As a confident and talented high school senior quarterback, Phil Horvath cut short what similar players of his caliber had experienced.

The former star from Naperville Central in Naperville, Ill. ended the recruiting process prematurely. Horvath grew tired of the routine he played with the Big Ten coaches who recruited him. After hearing what he thought were lofty promises and grandiose claims, he ran out of ways to pay lip service, nod his head, smile and then wait for whatever offer a coach decided to throw at him.

So he avoided the stress and committed early to Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference.

‘Just the games they play, they would tell (Naperville Central coach Joe Bunge) that they’re offering this weekend,’ Horvath said. ‘Then the weekend comes and then they wait another week. Then I went to camps and they said they would offer me. Northern (Illinois) was honest with me the whole time. That was a big thing for me.’

Horvath is next in a slew of top quarterbacks who played in the M.A.C. Chad Pennington of the New York Jets, Byron Leftwich of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers are all household names that entered the NFL from a not-so-household conference.

Lately, the conference has earned attention when media types derail the Bowl Championship Series come bowl time. The negative attention ultimately hurt less publicized leagues such as the M.A.C.

They often criticize the selection of Heisman Trophy winners, alleging that lesser known players such as Pennington in 1999 and Leftwich in 2002 were overlooked. Current quarterback Omar Jacobs of Bowling Green serves as a Heisman candidate this year and may fuel that annual tirade if he’s passed.

The successes of quarterbacks like Pennington and Leftwich have encouraged players like Horvath to gravitate to the M.A.C. Like in Horvath’s case, they don’t have to worry about a rigorous recruiting process and there’s a better chance they’ll take snaps.

‘When you get them into that system where they’re used to a lot of responsibility and they’re used to throwing the ball, when they go to the next level they don’t have to learn a lot,’ Miami (Ohio) head coach Shane Montgomery said. ‘They’ve been in a quarterback-friendly offense where they’ve had a chance to throw and they’ve played a lot more football.’

In Horvath’s case, he didn’t play right when he put on a Huskies uniform. He redshirted his freshman year and played backup the following season. Last year he started three games. As a junior this year, he’s directing the passes on a regular basis.

Last week, he and Luke Getsy of Akron received M.A.C. Player of the Week awards for their performances in the matchup between the two respective programs. Getsy passed for 406 yards and a school record five touchdowns in a 48-42 overtime win over Northern Illinois.

Horvath, meanwhile, set two school records with 486 passing yards and 477 yards of total offense, helping the Huskies rally after trailing the Zips, 42-21, heading into the fourth quarter.

Many MAC coaches also point to the open offense many of their programs run that makes its quarterbacks stand out. The offensive schemes are more open, allowing the quarterbacks opportunities to throw frequently, often involving long routes.

Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak and Buffalo head coach Jim Hofher credit a trend in high school programs to work on airing the ball out rather than handing off the ball. In Horvath’s case, he played quarterback on a high school team where he had to versify himself. He threw short and deep routes. He ran the option. And he also bore the responsibility of calling audibles, something that some high school programs avoid.

‘There have probably been good quarterbacks all through the years,’ said Mark Smith, Ball State’s defensive coordinator. ‘But there was a different mentality where you handed the ball off a little bit more. I think now they’re allowing these quarterbacks to be featured. Consequently, you have them getting national attention.’

Syracuse at (+6) Connecticut

Friday 7:45 p.m. ESPN2

Greg Robinson and Randy Edsall share the common entities as up-and-coming coaches hoping to put their respective programs on the college football map. But both lack the playing personnel to fulfill their game plan. Sure, Connecticut stands at 3-1, but those wins were against three cupcakes with extra icing – Buffalo, Liberty and Army. Coming off a disappointing Florida State loss, Syracuse should rebound and earn a win in this more even but less intriguing matchup.

Pick: Syracuse 17, Connecticut 10

No. 6 Ohio State (-3) at No. 16 Penn State

Saturday 7:45 p.m. ESPN

Nittany Nation often points to Penn State’s 24-23 upset loss against Minnesota in 1999 as the event that triggered the team’s struggles. In a program that is usually placed among the top tier in college football, the Lions lost the rest of its three games that season followed by only one winning campaign in 2002. But with freshman receivers helping the team start 5-0, things are different this year. PSU upset the Gophers last week, the very team who started PSU’s downfall, signifying this is a new beginning for the Nittany Lions.

Pick: Penn State 24, Ohio State 17

Virginia (+7) at No. 18 Boston College

Saturday 1 p.m. ABC

Virginia received an unpleasant surprise in a 45-33 loss to Maryland to open the ACC season. While rebounding strong against Boston College may be nice to see, the task is daunting. The Eagles show they can lead a productive offense even with an injured Quinton Porter. While challenging nonetheless, BC’s strong defense could leave Marcus Hagans scrambling, but not for many yards as he usually piles.

Pick: Boston College 28, Virginia 14

No. 5 Georgia (+3) at No. 8 Tennessee

Saturday 3:30 p.m. CBS

After its come-from-behind 30-27 victory over LSU on Sept. 26, some feared Tennessee would lose momentum or be less focused against Mississippi. Not so at the beginning, however, there were times when the Volunteers showed lapses. Nonetheless, Rick Clausen won’t be giving up his QB position anytime soon to Erik Ainge, and the Vols won’t be letting down, either. With the way Tennessee rallied against LSU in dramatic fashion, it’s too risky to pick a Georgia victory even if they carry a No. 5 ranking and an undefeated 4-0 record.

Pick: Tennessee 17, Georgia 14

No. 10 California (+2) at No. 20 UCLA

Saturday 7:45 p.m. No TV

California went from losing 13 starters with doubts whether it could repeat its 10-2 season to a team that hasn’t missed a beat. Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett lead the running attack, averaging 259 running yards as a team. That should compare well against a team who gave up 213 yards to 1-4 Washington. On the other side of the line, the Bruins mustered only 65 rushing yards, lost 110 yards on 13 penalties, punted eight times, while quarterback Drew Olson gave up two picks.

Pick: California 28, UCLA 20

Published on October 2, 2005 at 12:00 pm