University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Official Athletic Site - Football
 McNown. (file photo) |
1998 Heisman Trophy Candidate
#18 Cade McNown
UCLA - The Bruin quarterback, one of three finalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, will enter his senior season as perhaps the No. 1 contender for the Heisman Trophy ... A year ago, he led the country in passing efficiency, finished eighth in the Heisman race, led UCLA to a 10-2 record and a No. 5 ranking and was named a third-team All-American by Associated Press and The Sporting News ... In just three seasons, he has already broken most of UCLA's career and season passing and total offense records ... McNown has 487 career completions to rank first on UCLA's career charts ... His 7,238 career passing yards rank number one in school history as do his 7,633 yards of total offense, breaking the marks of 441, 6,168 and 6,255, respectively, set by Tom Ramsey ... His 43 career touchdown passes place him second, trailing only Ramsey's 50 ... He has started 32 games, including 31 straight, and has played in 35 contests ... His 31 consecutive starts are a school record for a T-formation quarterback, breaking the mark of 24, held by Ramsey and Aikman ... His 7,633 yards of total offense rank 12th on the Pac-10 career list while his 7,238 passing yards rank 17th ... A duplication of 1997's stats would place him No. 1 in career total offense and No. 2 in career passing ... He owns the second (400 yards versus Tennessee last year), fourth and seventh highest single-game passing totals in school history and is the only Bruin to pass for over 350 three times in his career ... Enters his senior year with a string of 15 consecutive 200+ yard games ... UCLA's first lefthanded quarterback since Ernie Case in 1945, he is the only true freshman to start a conference opener at quarterback ... "If there is a better Heisman Trophy candidate than Cade McNown, I'd like to meet him," says head coach Bob Toledo. "I can't imagine anyone being more valuable to his team than Cade is to us. He has the complete package - he possesses a strong arm, quick feet and outstanding leadership qualities. He knows the offense like a coach and has developed a comfort level with our system. But, above all else, he is driven to succeed. He is an extremely competitive person who is always looking for a way to improve, whether it be by working out with his teammates or watching video by the hour."
1997 - McNown finished the regular season with a quarterback rating of 168.6, the 12th-highest in NCAA history ... He was the first Bruin since Tom Ramsey in 1982 to lead the nation ... He also broke the Pac-10 record of 164.5, set by Cal's Dave Barr in 1993 ... Voted one of three finalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award ... Also placed eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was selected third-team All-American by Associated Press and The Sporting News ... A second-team All-Pac-10 selection by the league's coaches ... Offensive winner of UCLA's Henry R. "Red" Sanders Award for Most Valuable Player ... Was at his best during the team's 10-game winning streak ... In those 10 games, McNown completed 143 of 235 passes (60.9%) for 2,459 yards (245.9 average), 22 touchdowns and four interceptions ... McNown finished the season with a school-record string of 15 straight games with at least 200 yards passing, including all 12 in 1997 ... The previous record was seven, set by Tom Ramsey in 1982 ... In the Cotton Bowl, McNown engineered the second-largest comeback in the bowl's history, rallying UCLA from a 16-0 deficit in the 29-23 victory over Texas A&M ... Only Notre Dame's Joe Montana led a bigger comeback (22 points) in the Cotton Bowl ... Selected Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Cotton Bowl ... His 22-yard touchdown pass to Jim McElroy with two seconds remaining in the first half started the rally and his 41-yard scoring pass to Skip Hicks got the Bruins close ... Late in the third quarter, his 20-yard run, which included a 360-spin to elude tacklers, made the score 23-21 ... In the fourth quarter, he engineered the winning drive, which culminated in a five-yard tight end reverse by Ryan Neufeld following a perfect fake to Hicks ... McNown's two-point conversion on a quarterback draw provided the final margin ... He also added a 76-yard punt on a quick kick ... On the afternoon, he completed 16 of 29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns ... The TD pass to Hicks was his 24th of the year, tying the school record held by Troy Aikman ... He also became the first 3,000-yard passer in school history, finishing with 3,116 yards ... In the regular-season finale against USC, McNown beat the Trojans with his arm, his legs and his decision making ... He completed 15 of 24 passes for 213 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions ... He netted 48 yards on the ground, including some key first downs, and made all the right decisions ... His ability to escape the rush and make decisions on the run was showcased against the Trojans ... He is 3-0 versus USC and could be the first quarterback to win four games in the series ... On the year, McNown completed 60.6% of his passes (189-of-312) for 3,116 yards with 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions ... Fourteen of his touchdowns measured at least 30 yards, 11 measured at least 40 yards and five measured at least 50 yards ... His regular-season efficiency rating of 168.6 was the best in the nation and he also ranked 18th in the nation and second in the Pac-10 in total offense (263.8) ... He threw more touchdown passes (24) in 1997 than he did in his first two seasons combined (19) ... His 24 touchdown passes rank first (tied) in UCLA history, his 3,116 passing yards rank first, his 3,142 yards of total offense rank first and his 189 completions rank fourth ... He also set school records with his averages of 259.7 yards passing and 261.6 yards total offense ... His 2,877 regular-season passing yards rank 10th on the Pac-10 single-season list ... His 2,902 yards total offense during the regular season rank 11th on that Pac-10 list ... On Nov. 15 against Washington, McNown completed 16 of 23 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns - 47 yards to Jim McElroy, 60 yards to Danny Farmer and 67 yards to Skip Hicks ... He also rushed for 44 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown, giving him 366 yards total offense ... His second completion, a seven-yard pass to McElroy, was the 442nd of his career, a new UCLA record ... He finished the day with 456 ... His 366 yards of total offense ranks eighth on UCLA's single-game list (he also ranks fifth with 382 vs. USC last year, sixth with 379 vs. ASU last year and ninth with 363 vs. Tennessee this year) ... On Nov. 1 at Stanford, he completed 15 of 28 passes for 205 yards and only his fifth interception of the year ... His 73-yard pass play to Rodney Lee to set up Skip Hicks' second touchdown was his longest of the year ... Against California, he became UCLA's career passing yardage leader ... He finished the day with 259 passing yards to give him 6,261, breaking Tom Ramsey's mark of 6,168 ... On the afternoon, he completed 11 of 20 passes for 259 yards, including touchdown passes of 58 and 56 yards to Jim McElroy and a 54-yard completion to Danny Farmer ... In the 34-10 win over Oregon State he became UCLA's career total offense leader ... On the afternoon, he completed 11 of 25 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns (he was five of 10 for 130 yards and one score in the second half) ... In the 39-31 victory at Oregon, he rebounded from his first turnover since the first quarter of the Tennessee contest (a fumble on a broken play that was returned for a TD to give Oregon a 21-10 lead just nine minutes into the game) to rally the Bruins ... On the afternoon, he completed 15 of 25 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown and rushed for two others (10 and one yard) ... His 40-yard strike to Jim McElroy in the third quarter gave the Bruins the lead for good, 27-24 ... He also had a completion of 50 yards to Rodney Lee ... He did throw an interception early in the third quarter, his first since the Tennessee game, to snap a streak of 117 passes without an interception ... In the 66-10 victory over Houston, McNown, playing only the first half, completed 11 of 14 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns - 31 and 15 yards to freshman Brian Poli-Dixon, 40 yards to Danny Farmer and 46 yards to Jim McElroy ... He led the Bruins to seven scores (six touchdowns) on nine first half possessions and converted five takeaways into four scores (three touchdowns and one field goal) ... In the 40-27 victory over Arizona, McNown completed 18 of 24 passes for 266 yards ... He led UCLA to scores (two touchdowns and two field goals) on its first four possessions of the game and on seven of its first nine ... In the second half, he threw the ball just six times, completing five for 97 yards ... McNown enjoyed a record-setting performance in the 66-3 victory over Texas ... His five touchdown passes broke the old mark of four, held by seven players including Tommy Maddox and Troy Aikman, in the first half ... He led the Bruins to five touchdowns and one field goal on their first six possessions ... By halftime, he had completed 12 of 18 passes for 140 yards and five scores and finished with 202 yards on 15 of 23 attempts without an interception ... On Sept. 6 against Tennessee, McNown completed 27 of 43 passes for a career-high 400 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions ... In the second half, he completed 18 of 25 for 302 yards and one touchdown ... His 400 passing yards are the second-most in school history, trailing only Tommy Maddox's 409 versus USC in 1990 ... He also rallied the Bruins in the opener at Washington State but came up three points and less than one yard short ... UCLA trailed by 16 points (30-14) at the half but outscored Washington State 20-7 in the final half but lost a chance for a final touchdown when it couldn't score on its final offensive play from one yard out ... During those final 30 minutes, McNown completed 14 of 20 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown (five yards to Danny Farmer) ... On his final drive of the game, he completed all five of his attempts for 75 yards, including a 28-yard strike to Farmer on third-and-15 ... He also threw a 50-yard pass to Jim McElroy on the final play of the third quarter to set up a touchdown ... He also ran for three first downs on two touchdown drives, converting a third-and-one on the first second-half scoring drive and a fourth-and-two and a third-and-three on the second touchdown drive ... On the afternoon, he completed 19 of 34 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown and did not throw an interception.
1996 - On the year, McNown completed 176 of 336 passes (52.4%) for 2,424 yards and 12 touchdowns, bettering his 1995 season totals in all of these categories ... Twenty of his completions traveled at least 25 yards ... His 176 completions rank eighth on that season list, his 2,424 yards put him seventh on that list and his 2,482 yards of total offense rank fifth in school history ... McNown saved his best game for the season finale ... Against USC, he completed 29 of 47 passes for 356 yards and one touchdown while rallying the Bruins from a 17-point deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation to a 48-41 double-overtime victory ... His 29 completions tied him for second on UCLA's single-game list, trailing only Troy Aikman, and his 47 attempts tied for third in that category ... Both marks were career highs ... He also ran for two scores and 26 net yards ... In the second half, he completed 16 of 25 for 259 yards and one score ... On the final two scoring drives in regulation, he completed six of his last seven passes (the seventh was a spike to stop the clock) for 73 yards ... He threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Danny Farmer early in the second half and also threw a 52-yard strike to set up his own 10-yard scoring run late in the third quarter ... His 356 passing yards against USC rank sixth in school history ... His 382 yards total offense rank fifth in school history ... His 57 offensive plays were one shy of Dennis Dummit's record, set in 1970 against Texas ... Co-winner of UCLA's George W. Dickerson Award for Outstanding Offensive Player vs. USC ... McNown was also impressive in the year's Arizona State game ... He set a career high (at the time) for passing yardage (395), his completions (22) and attempts (41) were career highs at the time and he tied another career best (at the time) with three touchdown passes ... His 395 passing yards rank third on that all-time UCLA list, trailing only Tommy Maddox's 409 against USC in 1990 and Steve Bono's 399 versus BYU in 1983 ... His 379 yards total offense ranked fifth at the time (sixth now) on that all-time list ... Against Washington State, he tied his career high with three touchdown passes and completed 16 of 32 passes for 230 yards ... He completed a 52-yard strike to Danny Farmer to set up a touchdown and his screen pass was turned into a 24-yard score by Skip Hicks ... At Arizona, he completed 12 of 28 passes for 205 yards and one score, a 31-yard strike to Danny Farmer ... He also completed passes of 46 and 32 yards to Jim McElroy ... McNown was also impressive in his season debut ... Against No. 2 Tennessee, he completed 16 of 24 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown ... In addition, he scrambled out of trouble several times, grossing 34 rushing yards ... His 88-yard touchdown play to Danny Farmer at Tennessee is the fifth-longest pass play in UCLA history and the longest since Wayne Cook and J.J. Stokes teamed up for a 95 yarder versus Washington in 1993 ... Against NLU, he completed 13 of 20 passes, including 12 of his first 14, for 164 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions ... Against Michigan, he suffered through his worst game of the season, completing just eight of 27 passes for 39 yards ... He also threw three interceptions, breaking a streak of 97 consecutive attempts without an interception ... At Oregon, he completed 13 of 24 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown ... On third down, he completed all six attempts for 76 yards and four first downs (the other two were double-digit completions but UCLA needed more yardage for first downs ... He also netted 29 yards on the ground, including a key first down on an option play, and his first touchdown of the year ... Three of his runs resulted in first downs and a fourth in the TD ... At California, he completed 10 of 13 second-half passes for 196 yards to finish 16 of 28 for 273 yards and a touchdown pass play to Skip Hicks which covered 63 yards ... Against Stanford, he completed just 14 of 34 passes for 156 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
1995 - Only the second UCLA true freshman to start at quarterback against USC (Tom Ramsey was the other in 1979), McNown completed 122 of 245 passes (49.8%) for 1,698 yards and seven scores on the year ... He also ranked second on the squad with 311 yards rushing, the most by a Bruin quarterback since Rick Bashore (317) in 1977 ... His five rushing TDs tied for second in that category ... His 2,009 yards total offense ranked 12th on the UCLA season list (first among true freshmen) while his 122 completions ranked 16th (also first among true freshmen) ... Against USC, McNown led the Bruins to touchdowns on each of UCLA's first three possessions but saved his best for last ... With about two minutes remaining and UCLA protecting a 24-20 lead, McNown faced a third-and-13 at his own 29-yard line ... He kept the ball out of the shotgun, skirted around the right side and ran for 21 yards for the first down that enabled the Bruins to run out the clock ... On the day, he completed 8 of 17 passes for 131 yards, including a 59-yard pass to Jim McElroy to set up UCLA's second TD ... He also rushed for 36 net yards, including that key 21-yard run to clinch the victory ... In the Aloha Bowl, rushed for a career-high 82 net yards on 11 carries and threw a career-best three touchdown passes while completing 13 of 34 passes for 121 yards ... Against Arizona State, McNown completed 13-23 passes for 289 yards (second-highest total of his career) and ran nine times for 37 yards and a pair of touchdowns ... Versus California, he completed 13 of 24 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown (no interceptions) and rushed for 51 yards and one TD on six carries ... At Stanford, he completed 15 of 27 passes for 150 yards and one score ... In addition, he also rushed for 52 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown on UCLA's first series of the second half ... He completed just one of his first five passes, including an interception at his own five-yard line that set up Stanford's first score, but then completed 14 of his last 22 attempts (63.6%) ... In his second career start vs. Fresno, the left-hander connected on 18 of 22 tosses for a school true-freshman record total of 306 yards and one TD ... McNown racked up his record yardage total despite yielding to Ryan Fien with 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the game ... Versus Oregon (the first start of his career), McNown completed 12 of 24 passes for 183 yards, directed three second-half touchdown drives to help the Bruins rally from a 24-10 halftime deficit to tie the game at 24-all and 31-all ... On UCLA's final possession of the game, he moved the Bruins from their own seven-yard line to the Duck one-yard line in less than one minute but UCLA could not get in the end zone to tie the game ... Selected offensive winner of UCLA's John Boncheff, Jr. Memorial Award for Rookie of the Year.
HIGH SCHOOL - Lettered one year at quarterback and free safety for West Linn High and coach George Crace after three years at San Benito High in Hollister, California ... The left-hander was named a Blue Chips Illustrated All-America and rated the No. 3 prospect at his position in the West as a senior in 1994 ...Super Prep All-Northwest ... USA Today All-America honorable mention ... First-team All-State at both quarterback and defensive back ... Led West Linn HS to the Oregon 4A semifinal game in 1994 ... Co-Defensive Player of the Year and all-league honors at both positions for the Three Rivers League ... Selected to the Shrine Bowl of Oregon as a quarterback ... Named team's Most Valuable Offensive Player ... In 1994, he passed for 1,711 yards, completing 132-274 passes for 17 touchdowns ... He rushed for 631 yards on 129 carries and nine touchdowns ... Also caught one pass for 20 yards... On defense, he totaled 55 tackles, 26 assisted tackles, four interceptions, four pass deflections and caused one fumble... In track and field, he set a school record in the pole vault (15-2) and recorded personal bests of 150-11 in the discus and 53-4 1/4 in the shot put ... Named West Linn's Most Athletic Senior and the track team's Most Outstanding Field Athlete ... He also earned all-league honors in the pole vault ... As a junior in 1993, he attended San Benito High in Hollister, CA ... Played four games before an emergency appendectomy ended his season ... During 1992, in his sophomore year at San Benito, he earned honorable mention All-Monterey Bay League honors in football ... Also lettered in track with bests of 15-0 in the pole vault (school record), 142' in the discus, 48-3 in the shot put and 6-2 in the high jump ... Named All-League in the Monterey Bay League as a sophomore and junior ... A two-year starter in basketball at San Benito and West Linn high schools in 1993 and 1994.
PERSONAL - Full Name: Cade B. McNown ... Parents: Vicki Brem McNown of West Linn, OR and Mark McNown of Hollister, CA ... Born: January 12, 1977 in Portland, OR ... Has one brother (Jeff) and two sisters (Melanie and Alyssa) ... Admires Joe Montana and patterns his style of play after Steve Young ... Enjoys all sports ... Earned spot on Director's Honor Roll in Winter 1996 with his 3.65 grade-point average ... Pre-Political Science major who hopes to switch to Communication Studies.
Passing
Passing Yards: 400 vs. Tennessee, 1997; 395 vs. Arizona State, 1996; 356 vs. USC, 1996
Completions: 29 vs. USC, 1996; 27 vs, Tennessee, 1997; 22 vs. Arizona State, 1996
Touchdowns: 5 vs. Texas, 1997; 4 vs. Houston, 1997; 3 vs. USC, 1997, Washington, 1997, Arizona State, 1996, Washington State, 1996, Kansas, 1995 (Aloha Bowl) McNown Game-By-Game
Career Completions: 487, FIRST; #2 Tom Ramsey 441
Quarterback
6-1, 215, Sr.
West Linn, OR
West Linn HS
Varsity Statistics
Year PA PC YDS PCT INT TD LG
1995 245 122 1698 .498 8 7 59
1996 336 176 2424 .524 16 12 88
1997 312 189 3116 .606 6 24 73
Totals 893 487 7238 .545 30 43 88
Career Highs
1995 Passing Rushing
Game PA PC Int Yds TD Tc Yds Tds
MIA 2 2 0 15 0 0 0 0
BYU 18 9 0 91 0 6 18 0
ORE* 24 12 1 183 0 11 17 1
WSU 17 9 0 114 1 3 1 0
FSU* 22 18 0 306 1 2 -5 0
UA* 18 3 1 80 0 2 -1 0
STAN* 27 15 1 150 1 10 52 1
CAL* 24 13 0 157 1 6 51 1
ASU* 23 13 0 289 0 9 37 2
WASH* 19 7 3 61 0 4 23 0
USC* 17 8 2 131 0 7 36 0
KAN* 34 13 0 121 3 11 82 0
TOT 245 122 8 1698 7 71 311 5
1996 Passing Rushing
Game PA PC Int Yds TD Tc Yds Tds
TENN* 24 16 0 230 1 12 -6 0
NLU* 20 13 0 164 0 1 -7 0
MICH* 27 8 3 39 0 7 33 0
ORE* 24 13 2 158 1 6 29 1
ASU* 41 22 1 395 3 8 -16 0
WASH* 31 17 1 218 0 8 -12 1
CAL* 28 16 2 273 1 9 5 0
STAN* 34 14 3 156 1 10 9 0
WSU* 32 16 2 230 3 5 -2 0
ARIZ* 28 12 1 205 1 12 -1 0
USC* 47 29 1 356 1 10 26 2
TOT 336 176 16 2424 12 88 58 4
1997 Passing
Game PA PC Int Yds TD
WSU 34 19 0 257 1
TENN 43 27 2 400* 1
TEXAS 23 15 0 202 5**
ARIZ 24 18 0 266 0
HOU 14 11 0 297 4
ORE 25 15 1 248 1
OSU 25 11 1 210 2
CAL 20 11 0 259 2
STAN 28 15 1 205 0
WASH 23 16 0 320 3
USC 24 15 0 213 3
TEXAS A&M 29 16 1 239 2
TOT 312 189 6 3116** 24**
** school record
CHARTING McNOWN
Career Passing Yards: 7238, FIRST, #2 Ramsey 6168
Career Total Offense: 7633, FIRST; #2 Ramsey 6255
Career TD Passes: 43, SECOND; #1 Ramsey 50
He has started 32 games, including 31 straight, and has played
in 35 contests overall.
UCLA SEASON PASSING LEADERS (YARDS)
Years PA PC Yds Pct. TD
Cade McNown 1997 312 189 3116 .606 24
Tom Ramsey 1982 336 209 2986 .622 21
Troy Aikman 1988 354 228 2771 .644 24
Tommy Maddox 1990 327 182 2682 .557 17
Tommy Maddox 1991 343 209 2681 .609 16
UCLA CAREER PASSING LEADERS (YARDS)
Years PA PC Yds Pct. TD
Cade McNown 1995-97 893 487 7238 .545 43
Tom Ramsey 1979-82 751 441 6168 .587 50
Troy Aikman 1987-88 627 406 5298 .648 41
Tommy Maddox 1990-91 670 391 5363 .584 33
Wayne Cook 1991-94 612 352 4723 .575 34
UCLA SEASON TOTAL OFFENSE LEADERS
Year Plays Rush Pass Yds
Cade McNown 1997 391 26 3116 3142
Tom Ramsey 1982 470 138 2986 3124
Troy Aikman 1988 432 83 2771 2854
Tommy Maddox 1990 417 148 2682 2830
Tommy Maddox 1991 420 -29 2681 2652
UCLA CAREER TOTAL OFFENSE LEADERS
Years Plays Rush Pass Yds
Cade McNown 1995-97 1131 395 7238 7633
Tom Ramsey 1979-82 1055 87 6168 6255
Tommy Maddox 1990-91 837 119 5363 5482
Gary Beban 1965-67 937 1271 4087 5358
Troy Aikman 1987-88 784 -4 5298 5294
