even though the Husky QB had never seen an atmosphere like the Orange Bowl. The outcome? A 65-7 Miami rout, where Pickett got picked five times. Maybe three years from now Pickett will be the better QB, but as Werner points out, right now Dorsey is the consummate quarterback. "People say Ken is a product of our system, but the truth is, our system is a product of Ken Dorsey," he says.

Miami's scheme relies on Dorsey's deft touch. He throws fades and corner routes -- not so many deep outs like his buddy Byron Leftwich throws at Marshall. The UM system also leans on his savvy and quick release in working the underneath routes and the curls.

Even though his 1,044 yards is down almost 400 from his total through UM's first five games last season, NFL scouts say Dorsey is much sharper this year. "His footwork is so much better now," says the scout. "He's stepping into his throws now, and because of that, he is getting more zip on the ball. He also has improved his ball-faking skills for their play-action game, and with the way they've been running it, that's huge."

Unfortunately for Dorsey, maybe the only way he'll be appreciated around south Florida is next year when he's gone and Derrick Crudup or Brock Berlin have to go into Tallahassee. Werner says he hopes it doesn't have to come to that. "Hopefully," he says, "people will realize it if we win another national title."

QB TALK

Speaking of QBs who don't play like Jeff George (that's a good thing), Phillip Rivers deserves a shout. The NC State slinger, who seems to bring it from more angles than El Duque, is off to a great start for the Pack and leads the nation in passing efficiency. Noted QB guru Norm Chow, now at USC, said leaving behind Rivers was the toughest part of exiting Raleigh two years ago, but that hasn't stopped the Alabama native from developing. "This is a guy who gets better every year," says State coach Chuck Amato. "And he's still just a 20-year-old junior. This year, Phillip's decision-making is much better and he keeps his eyes downfield more than he's ever done before." Maybe that explains why Rivers is averaging 10.6 yards per attempt, by far the most of any guy who's completed over 25 passes.

Brad Smith's 391 total yards against mighty Oklahoma are impressive, but the numbers don't tell the story of just how dynamic Missouri's freshman QB really is. Just ask Sooner DB Matt McCoy. "We knew he was good," said McCoy. "We'd seen the tapes. But that good? After a while, everyone on defense was like, 'What do you do?'"

Sometimes in college, stars are born in defeat (see Michael Vick against FSU in the Sugar Bowl or Charles Rogers against Notre Dame a few weeks ago.). Smith made Oklahoma's defense look like the Kansas Jayhawks. "He runs with so much control," says one rival coach. "He just looks like he's gliding by people, not sprinting by them. It's hard to tell how fast a guy really is till you play him. Well, now I don't need to play him to know because I saw the film of the OU game. He made the Sooners look slow. I might try and force him to work downfield, but I think that's what OU wanted and look what he did to them. He took chunks of yards." Who knows, Smith might even be good enough to end the Tigers' 23-game losing streak against Nebraska.

Lost in all the hype surrounding Jason Gesser and the rise of Kyle Boller and Cody Pickett has been the resurgence of Cory Paus. The embattled UCLA QB, whose off-the-field problems have been well-documented, has helped silence the dogs on the Bob Toledo hunt. Against Oregon State last week, Paus connected with nine different receivers while throwing for a career-best 378 yards. He also flashed some nimble feet and didn't take a sack or throw any picks.

Now Paus and scrappy little tailback Tyler Ebell (a redshirt freshman who ran for 203 yards vs. the Beavers) get to face a very underrated D against Oregon. The matchup is very intriguing since Ebell, a former national record-setting back, has been a revelation for the Bruins. Against the Ducks, UCLA will face the nation's No. 5 run defense, a unit that has allowed just 2.4 rushing yards per carry. And it's a group that has gotten even tougher in the last week with the move of all-world DT recruit Haloti Ngata into the starting lineup. By adding the 6'4", 333-pound freshman at RDT, Oregon was able to shift another agile giant -- 6'6", 303-pound sophomore DT Igor Olshansky to RDE. It all meant bad news for Arizona, who rushed for only 33 yards. But beware Ducks, the Bruin offense is a much tougher test now.

Eddie Jackson, Washington's touted JC import, has only 10 receptions, but Rick Neuheisel is hoping the 6'4", 220-pounder comes up with his biggest catch this Christmas by landing blue-chip tailback Brandon Jacobs, who could be the perfect fix for the nation's 102nd-ranked rushing offense. The 6'4", 255-pound Jacobs is the freak of all freaks and tearing up defenses for Coffeyville CC in Kansas this season. Last weekend against Highland, Jacobs had 18 carries for 222 yards ... in the first half.

Jackson played with Jacobs at Coffeyville and the two talk several times a week. "I guess he's been running his mouth a little about me to Coach Neuheisel," says Jacobs, who now has U-Dub in his top five along with Nebraska, LSU, TCU and Auburn, the school he committed to after leading the state of Louisiana in rushing in 2000 with over 3000 yards.

Jacobs says he still likes Auburn, and is not worried there wouldn't be room for him at Cadillac Williams' school. "To me, competition like that will only make both of us better," Jacobs says. "Besides we'd make a great one-two punch."

Oh, and don't give any thought that Jacobs might move to fullback or tight end or any other place. "I am a born tailback," says Jacobs, who ran a mind-boggling 4.42 40 this summer at Coffeyville's timing day.

Coffeyville coach Jeff Leiker, who had Corey Dillon when he was at Garden City says Jacobs is similar to the Bengals great. "They're both fast and very physical, and Brandon is much bigger, but I don't want to put that kind of pressure on him," says Leiker. "I guess only time will tell."

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.