Leak nears another passing record at Florida

Posted 4:19PM on Tuesday 27th September 2005 ( 19 years ago )

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Maybe Florida quarterback Chris Leak should have an interception or two this season. He has thrown some errant passes, had a couple of balls tipped and even hit two defenders in the hands. But all of them fell to the ground. Now, Leak is closing in on Danny Wuerffel's school record for consecutive passes without an interception. Leak has thrown 114 passes without a pick, seven shy of Wuerffel's mark set over the 1995 and 1996 seasons. The junior could break the record Saturday when the fifth-ranked Gators play at No. 15 Alabama. ``Not turning the ball over is a big key to winning football games,'' Leak said. It has been for the Gators, who lead the Southeastern Conference in turnover margin with a plus-9 ratio and are tied with No. 3 Virginia Tech for tops in the nation. Protecting the football is one of the key elements of coach Urban Meyer's ``plan to win.'' It starts with Leak, whose last interception came on his final pass in the 2004 Peach Bowl against Miami. He hasn't thrown an interception in four games this season. ``It's something he takes great pride in,'' Meyer said. ``Chris is a winner. He's a guy who's buying into it.'' Florida has created 11 turnovers and committed only two this season. Backup quarterback Josh Portis lost a fumble last week at Kentucky, and Leak lost a fumble against Louisiana Tech. But Leak hasn't made many other mistakes. The three-year starter attributes his success partly to coaching but mostly to better understanding how to manage the game. ``We don't want him forcing things,'' Meyer said. ``There's nothing wrong with dumping that ball down. There's some people that think third-and-12, throw the ball 12 yards. We don't believe that at all. Do not throw the ball to the opponent, and if we need to punt it away, we'll punt it away.'' Leak has completed 71 percent of his passes this season for 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns. His pass efficiency rating of 173.5 leads the league and ranks eighth in the nation. He also is one of just five full-time starters in the nation without an interception. Kellen Clemens of Oregon, Trent Edwards of Stanford, Ryan Hart of Rutgers and Drew Olson of UCLA are the others. ``Coach Meyer has stressed taking care of the football to all of us. Chris is really taking care of it,'' center Mike Degory said. Leak already set one Florida record this season. He broke Steve Spurrier's school record for consecutive completions in the season opener against Wyoming. Leak completed 17 in a row between the first and third quarters. He was even better last week against Kentucky. He threw four touchdown passes in the first half and led the Gators on seven consecutive touchdown drives. Leak finished 25-of-32 for 319 yards and had his best game running Meyer's spread-option option. More importantly, he didn't have a turnover. ``There's going to be tight windows in the SEC because of the speed of the defenses, but sometimes you just have to know when to make that throw and when not to,'' said Leak, who has thrown 54 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions. ``You have to make that quick decision. ``Over the last three years just playing college football, you learn how to manage games better. Knowing that sometimes the play's not there, the defense wins. Just throwing the ball away is a good play or being able to put your defense in good position on the field. Sometimes those are good plays. You have to know when to make the smart play.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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