In 2008, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy set the bar very high in regard to completion percentage.
McCoy completed 76.7% of his passes during that season, setting a new record for major colleges. The previous record was set by Stefan Lafors at Louisville in 2004 with a 73.5% mark.
Last season, during a historic national title run, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow came within an eyelash of besting McCoy’s record. He narrowly missed it by 0.4%, allowing McCoy’s record to live for at least one more year.
That has now come to an end after Monday night’s CFP National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes. Alabama quarterback Mac Jones finished with an impressive stat line, completing 36 of 45 passes for 464 yards and five touchdowns as the Tide cruised to a 52-24 victory.
Jones now holds the single-season record for completion percentage at 77.4% — 0.7% better than McCoy. A record that stood for 12 years now belongs to Jones. He will be departing to the NFL next season and viewed as a fringe first-round draft selection.
It’s just another accolade under the tutelage of newly hired Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. The former Alabama offensive coordinator will make his introduction to Texas at 4 p.m. CST on Tuesday. With his creative offensive mind and the rate at which offenses are exploding in college football, you have to wonder how long will Jones’ record will stand.