here some remarkable similarities between both ken dorsey and matt leinart i realized today. i'm sure you'll love them. first of all, both were named the starter before their sophomore seasons. both wore #11 throughout their career. they both had early losses to ranked teams on the road. both were very close games. dorsey and miami lost to washington 34-29. leinart and USC lost to cal in triple-overtime. however, both QB's avenged these losses at home the following year. both had big BCS controversies their sophomore seasons. for dorsey, miami was ranked 3rd in the country with a 11-1 record, behind 2nd ranked florida state who miami had beat earlier in the season. this lead to their exclusion from the BCS championship game. leinart's USC team was #1 in both polls with their 11-1 record, but the BCS recognized them as the 3rd ranked team behind LSU and oklahoma. both teams won their respective BCS games convincingly. unfortunately for dorsey and miami, they didn't get a split-championship. their junior years, lots of similarites happened. for one, both went undefeated. both teams finished #1 in both polls and the BCS leading into the championship game. both teams won their games convincingly. miami was beating nebraska 34-0 at the half while USC lead oklahoma 38-10 at the break. the both beat teams lead by heisman-winning quarterbacks (nebraska - crouch; oklahoma - white). both were named MVP of their games. just like the year before, there was some BCS controversy. did nebraska deserve to play against miami after not even winning their conference, instead of pac-10 champions oregon? did oklahoma deserve to play in the orange bowl over fellow unbeaten auburn? both of the "left-out" teams won their bowl games. both were also heisman finalists their junior season. leinart actually won though. as seniors, both had a lot of pressure on them to defend their championships. they were labeled invincible and despite some close wins, they still managed to win every game in the regular season. both set records for consecutive weeks ranked #1 in both polls (USC beat miami's streak, actually). they were both heisman finalists, again. both were accompanied to new york by their star runningback; dorsey with willis mcgahee and leinart with reggie bush (twice). both also finished last of their finalists. a trojan won both years. lots of similarities here...both were huge favorites in their BCS championship games. miami was favored by TWO touchdowns over ohio state, and USC favored by one over texas. both had 34-game win streaks going into the game. dorsey had 38 career wins; leinart had 37. both teams were loaded with talent and ESPN and other talking heads debated if they were the greatest team of all time going into the game. both games were very close--arguably the two best games in college football history--and both QB's made bad decisions leading to interceptions in the first half. both's fellow heisman-finalist runningbacks proved to be ineffective, and neither were in the game late (mcgahee obviously for a different reason). both games were decided on huge game-changing plays. miami had a controversial pass-interference on them in the end zone, that had it not been called, would've been the end of the game (USC also had the controsversial call with young's knee being down). USC, on 4th and 1, ran lendale white up the middle for no gain, which would have effectively run out the clock and won the game. instead, ohio state got a 2nd chance to score a TD, and the game ended on a ken dorsey pass. vince young got the ball for texas and they scored their TD, and the game ended with leinart throwing the ball to the sidelines. both finished their storied careers failing to defend a championship to teams they were heavily favored over. dorsey's career record: 38-2. leinart's: 37-2. both 34-game win streaks were snapped. after that, there really isn't much they have in common. some people criticized san francisco for taking dorsey in the SEVENTH ROUND, while arizona got a steal by taking leinart 10th overall. however, both have been criticized for not having strong arms. but.... when dorsey went to san francisco, fellow backup QB brandon doman was wearing #11, so dorsey had to switch to #7. when leinart was drafted by arizona, WR larry fitzgerald was wearing #11, so leinart had to switch to....yes, #7. and both are from california. by the way, i don't think their two careers will mirror each other at all. i think leinarta is a MUCH better pro prospect, but it really is fascinating how closely their college careers are to each other.
