McNown Comparison Downplayed

UCLA Coach Bob Toledo was in a charitable mood Sunday when he favorably compared Wisconsin quarterback Mike Samuel to the Bruins’ Cade McNown.

Samuel’s main function in Wisconsin’s ball-control offense is to provide smooth handoffs to All-American tailback Ron Dayne. Samuel threw only 155 passes this season, completing 81 for 1,021 yards and six touchdowns, and rushed for 317 yards and 10 touchdowns. McNown completed 188 of 323 passes for 23 touchdowns--one touchdown pass fewer than Samuel threw in four years--and gained 167 rushing yards with three touchdowns.

“They play the same position, they both take the snap from center and they both won 10 games. I don’t see much else similar,” Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said. “[Toledo] was being real nice.”

Samuel regards McNown with a mixture of admiration and envy.

“He’s a great quarterback, one of the best in the country, and he does a lot of great things,” said Samuel, a fifth-year senior from Philadelphia. “I know what I can do and I know I’m never going to be a Cade McNown. I just try to help the team any way I can.”

Samuel’s statistics pale beside McNown’s, but Samuel has put up other key numbers. “You measure a quarterback by how many wins he gets you, and he’s taken us to three straight bowl games,” Alvarez said. “Sometimes he’s not the most orthodox quarterback in the world but he’s productive.”

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Dayne hasn’t been allowed contact in drills, protection for a muscle that pulled away from his collarbone in Wisconsin’s regular-season finale. The injury won’t prevent Dayne from playing Friday.

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Alvarez said he agreed in principle to a contract extension with Pat Richter, Wisconsin’s director of athletics, but the school’s athletic board must approve the deal. Alvarez is sure to be rewarded for achievements that include leading the Badgers to five bowl appearances, one short of the total appearances before his arrival.

However, he sees his job as unfinished. “We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve made great strides,” he said. “We built the program from scratch. We didn’t have many players and the facilities weren’t up to snuff. Right now, we’re a very competitive program and we can play with anybody in the country, but I want to take it to another level.”