College Career
Couch attended the University of Kentucky, where he played for the Kentucky Wildcats football team from 1996 to 1998. During his 1996 freshman year under head coach Bill Curry, he split time as the starting quarterback with Billy Jack Haskins. Curry's firing was announced after a 1-6 start that season. Incoming head coach Hal Mumme announced early that Couch would be the starter in his new pass-oriented "Air Raid" offense. In 1997, Couch set several school records as the previously anemic Kentucky offense topped national offensive rankings and finished 5-6 on the season, including a win over No. 20 Alabama. During the 1998 Wildcats season, Couch led Kentucky to seven wins (including a win on the road at No. 21 LSU) and a spot in the Outback Bowl (in which Couch completed 30 of 48 passes for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns, though Kentucky lost to Penn State 26-14).
Following his junior season in 1998, Couch announced he would leave Kentucky to enter the NFL draft early.
Couch's career totals at Kentucky included completing 795 of 1,184 passes (.671 completion rate) for 8,435 yards (including 4,275 passing yards during the 1998 season alone) and 74 touchdowns (including a 97-yard touchdown pass to Craig Yeast against Florida on September 26, 1998). Couch still holds the NCAA record for completion percentage in one game (minimum of 40 completions) at 83.0% vs. Vanderbilt (44 of 53) in 1998 and for completions per game (36.4, 400 in 11 games) that same season. He also left Kentucky holding NCAA records for most completions in a season (400 in 1998), most completions in a two-year period (763 in 1997-1998), most completions per game in a two-year period (34.7, 1997–1998) and career completion percentage (67.1%). His 1998 records of 4,151 offensive yards in a season, 377.4 offensive yards per game and 4,275 passing yards, stood as Southeastern Conference records for years after his departure.
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