Caleb Williams … Bryce Young … C.J. Stroud … Trevor Lawrence … Justin Fields … sometimes we know in advance who the best quarterbacks will be in a given season. Other times, however, it takes us a little while to figure things out. We headed into 2025 with far less known star power than usual, but even the guys we thought would shine — Clemson’s Cade Klubnik (fourth in the preseason top 100 players list), LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier (eighth), Penn State’s Drew Allar (17th), South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers (19th), Texas’ Arch Manning (23rd), Florida’s DJ Lagway (25th) — laid a collective egg compared to expectations.
Quality always emerges eventually. And with just three regular-season Saturdays (plus Championship Week) to go, we have a pretty good idea of this year’s hierarchy. Ohio State redshirt freshman Julian Sayin has completed more than 80% of his passes during a perfect 9-0 start. After Kurtis Rourke led Indiana to the CFP as a one-year transfer last season, Fernando Mendoza has topped him as this year’s one-year guy. The gutsiest veterans in the sport, Georgia Tech’s Haynes King and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, have led their teams to unforeseen heights. Gunner Stockton, the most Georgia of Georgia quarterbacks, has been increasingly stellar.
A month into the season, I ranked every power conference starting quarterback, and it probably isn’t a surprise that the list has changed pretty significantly after six more weeks of play. Who has improved the most (besides Sayin)? Whose production has trailed off? Let’s rank all 68 (or so) once again!
(Note: References to rushing yards in stat lines below do not include sack yardage.)
Last Rank: 11 | Total QBR: 91.1 | Pass Yds: 2,491 | Rush Yds (no sack): 56 | Total TDs: 24
It’s always hard to grade the guys who have the best supporting cast. Alabama’s Mac Jones produced the best Total QBR of the decade in 2020 but lost the Heisman vote to one of his teammates, and if star receiver Jeremiah Smith continues to produce as he has of late (past two games: 16 catches, 260 yards, three touchdowns) he might prevent Sayin from winning the award as well. But as Ohio State has opened up the playbook and asked more of Sayin, he has responded with near perfection. He’s first in the nation in Total QBR, completion rate (80.9%) and success rate* (62.0%)
(Success rate: The percentage of plays gaining at least 50% of necessary yardage on first down, 70% on second and 100% on third and fourth.)
Even with Smith and other studs at his disposal, his accuracy is incredible. This pass placement map has about as tight a radius as you’ll ever see, even if some away-from-the-body catches also prove the awesomeness of his receivers.
Last Rank: 29 | Total QBR: 84.2 | Pass Yds: 1,888 | Rush Yds (no sack): 787 | Total TDs: 23
Since the last list came out on Oct. 1, King has, in four games, thrown for 282.5 yards per game, averaging 9.6 yards per dropback (first nationally) with a 75.7% completion rate (third) and 57.9% success rate (second). He has also averaged 97.3 non-sack rushing yards per game (fourth among non-option quarterbacks). Projected over a full 13 games, that’s a 3,600-1,200 pace. Good gracious.
Despite an endless number of injuries through the years — and despite his eyes hinting at a certain level of pain I have never experienced after every single tackle he takes — King is doing everything he possibly can to drag Tech to the ACC title and CFP, and he seems to be getting better in the process.
Last Rank: 4 | Total QBR: 88.1 | Pass Yds: 2,342 | Rush Yds (no sack): 304 | Total TDs: 31
I made it clear on Sunday that I thought Sayin should be the Heisman betting favorite instead of Mendoza, but that doesn’t mean Mendoza hasn’t been awesome. He has thrown a pick in five of his past six games, and the fourth-quarter INT against Penn State nearly proved costly, but despite facing loads of pressure for the first time all year, he also engineered a perfect, game-winning TD drive. He’s fourth nationally in Total QBR and first in passing touchdowns. He’s great.
Last Rank: 2 | Total QBR: 86.1 | Pass Yds: 2,440 | Rush Yds (no sack): 691 | Total TDs: 28
After all he has done for Vandy over the past couple of years, Pavia might have played his best game on Saturday. With the Commodores’ defense getting lit up by Auburn, Pavia threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 114 more yards and another score. Like King, when he has to put the team on his shoulders, he looks great doing it.
Last Rank: 1 | Total QBR: 90.7 | Pass Yds: 2,614 | Rush Yds (no sack): 175 | Total TDs: 23
He’s still very good, and USC still ranks first in offensive SP+, but the mistakes have added up a bit. In his past five games, Maiava has thrown six interceptions, and he went a combined 31-for-65 with three picks against Notre Dame and Nebraska before rebounding with a nice performance against Northwestern last Saturday. His next two opponents rank sixth (Iowa) and second (Oregon) in defensive SP+, too.
Last Rank: 20 | Total QBR: 89.4 | Pass Yds: 2,040 | Rush Yds (no sack): 350 | Total TDs: 22
At this point, the only thing he’s missing is a deep ball (or someone to catch one). He’s third in Total QBR, he has thrown just two picks, and on passes thrown under 15 yards downfield his completion rate is 79% (fifth). He’s at only 36% (108th) on longer passes, however, and Georgia lacks in the big-play department. Still, the Bulldogs are efficient, and in part because of Stockton’s legs, they’re nearly perfect in the red zone.
Last Rank: 7 | Total QBR: 83.3 | Pass Yds: 2,275 | Rush Yds (no sack): 104 | Total TDs: 21
His job has gotten easier now that star running back Jeremiyah Love has fully checked into the season (Love’s past three games: 552 yards from scrimmage), but Carr is fourth nationally in yards per dropback and eighth in success rate, and while it’s concerning that a) he has played against only three top-50 defenses (per SP+) and b) he wasn’t very good against two, Total QBR is still opponent adjusted, and he’s 10th in that.
Last Rank: 3 | Total QBR: 84.3 | Pass Yds: 2,356 | Rush Yds (no sack): 465 | Total TDs: 19
To make the CFP, Ole Miss just had to go and grab a guy with playoff experience. Easy! Chambliss, the Ferris State transfer and Division II champ, has cooled off since his nearly perfect start, and his past four games against FBS opponents have produced only 7.3 yards per dropback and 4.6 yards per carry (no sacks). But SEC has topped 30 points in four of his five SEC starts, and he’s meeting the moment.
Last Rank: 6 | Total QBR: 80.6 | Pass Yds: 2,064 | Rush Yds (no sack): 470 | Total TDs: 29
It’s hard to grade a guy like Sorsby, who has been just about the best QB in the country in seven wins (67% completion rate, 87.8 Total QBR) and just about the worst in two losses (41% completion rate, 43.7 Total QBR). Regardless, if Good Brendan shows up over the next three weeks, the Bearcats could still be factors in the Big 12 race.
Last Rank: 14 | Total QBR: 86.3 | Pass Yds: 2,372 | Rush Yds (no sack): 815 | Total TDs: 25
For two seasons in Fayetteville, Green has simultaneously been a top-five quarterback and a borderline top-50 guy. It almost varies by the play. But even with the random disasters, he’s one of the scarier dual-threats in the country, and he’s far more of a reason why Arkansas has stayed within one score of three ranked teams (including A&M and Ole Miss) than he was a reason why they lost all three.
Last Rank: 8 | Total QBR: 81.3 | Pass Yds: 2,461 | Rush Yds (no sack): 186 | Total TDs: 23
Returns have diminished for Simpson and the Tide’s offense, which has topped 30 points just once in its past six games; in fact, he has topped 8.0 yards per dropback only twice in his past six games as well.
Still, without much of a run game to lean on, Simpson has been excellent in the red zone (Bama is 15th nationally in red zone TD rate), and he has thrown just one pick in 296 passes. Bama’s mastering the art of gaining all the right yards.