ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- If it were up to Tim Rattay -- and if you get a load of his statistics, it sure seems like it is -- he'd throw the ball all the time.
Instead, the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech and their bionic-armed quarterback have been talking this week about changing things up a little bit, about going to a more balanced offense, about, really, one thing: The Bulldogs may run a little bit Saturday against Texas A&M.
"I complain," Rattay said with just the hint of a laugh, "but they say we have to do it."
Two games into the 1998 college football season, Rattay sits atop the NCAA charts as the country's most prolific passer. But that's akin to saying Florida State's defense is fairly quick, or that Bill Clinton might be in a tad of trouble.
Rattay, a junior from Phoenix, Arizona, is not simply prolific. He is living a quarterback's dream. When he takes the snap from center this season, he drops back to pass more than 80 percent of the time.
That's why Rattay's stat sheet reads like a midseason report for many Division I quarterbacks:
If he keeps this up, he'll finish with 792 attempts, 6,684 yards, 42 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Of course, the problem is, if Rattay and Louisiana Tech keep this up, they'll also be 0-12.
Yes, the problem with the Bulldogs is they are 0-2 after their shootouts with Nebraska and Central Florida, and they're in danger of dropping another Saturday against No. 18 Texas A&M. So the running game may get more than the 16 carries a game its been averaging.
Make no mistake, though, Rattay still will throw -- a lot.
The Bulldogs often line up with three- and four-wideout sets, running an efficient passing offense that relies on short, timing patters. Rattay and his receivers read the defense on the snap and react accordingly.
Against the Cornhuskers, Rattay found a lot of success in hooking up with his receivers on 15-yard patterns, either breaking them inside or toward the sideline. The Nebraska safeties were playing back, and the Bulldogs took advantage of that for a whopping 590 passing yards.
Rattay's success seems pretty unlikely, coming from a player who didn't start at quarterback until his senior year in high school and who, at barely 6-foot-1 and maybe 190 pounds, is hardly the prototypical quarterback. He also readily admits he does not have the strongest arm in college football, though he does throw some 200 balls a day in practice.
Rattay's strength comes from hours of work watching tape -- the team's video chief will work him up copies, and Rattay will watch as many as 2 - 2 1/2 hours of tape a day, he says -- timing with his receivers, a solid knowledge of his offense and an ability to quickly scan and read the multiple defenses opponents use.
"I think I've seen every type of defense they can throw at you," Rattay said. "Every week, it's a different kind. Rolling the safeties, disguising their coverages, zone blitzes. That's one thing I get is a lot of reading."
Pro scouts like nothing better than a quarterback who's faced multiple defenses, but Rattay is not banking on a professional career. He's seen the quarterbacks the pros covet -- the Bulldogs lost last week to Central Florida and its NFL-bound quarterback, Daunte Culpepper -- and he knows he's not like them.
"[Culpepper] is such a big, strong guy. He looked super huge out there. He's just awesome," Rattay said. "I'm not going to blow you away. I throw on time. I can still get the deep comeback out there, but I try to use my mind. I'm not going to sit in the pocket and drill a post route in there super low.
"I see myself more like a Jake Plummer [the Arizona Cardinals' quarterback]. Just a playmaker. I want to be a guy who just makes plays."
Throwing the ball, of course.
Around the nation
EAST: Boston College scored more points in a season opener than the Eagles have in 41 years when they walloped Georgia Tech, 41-31. Senior running back Mike Cloud ran for 200 yards, the second 200-yard game of his career and ninth of 100 or more ... Syracuse lost its opener to Tennessee despite having the ball more than 11 minutes longer.
SOUTHEAST: Looking for another Heisman candidate? He's only a junior, but keep an eye on tailback Shaun Alexander of Alabama, who set a school record with five touchdowns last week in the Tide's win over BYU ... North Carolina State coach Mike O'Cain called Florida State coach Bobby Bowden this week, clarifying remarks he made about fears the Seminoles were out to injure a Wolfpack receiver Saturday. A Florida paper ran a headline -- "N.C. State coach Mike O'Cain fears the Seminoles plan to injure receiver Torry Holt" -- which O'Cain called a "lie." Bowden, tossing aside the matter, said the call was unnecessary.
MIDWEST: First-year Louisville coach John L. Smith has apologized for his postgame comments after the Cardinals lost to Kentucky 68-34. He said his team looked like "a bunch of girls." They gave up 801 yards to Tim Couch & Co. ... The Mid-American Conference is crowing after Miami University upended North Carolina last week. This week, Toledo takes on No. 1 Ohio State. It's the first time the two in-state rivals have met. The Rockets are guaranteed $350,000 in the mismatch.
WEST: Arizona State was taken advantage of by Washington's shotgun and some five-receiver sets last week. This week, they have a traditional pass-happy team, BYU, a team that beat the Sun Devils last season ... Texas defensive end Aaron Humphrey, quoted in a Texas paper, concerning UCLA quarterback Cade McNown: "Cade is a dead man." The Bruins beat Texas last year 66-3 ... San Diego State has lost 23 non-confernce road games. This week, the Aztecs face Southern California in a homecoming game for SDSU coach Ted Tollner, who was fired by the Trojans after the 1986 season ... Oregon State's riding high after its big win over Nevada, and they could go 2-0 for the first time in 13 years with a win over Baylor. But the Beavers have four of their next five on the road -- including at USC, at Arizona State and at Washington.
OTHERS : Notre Dame has won 17 of the last 20 meetings with Michigan State, but they lost last season. Still, it's been more than 30 years (1962-63) since the Spartans posted consecutive victories in this series ... Central Florida quarterback Daunte Culpepper is doing what Heisman candidates are supposed to do: Eat up lesser competition. The Knights put up 64 points on Louisiana Tech last week -- Culpepper had four TD passes -- and have I-AA Eastern Illinois this weekend. UCF hasn't lost to a I-AA team since making the leap themselves in 1996.
Around College Football appears every Friday on CNNSI.com.
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