Mason Fine jumped out to an incredible start to his junior season. When NT hired an Air Raid coach to run things, we knew that the passing records would be challenged quickly. North Texas never has had a truly prolific passing legacy outside of the Mitch Maher years and so it was low-hanging fruit.
Let us look at Mason Fine’s progression thus far in his career:
| Year | G | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | TDs | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 155 | 261 | 59.4 | 1572 | 6 | 5 | 113.7 |
| 2017 | 14 | 324 | 511 | 63.4 | 4052 | 31 | 15 | 144.2 |
| 2018 | 1 | 40 | 50 | 80 | 444 | 3 | 0 | 174.4 |
Given his coach, lets compare with Graham Harrell’s career:
| Year | G | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | TDs | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 13 | 412 | 617 | 66.8 | 4555 | 38 | 11 | 145.5 |
| 2007 | 13 | 512 | 713 | 71.8 | 5705 | 48 | 14 | 157.3 |
| 2008 | 13 | 442 | 626 | 70.6 | 5111 | 45 | 9 | 160.0 |
Obviously, the situations are different, but we can expect the same expectations and coaching for Fine. One thing that will be different is the number of attempts. While Mason Fine is currently on pace to throw 700 times, that is not ideal and will not happen either because of scheme or health. Littrell likes to run more often than Mike Leach did, and NT will do much more of that.
The TD/INT ratio and QB rating are most interesting to us. Right now, Mason Fine is on pace to improve over his numbers from last year and that is both expected and nice to see.
We want something around 70% completion and a 3-to-1 TD/INT ratio. Mason has thrown more INTs per attempt than Harrell ever did in any season, with Fine at something like an INT per 36-to-40 attempts and Harrell with one pick every 50 or so. Harrell had an incredible ~3.5/1 in is junior year and an incredible 5-1 in his senior season.
So far, so good.
Good baseline prediction for Fine’s year:
392/560 4500 42 TDs 15 INTs
Such a line would put him at the top of nearly every passing category by the end of his junior season.
Career Passing Record Watch
Passing Attempts:
- Mitch Maher 1,149
- Derek Thompson 1,055
- Steve Ramsey 1,105
- Scott Davis 922
- Giovanni Vizza 876
- Mason Fine 822
Mason should be number 1 by the end of the season.
Completions
- Mitch Maher 640
- Derek Thompson 636
- Giovanni Vizza 532
- Scott Davis / Mason Fine 519
Mason Fine should be number 1 by the end of the month.
TD Passes
- Steve Ramsey 69
- Mitch Maher 67
- Scott Hall 50
- Derek Thompson 42
- Scott Davis 41
- Mason Fine 40
Fine should take the top spot by the end of the year.
Passing Yards
- Mitch Maher 8,519
- Derek Thompson 7,447
- Steve Ramsey 7,076
- Scott Davis 6,923
- Mason Fine 6,068
Mid-season.
Single Game Records
Fine had the 5th highest (team did also) pass yards in school history with his 444 last week. He also tied the third highest in school history with 40 completions (Vizza vs Navy in 2007). The record is Daniel Meager’s 47 vs SMU.
Meager holds the single-game pass record at 601 yards in that SMU game also.
Single Season Stuff
Mason already is the single-season holder of passing attempts, completions, yards, and TDs. Riley Dodge holds the record for completion percentage at 67.7 in 2009 (205/303).
Multi-Game Stuff
Fine has 17 200-yard pass games. The record is held by Maher with 23. Fine has 8-consecutive 200+ yard games. The Record is 10 by Maher. Fine has 9 career 300+ games, extending his record.
If Mason passes 3K again, he will be the first NT QB to do so twice, and the first to do so consecutively. The same applies to the 4K mark.
