Hello everyone and welcome back to yet another Draft "Expert" blog post! In this one, we'll be taking a gander at the best quarterbacks from week two in college football as prepare for the 2024 NFL Draft. Yes, I am aware the Draft isn't until April, but I am also aware that this post will be irrelevant in a week, but it's still fun none the less, right?
In the grand scheme of things, this is just for fun. I'm not claiming to be the smartest person in the world, nor am I expecting you to agree with every single placement here on this list. I just hope you take the time to read through it and find it at least somewhat interesting.
For this post, we don't really have a lot of changes from the previous week, though we do have a new face entering the top three, which could make this very interesting...Is there any chance Caleb Williams gets passed up for the number one spot? I guess you'll just have to wait and see...
All that being said, without any more delays, we're proud to present to you the Draft "Expert's" week two quarterback prospect rankings for the 2024 NFL Draft! Enjoy!
Podcast Links
Pictured: Quinn Ewers, Texas; Shedeur Sanders, Colorado; Caleb Williams, USC
1. Caleb Williams, USC
Wk 2 - 19/21 281 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/1 carry 21 yds 1 touchdown v Stanford (56-10 W)
Season - 55/70 878 yds 12 touchdowns 0 interceptions/12 carries 61 yds 1 touchdown
You know that clip of LeBron James yelling 'that's too easy' after scoring a layup against the Atlanta Hawks a few years ago? Well, that's kind of how I feel when I watch Caleb Williams play football, especially when it's coming against my preseason predicted bottom feeder of the conference in Stanford. Like I said in the last blog post, I'm going to need to see something super natural in order to think Caleb Williams isn't the best player in both college football and the upcoming NFL Draft. Everything just seems so easy for the guy, which could very well lead him to becoming the second ever two time Heisman Trophy winner. Like, imagine only playing a half against a conference opponent. I expect that when USC plays the likes of San Jose State and Nevada, but playing only two quarters against a team in your conference is a whole new level of disrespect, and I'm here for it. Everything was par for the course in this one, as USC came away 56-10 victors. The only thing that kind of separated this game from the previous two is that we saw Caleb Williams use his legs, rather than his arm, for a touchdown for the first time this season. It's kind of funny how it happened, because Williams made the correct read by pulling it from his back, but the center pushed his read key into him while he was trying to carry out the run, which made the run a little more interesting. Thankfully, Williams is a fantastic athlete, holding the ball out like Shady McCoy to keep it away from the defender before bouncing it further outside and plowing through a Stanford defender for the score. Again, that 21-yard score from Williams was his first of the season, where he showed off great elusiveness, awareness (by not stepping out of bounds), and even power on that run. A random play that was kind of fun to see was on a little dump off by Williams to Tahj Washington, who picked up 11-yards on the play. The pass and catch wasn't the most interesting part though, it was the fact Williams beelined it down field to try and block for Washington after the catch. Did he end up actually blocking anybody? Not really, but the effort was there and he was able to get in the way of some defenders who were trying to make the tackle, great effort by Williams on the play. USC would score on the ground a few plays later. Williams would get his first passing touchdown shortly after, once again showing off his supreme athleticism, being able to evade on coming defenders before delivering an absolute strike to the back of the end zone, on the run, to Dorian Singer for the 19-yard touchdown. The o-line did a good job at creating a pocket for Williams, but it was his ability to roll out to the right and deliver a damn near perfect ball on the run that was the real highlight of the play. And just like that, USC is up 35-0. On the next drive, basically one play later, Williams would hit Brenden Rice on a 75-yard bomb, throwing the ball from the USC 15-yard line to the opposite 20, ridiculous arm talent on display there. Rice may have had to slow down slightly on the play, but it was a beautiful throw from Williams to further extend USC's lead. He'd show off some nice touch on the next drive, hitting Singer on a nice little back should esc throw for a first down. Though there was a slight push off from Singer, Williams threw a very good ball there, as there was a safety over top as well as the corner having position further up the field. If Williams put that ball pretty much anywhere else, it's probably getting picked off. Williams would put some nice zip on the ball a few plays later. After pulling the ball from the running back, Williams got the ball out quick to Kyron Hudson for a 14-yard completion. With two Stanford defenders coming in off the left side, Williams had to get that ball out quick after the pull, which he did, setting up a one-yard touchdown pass to his tight end Luke McRee a play later. On a play USC eats on, Williams pulled the ball from the back and dumped it off to McRee for the score, putting the Trojans up 49-3 just before halftime. Like we said before, Williams wouldn't see the field in the second half, securing USC's third win of the season and getting a nice extra little break going into the bye week. The following two games after the bye come on the road, where they take on Arizona State and a highly touted Colorado team. September 30th can't come here soon enough.
Preseason - 1a
Wk 0/1 - 1
Wk 2 - 1
Wk 3 - BYE
2. Drake Maye, North Carolina
Wk 2 - 21/30 208 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries 57 yds 1 touchdown v Appalachian State (40-34 W)
Season - 45/62 477 yds 2 touchdowns 2 interceptions/15 carries 82 yds 1 touchdown
Before this game started one thing really stood out to me, and that was the fact that the North Carolina Tar Heels were 19-point favorites against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. 19-points? Does anyone not remember last year's game? Sure the game was played in Boone but still, the score wound up being 63-61. Though North Carolina came out on top, it was still an incredibly back and forth affair between the two schools, so to suggest UNC would wallop the Mountaineers seemed pretty crazy to me, and that's exact what happened. Like, there were moments in this game that made it seem like Appalachian State would upset the Tar Heels but again, in the end, North Carolina came out 40-34 victors in double overtime. That being said, for it being that high scoring, North Carolina scored all five of their touchdowns on the ground, with running back Omarion Hampton scoring three himself while also registering 234 yards, averaging nine yards a carry. As a team, North Carolina accounted for 319 yards on the ground, with star quarterback Drake Maye registering 57 yards himself and a touchdown to boot, though he was held touchdown-less in the passing game. Still, Maye looked solid when throwing the ball, completing 21 of 30 passes for 208 yards, it was a decent outing for the current number two quarterback in the draft. Now, though he may not have registered a touchdown pass in this game, he still made some nice throws. Like his one near the start of the third quarter, where he hit Kobe Paysour for a nice 29-yard gain. Though Paysour has relatively open, Maye did an excellent job at standing in the pocket, absorbing the hit from the edge rusher, and delivering a nice catchable ball to Paysour for the first down. He would later show off his arm strength, hitting JJ Jones on a 56-yard pass play. Maye threw an absolute dart on this play, putting little to no loft on the throw, just absolutely drilling it down the field and into Jones' chest for the big pick, which North Carolina would capitalize on a play later via a seven-yard Hampton touchdown run. That pass from Maye to Jones though deserved to be a touchdown, and for a split second it looked like Jones would be able to carry it into the end zone, but then two more Mountaineer defenders showed up and brought him down at the seven. Maye would show off the zip again on a second and 16 play later in the fourth quarter, hitting Jones on a dig route to pick up the first down. With three defenders somewhat in the area, Maye had to put a lot of sauce on that and deliver it right into Jones' body in order to avoid the turnover, really nice play from Maye bouncing back from the sack. Maye would then show off his running ability, and power, by picking up a first down on the very next play. With nothing open down field, Maye smartly pulled it down, breaking a couple of arm tackles in the process before finally being dragged down 12-yards later for the first. Unfortunately, that drive would end in zero points, as North Carolina kicker, Ryan Coe, missed a straight on field from 39-yards out in one of the weirdest ways I think I've ever seen. That being said, Maye would ice the game in the second overtime period with a 13-yard touchdown run, reading the defensive end perfectly before basically walking into the end zone for the game winning score. All in all, a solid performance from Maye, against a team that has caused North Carolina a lot of problems over the past couple years. Who knows how different their next game against Minnesota will look, going against one of the best pass defenses in college football, spear headed by safety Tyler Nubin, who has two picks to his name so far this season. Should be a fun one in Chapel Hill come Saturday.
Preseason - 1b
Wk 1 - 2
Wk 2 - 2
Wk 3 - v Minnesota
3. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (+2)
Wk 2 - 31/42 393 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries -30 yds 1 touchdown v Nebraska (36-14 W)
Season - 69/89 903 yds 6 touchdowns 0 interceptions/16 carries -62 yds 1 touchdown
The Shedeur Sanders train just keeps on rolling, doesn't it? Like I said in the last blog post, we knew Sanders was a very good quarterback based off his time at Jackson State, and even before that as he was a four star recruit coming out of high school, but he's playing even better than either you or I could've thought. I would like to reiterate, Sanders and his pretty famous dad inherited a Colorado Buffaloes team that went 1-11 last season, with that one win coming by way of Cal in overtime. Like, this was not a good football team, and on top of that that had a whole new group of players, with numerous players coming both in and out of the university. All in all, Colorado is a good football team, and Shedeur Sanders is a massive reason for why that is. And though the Buffaloes were a 20-point underdog to TCU week one, this was a Horned Frogs team that lost a lot of players from the team that managed to make it to the National Championship game. Apart from Josh Newton, cornerback, the defense wasn't great, even dating back to last year, which left some people to somewhat diminish what Sanders and co. did in Fort Worth last Saturday. For some out there, Nebraska, weirdly, served as a tougher test for Colorado, at least on the defensive side, but like they did against TCU, Nebraska was no match for the Colorado passing attack. Though he may not have matched his whopping 510-yard week one performance, Sanders put forth another great performance in the passing attack, throwing for 393 yard with two touchdowns through the air with another coming on the ground. Now, it did take a little while to get fully going, as the score was 0-0 going into the second quarter, with the Buffaloes first touchdown not coming until the 2:35 mark in the second quarter. After a not so great Jeff Sims interception, Colorado were set up very well on the Nebraska 30-yard line. One play later, Sanders would find a fairly wide open Xavier Weaver to put Colorado up 10-0. Again, Weaver had a decent amount of space between him and the nearest defender, but there were still six, six, Nebraska defenders in the area, so no matter how open he was, if Sanders doesn't throw a good ball, that could've easily been heading back the other direction for the Cornhuskers. Really solid throw from Sanders on that play, showed off nice touch on the touchdown toss. Then, just before halftime, Sanders would put forth a solid drive for the Buffaloes to add three before the half, showing a nice use of the hard count, getting Nebraska to jump offsides a couple times, as well as taking what the defense gave him, rather than trying to throw another touchdown before half. The main goal is to get points, and if the best way to do that is settle for a field goal, that's what you have to do, and Sanders did just that. Then on the first drive of the second half, on a third and 15 play, Sanders avoids what looked like a for sure sack, then rolled out to the right before delivering a ball on the run to Travis Hunter for a 40-yard gain. Though the drive eventually stalled out, Sanders showed off his ability to escape pressure and throw on the run. It wasn't the most insane throw of all time, but it was still impressive given the defender should've had position on Hunter during the throw. Sanders would show off his arm strength again on a deep ball down the far sideline, hitting Weaver for a 41-yard gain on third down. Now, if you watch the play back, you'd probably say Sanders under threw him, which would be correct. The 'arm strength' I'm bringing to attention is that he threw that ball with pretty much his entire upper body, trying to get the ball over the impending unblocked defender coming from the right side of the offensive line. Like, the defender came through completely untouched, with Sanders throwing the ball pretty much right after he caught the snap. Really impressive awareness from Sanders, knowing to get the ball off before the defender hits you. Also did a nice job at standing tall in the pocket, didn't try to evade the defender, just stood tall and delivered a nice catchable ball. His second touchdown would come a few plays later, where he absolutely zipped it into the end zone to Weaver, again, for six. After rolling to his left, Sanders threw an absolute strike to Weaver, who had two Nebraska defenders near him when Sanders released the ball. Another throw on the run for Sanders, who showed off some very nice zip on that throw. Sanders would have a few more nice throws across the middle to the likes of Xavier Weaver, which saw his throw just make it over the outstretched arm of the Nebraska linebacker, and Jimmy Horn, which helped Colorado pick up a third and 16. The Buffs would go on to score a few plays after the pass to Horn, but the main thing to talk about is the two-point conversion, where Sanders rolled to the right, evaded three or four sack attempts, with one dude getting two cracks at it, and delivered the ball to Hankerson in the end zone. Unfortunately, Hankerson couldn't bring the ball in, but still, what a play by Sanders to at least give themselves a chance at two more points. Sanders would then score his lone rushing touchdown with just under five minutes left in the fourth, making the score 36-7. Though Nebraska would score again late to make it 36-14, Sanders and the Buffaloes offense were really clicking after a slow first quarter. I don't know what to expect for the rest of the season, but as of right now, Sanders and the Buffaloes are looking really good, and should extend their winning streaking into Saturday as they take on Colorado State. Though they should handle the Rams, the Buffs have some tough challengers ahead in the form of Oregon and USC, with those games possibly having a little more on the line than a win or loss.
Preseason - NR
Wk 1 - 5
Wk 2 - 3
Wk 3 - v Colorado State
4. Riley Leonard, Duke (-1)
Wk 2 - 12/12 136 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/4 carries 13 yds 0 touchdowns v Lafayette (42-7 W)
Season - 29/45 311 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/12 carries 111 yds 1 touchdown
I know they're coming off a very impressive 28-7 win against then ninth ranked Clemson, but it feels very to watch Duke football and see a ranking next to their name. Am I the only one that feels that way? I'm not at all suggesting Duke doesn't deserve their top 25 ranking, obviously they do after beating Clemson the way they did, but it just feels odd. Though that game finished with a relatively surprising result, their next game against the Lafayette Leopards felt a little more predictable, wouldn't you say? Sure the Leopards were coming off an insanely impressive 19-14 win against Sacred Heart in week one, but that wouldn't be enough to keep the Blue Devils from going 2-0 to start the season, with quarterback Riley Leonard going 12 for 12 in this game with 136 yards and a touchdown. Like, Lafayette's pass defense was just non-existent, with even Leonard's backup, Henry Belin IV, going a perfect eight for eight in the game as well. All in all, this was just a predictably easy game for the Blue Devils, who mustered up 515 yards of total offense in this game. As for Leonard, he just took what the defense gave him, which was pretty much anything and everything, with first first and only touchdown pass coming on Duke's first drive of the game, hitting Jalon Calhoun on a slant route from 16-yards out to go up 7-0. Before then, Duke ate up a lot of ground via the run, but Leonard did manage to hit Sahmir Hagans on a nice 12-yard comeback route to get the first down. Easy throw from the standpoint that the defender was about five-yards off him, but still a difficult throw, going from the near hash to the far sideline, putting it on the outside shoulder of Hagans to get more yards after the catch while also keeping it away from the second defender on the inside. Leonard would later hit Hagans, again on a comeback, but this time on the near sideline, a much easier throw for Leonard to make, while also hitting him before the defender had a real chance to make a play on the ball. A little later, Leonard would try to hit Jordan Moore on a deep ball towards the end zone, but the play was broken up, though his perfect completion percentage would be saved as they call pass interference. Regardless of the penalty, I wouldn't say that throw was the best from Leonard. Maybe if he got a little more on it he could've led Moore in the end zone for the score but still, throwing into double coverage scares me, especially after seeing Josh Allen do it on more than one occasion against the Jets on Monday. Once again though, Leonard would hit on another comeback route, finding Moore on the play for the first down. Duke would score on a run play shortly after. Then, after an interception, Duke got the ball back with 30 seconds left and three timeouts. Leonard would show excellent decision making throughout this drive, setting Duke up with a chance to score three before the half, but the kick was ultimately missed. But on that drive, Leonard would find Nicky Dalmolin for a nice 21-yard gain on the first play of the drive across the middle. Though the throw was low, in ways that was probably better, as the chances of Dalmolin getting a massive chunk after that were very slim. So him going to the ground immediately may have actually bought Duke some more time. Leonard would gain a few yards on the ground the next play before hitting Hagans across the middle for a 19-yard gain. That was one of those throws where you can't afford to lead the receiver because of two things. A) leading him inside could see him get decapitated and B) it could lead to an interception, as there were three defenders in the area. So, with Leonard putting the ball right on Hagans body, it allowed to not only catch the ball, but also veer slightly up field to avoid the big hit from the Lafayette linebacker. Then on the final offensive play of the half, Leonard would dump it off to his open running back for a decent 18-yard gain. Again, showing good decision making, not trying to force anything to the end zone, as Lafayette had almost every defender on the goal line. Knowing you can still get points, checking it off to your running back, who smartly went out of bounds, was the best option, probably didn't expect the kicker to miss a 29-yard field goal before the half. For the rest of his time on the field, apart from one pass, Leonard would just hand the ball off, before getting pulled towards the end of the third quarter with the score being 28-7. All in all, solid game from Leonard against an inferior opponent, which the same should be said for Duke's next game against Northwestern, who are coming off their first win on US soil since October of 2021. I don't expect Duke to struggle too much come Saturday, with the Riley Leonard led Blue Devils hopefully going into that Notre Dame game on September 30th undefeated (if they beat UConn as well).
Preseason - 3
Wk 1 - 3
Wk 2 - 4
Wk 3 - v Northwestern
5. JJ McCarthy, Michigan (-1)
Wk 2 - 22/25 278 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/3 carries 38 yds 0 touchdowns v UNLV (35-7 W)
Season - 48/55 558 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/4 carries 36 yds 0 touchdowns
Another easy game for JJ McCarthy and the Michigan Wolverines, coming away with a 35-7 victory over UNLV last Saturday. I don't know if anyone really expected a different outcome, but the Michigan offense looks fairly solid, with McCarthy looking a lot more poised as a pass this season than we saw last season. Before you say anything, I am aware of who Michigan has played during these first two weeks, where players as talented as McCarthy really should be going through with relative ease, but it's still impressive none the less, can we at least admit that? If not, that's fine, I still think McCarthy has looked really good in these first two games, regardless of who they've played. Against these worse teams you should be looking good, like, it'd be a major cause for concern if you were to struggle against a team like UNLV when you play for Michigan. Like we saw the week before from McCarthy, he was incredibly efficient, completing 22 of 25 passes with two touchdowns and no picks, with those three incompletions adding to his previous weeks total of four adding up to just seven incompletions on the season, which places him second in the nation in competition percentage, impressive stuff. On Michigan's first drive of the game we saw McCarthy hit a nice little check down to Blake Corum before delivering a very solid ball through the middle to Tyler Morris for a 16-yard play. Like Gary Danielson said though during the broadcast, that was a dangerous throw, as he threw the ball to where there were three defenders in front of Morris and a further three behind and to the left of him. Now, though it is in some ways a 'dangerous' throw, I thought McCarthy did an excellent job getting the ball in there. Throwing it high enough to where the backer couldn't reach it, and low and driven enough to where Morris wouldn't get his head taken off by the defender. Not to mention it was a great catch as well, going down to get it like that, but McCarthy threw a very nice ball to pick up that first down on third and eight. McCarthy would find Morris again a few plays later on a corner route, which would then set up a Blake Corum touchdown run a few plays later. One thing McCarthy does better than most quarterbacks in the country is throwing on the run, and like the previous week, McCarthy was centimeters away from being across the line of scrimmage. Thankfully for him and Michigan, he was still technically behind, which would see him throw the ball back into the middle of the field for a first down. Normally I would be against throwing the ball back into the middle of the field, but since McCarthy is so effective running the ball, the linebacker had to keep him honest and decided to pursue him, leaving Morris wide open in the middle of the field for the first down. Again, normally I'm totally against that, but when a receiver is open, and it's not an insanely far throw, I can live with it. McCarthy would help Michigan pick up another first down shortly after, stepping up in the pocket and zipping the ball between two UNLV defenders into the stomach of his tight end, AJ Barner, for a 12-yard gain. McCarthy would show off his running abilities again, this time without a throw involved, pulling it from Corum and picking up a nice 17-yards on the play, which would lead to a Blake Corum touchdown a play later. McCarthy would then have arguably his best throw of the game, hitting Cornelius Johnson on a corner route to pick up 20 more yards. This was an impressive display of arm strength by McCarthy, who had to throw a near perfect pass to fit it in to Johnson, which he did. With the UNLV defender who was covering the flat dropping back as McCarthy was releasing it, an interception definitely looked on the cards for that play. Thankfully, again, McCarthy has more than enough arm strength to fit the ball in there for the first down, though that drive would ultimately stall out. The next drive though, McCarthy would once again flash the arm strength again, hitting Johnson over the middle for an 18-yard gain. Though the ball was a little behind, all in all you'd say that's decent placement because again, it kept him from taking a massive shot right after the catch. Though he got hit kind of hard in the legs, it's much better than taking that on the chin. He would then pick up a nice first down using his legs before hitting Roman Wilson for a 13-yard touchdown. Fairly straight forward this one, nothing too flashy, Wilson just lost the defender so McCarthy put it on him and he walked into the end zone, putting Michigan up 21-0 at the half. On the second drive of the second half, McCarthy would find Wilson again, this time while halfway rolling/stepping up to his left before delivering the ball to Wilson for a 47-yard touchdown. With Wilson coming from the right side of the formation, McCarthy did an excellent job of buying time in the pocket before stepping up to his left. Great pass to Wilson who again, just beat the defender for speed and took it to the house for six. McCarthy would hit Johnson across the middle again for a nice gain, which would lead to another Michigan rushing touchdown, which would be the end of McCarthy's game against UNLV. Again, another efficient performance from the Michigan quarterback, who's definitely made strides this offseason in becoming a better passer. If he continues at this pace, we could be witnessing a special season for McCarthy and co., which could lead to more than a CFP appearance. I expect McCarthy to continue his hot streak against Bowling Green this weekend, especially since it's Michigan's first night game of the season.
Preseason - 4
Wk 1 - 4
Wk 2 - 5
Wk 3 - v Bowling Green
6. Quinn Ewers, Texas
Wk 2 - 24/38 349 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/3 carries 11 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.3 Alabama (34-24 W)
Season - 43/68 609 yds 6 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries 23 yds 1 touchdown
After a long offseason, we finally got to see a rematch from a season before, which saw the Texas Longhorns almost take it to the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Austin, though losing in the end by a score of 20-19. Though they may have lost the have, the Longhorns could hold their heads high, as they just saw a very solid performance from their quarterback, Quinn Ewers. Sure, he may have gotten knocked out of the game, and some of the following weeks, but Ewers put forth an impressive, but short, stint against the Crimson Tide, which kind of put him back on everybody's radar as being one of the best young quarterbacks in college football. It was one of those games where people would look and ask themselves, what if Ewers didn't get hurt? Would Texas have actually been able to upset the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide? Well, a year later, we got our answer, as Ewers and the Longhorns marched into Bryant-Denny Stadium and beat Alabama 34-24. With the win, Texas ended Alabama's 21-game home winning streak, what a way to make your first appearance at Alabama since 1902, right? All in all, like I said before, Ewers looked about just as good this past Saturday as he had in any game to this date, answering some of the questions from last year. I guess we shouldn't just limit those questions to the last Bama v Texas game, there were some questions marks about Ewers' game dating all the way back to Texas' first game against Rice this season. Ewers had his moments, but the consistency was somewhat of an issue in that first game, though he did lead Texas to a 37-10 victory. In this game against Bama, the inconsistencies were still there, but he looks like he's finding a little more of a grove as the season progresses. One thing I've really liked from Ewers so far this season is that he's using his legs more. Not that he's running all the time or anything, but he's picking up key gains for Texas by using his legs in the run game, putting that on display on the first drive of the game, though he does need to work on sliding. On Texas' second drive of the game we almost saw Ewers toss his first touchdown, which was a very well placed ball to the opposite near pylon to Xavier Worthy, but the receiver couldn't reel it in. Throwing the ball from the near hash to the opposite near pylon is a damn tough throw, but Ewers is more than capable of making that throw, which should've resulted in six for Texas. That being said, Ewers would get his first touchdown pass on the next drive, hitting Xavier Worthy on a beautifully thrown deep ball down the middle of the field. Like, dude didn't really put a lot on that throw, throwing the ball from a pretty awkward base, Ewers lead Worthy perfectly into the end zone for the score. Did Worthy need to adjust? Kind of, but it was still a good throw from Ewers. Back to consistency for Ewers, the deep ball has been somewhat of a problem area for him. He's got the arm, but the touch has wained on him at times. Not there though as again, very well thrown ball to go up 10-3. He also showed good pocket awareness a few plays earlier, hitting Jordan Whittington on a third and eight play that would eventually set up his aforementioned touchdown. Again on pocket awareness and standing tall in a collapsing pocket, Ewers helped Texas pick up another first down on a third and four play, hitting his tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders for the first. Was he open? Sure, but Ewers didn't panic, while getting hit, and delivered the ball nicely to Sanders on the play. After a few screen plays and a short run by Ewers, Texas would ultimately settle for a field goal. Now, there were a couple throws Ewers missed high on that could've been first downs for Texas, first missing Worthy with their backs against the end zone and the second to Whittington, though on the run, that would've picked up a first on third and 11. That being said, after the Whittington miss, Ewers would show nice touch and placement on a throw to Adonai Mitchell down the far sideline, hitting the receiver perfectly between the Kool-Aid McKinstry and the sideline. Probably Ewers best throw of the game. Another contender for that title could come in the fourth quarter, where Ewers hit Sanders for a nice little 50-yard gain. Though Sanders was open, it's again the ability to stand tall in the pocket by Ewers that's impressive here. With an Alabama defender leaping in his face, with arms fully extended, Ewers delivered a well placed ball to Sanders for the first down. Again, the throw itself isn't anything that amazing, it's more of his calmness when delivering the ball that's impressive. Ewers would get an easy seven-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell a few plays later. Ewers would then get his third and final touchdown pass a couple drives later, hitting Mitchell, again, for a 39-yard touchdown. With Mitchell cooking his defender off the line, all Ewers needed to do was not over throw him, which he didn't. Showing off nice touch and placement on that deep ball, which ultimately sealed the deal, giving Texas the 34-24 win at Alabama. This was an impressive performance by Ewers, who needed a decent game for the court of public opinion to be back on his side. Sure, there's some things to still work on, but he looked very solid and definitely built on his short performance from last year. This Saturday the Longhorns take on Wyoming, and I don't really expect Ewers and co. to have as many problems against the Cowboys as their in-state rivals, Texas Tech, did a couple weeks ago.
Preseason - 5
Wk 1 - 6
Wk 2 - 6
Wk 3 - v Wyoming
7. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
Wk 2 - 28/38 409 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interceptions/2 carries 11 yds 0 touchdowns v Tulsa (43-10 W)
Season - 57/78 859 yds 8 touchdowns 1 interception/4 carries 9 yds 0 touchdowns
This was kind of an odd game. Obviously the scoreline shows that Washington ended up beating Tulsa fairly easily on Saturday, but the Golden Hurricanes slowed down a very high powered Washington offense for as long as they could, keeping the score at 14-3 for most of the first half. Again though, in the end, Michael Penix and the Washington Huskies came out as winners again, beating Tulsa by a score of 43-10. This was somewhat similar-ish to what happened in their game against Boise State. Like, there were points where the opposing team was keeping these aforementioned offense at bay, before they opened the game up and actually started scoring. As for Penix, individually, this was another solid performance, throwing for 409 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, which actually came on Washington's third drive of the game. He tried to hit wideout Rome Odunze near the front pylon on the near sideline, but Penix over shot Odunze and it landed in the grateful arms of the Tulsa defender. It's not like this was a horrifically bad read or bad throw by Penix, he just over shot the intended receiver which of course he'd love to have back, but it's normally a throw I'd trust him to make, especially with a relatively clean pocket. As for the positive things, the first drive of the game we'd see Penix actually hook up with Odunze for a two-yard touchdown, which saw Odunze come in motion and line up behind Penix before splitting out of the backfield and being wide ass open for the easy score. Penix would get a big completion early in the drive by hitting McMillen in the flat who would eat up 35-yards on the play. Couple that with a roughing the passer call and we're looking at great field position which would of course lead to the aforementioned Odunze score. Penix would then show off the running ability by picking up a first down fourth and one, even using a nice little Braxton Miller esc spin move to evade the defender for the first. Granted, he tripped over his own feet doing it, so maybe not as athletic as Miller, but still cool to see. Polk would score on a reverse a few plays later, making it 14-3 Washington. Then, on the drive after the interception, Penix would hit a wide open Odunze across the middle for a nice 26-yard gain. Penix would get lucky a few plays later, as he hit Denzel Boston on the side line for a first down. The play was well read by the Tulsa defense, who had a guy jump in between Boston and the ball. Unfortunately for Tulsa, the ball went right through his hands and into the lap of a fallen over Boston, picking up another first down. Even more unfortunate for Tulsa, Penix would hit McMillen in the flat a few plays later, which would result in another touchdown for Washington. Imagine going from what looked like a for sure pick to giving up a touchdown a few plays later. Washington would then convert a two-point conversion to make the pain even worse, going up 22-3 late in the second. Washington would get one more offensive drive though to end the half. With Penix dicing up the Golden Hurricane secondary, it looked like the Huskies were primed to get more points before the half. Sadly, after Penix hit McMillen over the middle, dude would end up fumbling the ball, which Tulsa ultimately recovered. Though Tulsa wouldn't capitalize on the turnover, I'm sure it left a bitter taste in Washington's mouth going into the half. On their first drive of the second half, Washington would throw the ball every single play, which would lead to another touchdown, with Penix hitting some throws that would go for 30, 19, 5, 11, and 10, with his best throw arguably going to Polk on a 19-yard play, before hitting Germie Bernard for a seven-yard touchdown. Much like the other touchdowns, the one to Bernard was also fairly easy, with him motioning across the formation and being wide open in the flat. Like, the start of the second half for Washington was all pass plays, with their 'run plays' basically just being dump offs in the flat that would just up yards after the catch. Though they would end up scoring on a run play, with Odunze could on a reverse and scoring from 14-yards out. Somewhat surprisingly, Penix stayed out there at the start of the fourth, starting off by completing an alright ball to Will Nixon for an 18-yard gain. Ball was behind and Nixon had to adjust for the pass, but still picked up nice yards for Washington. Penix would throw a much better ball to Bernard a few plays later, dropping a deep ball in between two Tulsa defenders and into the arms or Bernard. Like we've mentioned before, that's one of those throws that's really tough to make, as you have two defenders with a chance at the ball. You can't lead or under throw the receiver too much otherwise it'll be picked up so again, really good ball placement from Penix. Ultimately though, a missed field goal would be how that drive would end. The missed field goal would also be Penix's last drive of the game, as the Huskies were comfortably up 36-10 just over the midway point in the fourth. Again, this was a solid game from Penix. Sure it was against Tulsa, but he was on point in this game, and I expect him to do the same to a pour-ish Michigan State defense. Yes it's on the road, but I don't think there will be too many obstacles for Penix and the Washington offense.
Wk 1 - 7
Wk 2 - 7
Wk 3 - @ Michigan State
8. Bo Nix, Oregon (+1)
Wk 2 - 32/44 359 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/9 carries 46 yds 0 touchdowns @ Texas Tech (38-30 W)
Season - 55/71 646 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/9 carries 46 yds 0 touchdowns
This was a game where I wasn't too sure what to expect. If you looked at either teams week one match-up, where we saw Oregon beat Portland State 81-7 and Texas Tech lose on the road 35-33 to Wyoming. So with Oregon predictably blowing out a lowly FCS team and Tech losing to an FBS team they realistically shouldn't lose to, that opens the door to a bunch of possibilities. Is Texas Tech worse than everyone expected? Like, I was seeing some people out there predicting them to finish with the best record in the Big 12, with some even going as far to say they'd finish 10-2. Though they could in theory go 10-2, I have a hard time believing they'll finish the regular season on a 10 game win streak, sorry Texas Tech fans. That loss to Wyoming also created some questions for Oregon, again, asking how good this Tech team really was. Could they look over them and completely lay an egg against Tech, or would they absolutely beat the breaks off of them? Well, neither of those really happened, as we were treated to a very good game on Saturday, with Oregon coming out on top 38-30. What made this game a little bit more interesting is that former Oregon quarterback, Tyler Shough, was quarterbacking the Red Raiders in this game, going against the guy that ultimately replaced him in Bo Nix (fyi: Nix came in a year after Shough transfer, so it's not a direct replacement but he still technically did replace him at Oregon). If it weren't for the three interceptions and two fumbles (one lost) Shough threw in this game, maybe we're talking about a different outcome, but both him and Nix put up some decent enough numbers in this one. Thankfully for Oregon, Nix did not turn the ball over, and as opposed to his game last week, he actually carried the ball, leading the Ducks with 46 rushing yards. Passing the ball though, Nix looked on, hitting Troy Franklin on a 72-yard bomb on their second drive of the game. After starting two for five through the air, the touchdown pass really showed Nix's abilities as a deep ball passer, hitting Franklin perfectly in stride for the touchdown, tying the game at seven. Nix would show off the touch on Oregon's next drive too, hitting Traeshon Holden down the far sideline for a nice 22-yard gain. Though Holden may not have gotten into the end zone, that pass from Nix shows again what we've talked about a lot on this blog post, the ability to place the ball between multiple defenders, not leading or under throwing him too much. Now, he did have a bit of space between him and the next defender, but the pass allowed Holden to get his head up and be ready to take the hit. After a few penalties, Nix would get his second and final passing touchdown of the day, hitting Tez Johnson underneath for a 13-yard touchdown. Though he did a nice job at staying patient in the pocket, there wasn't a whole lot Nix did on that touchdown, as Johnson caught the ball at the 12, one-yard in front of the line of scrimmage, then did the rest to get Oregon a 15-7 lead, following a two-point conversion. After that touchdown, Oregon would have a few drives stall out, with Nix missing Jordan James in the flat to pick up the first down, forcing Oregon to punt after a three and out. Oregon would follow that three and out with another three and out on the following drive. The Ducks would hit a field goal before the half, but that drive mostly just consisted of Nix hitting a lot of check downs and underneath routes, though a few of them were big hitters, like the 25-yard play to Bucky Irving. That being said, Oregon would hop back on the three and out train on their first drive of the second half, then turning the ball over on downs the one after that. Though that drive stalled out, we did get to see Nix show off his running ability, picking up a third and eight on the ground while picking up 16-yards in total, breaking an arm tackle sack attempt in the process. Nix would pick up another first down with his legs on Oregon's next drive, carrying the ball 13-yards to pick up a third and 11. Even flashed some elusiveness as well, cutting away from a would be tackler just beyond the line of scrimmage. Nix would then hit Troy Franklin on a very well thrown pass on third and five. With Franklin running an out route to the far sideline, Nix placed the ball right where it should be from the near hash, very nice throw from Nix. I feel like a broken record here but once again, Nix helped Oregon pick up another third down, once again with his legs. With the pocket somewhat collapsing and no one open down field, Nix tucked and hit the corner to just get beyond the first donw marker before going out of bounds at the three-yard line. Oregon would score on the very next play. Oregon would follow that up with a couple more field goals with Nix throwing a near interception after doing an excellent job of evading pressure and scrambling around in the backfield before delivering the ball to the end zone. Really got away with one there, but thankfully Oregon still got three, giving them a 28-27 lead in the fourth. Nix would have a couple nice completions on Oregon's following field goal ending drive, which saw them make the score 31-30 late in the fourth. A Tyler Shough pick six would ultimately end the game with 40 odd seconds left, giving Oregon the 38-30 victory on the road in Lubbock. Very well played game from Nix. One thing I've loved seeing from Nix since his time at Auburn is that he doesn't force anything. He'll run when he needs to and check down when he needs to, always living to fight another play, which helped Oregon come back from 27-18 on the road. Though that game was tough, I have a hard time believing Oregon will struggle against Hawai'i on Saturday.
Preseason - 7
Wk 1 - 9
Wk 2 - 8
Wk 3 - v Hawai'i
9. Joe Milton III, Tennessee (-1)
Wk 2 - 21/33 228 yds 2 touchdowns 0 touchdowns/3 carries 7 yds 1 touchdown v Austin Peay (30-13 W)
Season - 42/63 429 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/12 carries 40 yds 3 touchdowns
Not going to lie, I was a little weirded out when I saw how close this game was throughout the first half. This was a Tennessee team coming off a very impressive and dominating performance against Virginia a week ago, now they're struggling against Austin Peay? An Austin Peay team that got blown out out Southern Illinois, after being down 28-0 at halftime? Again, I was a little weirded out, especially when I saw the score was 3-3 at the end of the first quarter, and 6-3 Austin Peay about half way through the second quarter. Did anyone else see this coming? I though Tennessee, in their first official home game, would absolutely beat the breaks off of Austin Peay, but in reality, it took them til there were 15 seconds left in the first half to score above 10-points. Craziness. Maybe it was just those ugly ass uniforms, who knows? But as for Joe Milton, who of course is the main subject in this section, he didn't have the game I was expecting when I posted the week one quarterback rankings last week. Like, he didn't turn the ball over, and registered three total touchdowns, but it wasn't the stellar performance I was looking for to be 100% honest. Early on in the game, it was hard for Milton to really get things clicking offensively. In Tennessee's firs seven plays, Milton completed one pass for 11-yards, which was just a designed bubble route to Jaylen Wright, who did all of the heavy lifting on that 11-yard hookup. Apart from that, Milton missed some throws, one high, and battled some drops, with the final one coming on a third and eight play that I thought Milton did well with. Getting the ball out before the Governor defender closed in on him, hitting Squirrel White in the hands for a what could've been first down, but he unfortunately dropped it, forcing Tennessee to punt. Thankfully the Austin Peay return man fumbled the ball, which set the Volunteers up with great field position. The thing is, they gained only two-yards and had to settle for a field goal. Tennessee could've come away with more on this drive, but Milton missed Bru McCoy in the end zone for the would be touchdown, missing him to the outside. On their next offensive drive, Tennessee would turn the ball over on downs, trying to go for it on fourth and three at the Austin Peay 17-yard line. Milton tried to fit a ball in to Dont'e Thornton on the slant route, but the ball was slightly behind which allowed the defender to get his hand in and break up the pass. Tennessee would settle for a field goal on their next possession. On their final drive of the half, Milton would attempt to get a ball to Bru McCoy in the back corner of the end zone, which is not an easy throw given he was on the near hash trying to hit the far back pylon. But if anyone could make that throw, it'd be Joe Milton. The thing is, he kind of threw this ball off back back foot, and the throw was more on a line than floated in there, which caused it to be behind McCoy, who couldn't come up with the ball. Not to worry though, as Milton would punch the ball in a few plays later on a designed quarterback keeper. Just easy. Tennessee was eating on the ground to this point in the game, so why not let your athletic monster quarterback try to punch it in from six-yards out? Tennessee would continue their touchdown scoring ways on their first drive of the second half. After eating up a lot of yards on the ground, Milton zipped a ball to Ramel Keyton on a slant from five-yards out to extend Tennessee's lead to 20-6. I think Milton did an excellent job of starting his eyes to the left, before darting back to the right and delivering an absolute laser to Keyton for the touchdown. The throw itself wasn't anything spectacular, but his eyes and quick hips were good on this play. A couple drives later, Milton would show off the arm strength. With a defender barreling down on him, Milton stood tall in the pocket arm threw a side armed pass around him to hit Keyton in the flat, who would pick up the first down on third and four. This was all upper body from Milton, as he really couldn't drive the ball like he may have wanted to, but is arm is so damn strong that he got it to Keyton, around the defender, with ease for the first down. Tennessee's drive would ultimately stall out, with them settling for another field goal. Then after a fumble and a punt, Tennessee would get their final score of the game with eight minutes left in the fourth. Though it was a throw to the flat, Milton would register his second passing touchdown of the game, hitting McCallan Castles who took it in from 43-yards out. Milton would have decent, but low throw to Bru McCoy for 20-yards, but the main thing here is the touchdown, which sealed the game for the Vols. Again, this wasn't the performance I was expecting from Milton and co.. I wanted to see Milton put away a low level team like Austin Peay but he didn't really do that, did he? Will he be able to do that against Florida in 'the Swamp?' I'm not sure, especially with how solid Florida's been defensively. Time will tell I guess.
Preseason - 6
Wk 1 - 8
Wk 2 - 9
Wk 3 - @ Florida
10. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina (+1)
Wk 2 - 25/27 345 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/3 carries 8 yds 1 touchdown v Furman (47-21 W)
Season - 55/66 698 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/16 carries -14 yds 1 touchdown
I don't know about you, but I thought it was pretty nice to see Spencer Rattler not on his ass for an entire game like he was against North Carolina. Nine sacks and zero touchdowns later, it was good to see the script kind of flipped, with Rattler getting sacked zero times while also throwing for 345-yards and three touchdowns. I am well aware there is a big difference between North Carolina and Furman but still, it was still nice to see. This was just an overall easy game from Rattler and co., as they came away with a 47-21 win against the Paladins last Saturday night. Though their first drive ended with a missed field goal, Rattler would lead the Gamecocks on the touchdown drive their next time on the field. Though it was a rushing touchdown, Rattler did a nice job distributing the rock to different receivers on every pass attempt, with Joshua Simon even trying to hurdle a defender after picking up the first on a bubble route thrown by Rattler. No real amazing throws from Rattler, but he efficient and as I said before, hit a different receiver with every throw, which certainly made them happy. After going three and out on their next drive, Rattler would help the Gamecocks secure seven more on the drive after, even showing off his abilities as a runner and escape artist as he evaded a couple Furman defenders before dumping the ball off to his running back Dakereon Joyner for eight yards. With that thought, Rattler took a little shot right after he let go of the ball, which drew a nice little unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for South Carolina to keep on trucking. Rattler would them deliver a nice ball up the seem to Trey Knox for a 15-yard gain, getting down to the five-yard line. Nice job by Rattler on making that some sort of back shoulder throw, which put both the ball and Knox away from the defender, picking up a nice gain and avoiding the turnover in the process, really good play by Rattler. The next play though, after going up tempo, Rattler would try to take it in himself from five-yards out but got absolutely walloped in the process by the Furman defender. That being said, Rattler would QB sneak it a couple plays later to tie the game at 14. A couple drives later, after a few dink and dimes from Rattler, we'd see him help the Gamecocks pick up a fourth down and two play. With pressure coming in, Rattler delivered a nice ball to the sideline, hitting Xavier Legette for five-yards and a first. A play later though, Rattler would get his first passing touchdown of the game, hitting Luke Doty for a 36-yard touchdown, putting South Carolina up 20-14 (missed two point conversion). Though Doty had a few steps on his defender (thanks to a couple of them tripping each other), Rattler showed nice touch on this deep ball, placing it right in the bread basket for six points and the lead. Rattler would come back on the next drive trying to hit the deep ball again, throwing to Xavier Legette for a 53-yard play. Rattler again did a good job at avoiding pressure in the backfield, before rolling to his right and delivering a nice ball down the far sideline. Don't get me wrong, Legette made a nice catch, but that was an all around great play by Rattler. He then followed that up with his second touchdown pass of the game, hitting O'Mega Blake on a seven-yard fade-ish route to extend their lead even further. This wasn't Rattler's best throw, but when the defender is playing that weird defensively, it doesn't take an amazing throw to score, and Rattler just hit Blake on the goal line for six with three seconds left in the half. Rattler would get another big hitter on the Gamecocks first drive of the second half, hitting Eddie Lewis on a 46-yard pass down the middle of the field. Maybe the ball was a little behind as Rattler may have gotten a little too much underneath it, but it was still a good throw, and would set up the Gamecock for another touchdown a few plays later, as Rattler would hit Legette from 42-yards out for the score. While getting hit, Rattler threw arguably his best ball of the game, hitting Legette in stride for the score. Again, while getting hit. Maybe Legette got away with a little OPI but either way, still a great throw by Rattler, who definitely found his rhythm. After that thought, Rattler's day was done, and it was a good one. Hit a lot of short to intermediate throws throughout the game but hit on some bombs as well. I thought he played well given the circumstances last week, but this game, while being protected, was just a great game for Rattler all around. Now, I don't know if that success will continue this Saturday as they take on Georgia, but hey, crazier things have happened, right?
Preseason - 10b
Wk 1 - 10b
Wk 2 - 10
Wk 3 - @ no.1 Georgia
Others
*alphabetical order
Jayden Daniels, LSU
Wk 2 - 18/24 269 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 29 yds 0 touchdowns v Grambling (72-10 W)
Season - 40/61 615 yds 6 touchdowns 1 interception/20 carries 93 yds 0 touchdowns
Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
Wk 2 - 27/33 253 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/4 carries 14 yds 1 touchdown v Houston Christian (52-22 W)
Season - 56/83 589 yds 6 touchdowns 0 interceptions/7 carries 41 yds 2 touchdowns
Jordan Travis, Florida State (10a)
Wk 2 - 15/29 175 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/6 carries 20 yds 0 touchdowns v Southern Mississippi (66-13 W)
Season - 38/60 517 yds 6 touchdowns 1 interception/13 carries 58 yds 1 touchdown
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (FL) (NEW)
Wk 2 - 21/30 374 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/2 carries -12 yds 0 touchdowns v no.23 Texas A&M (48-33 W)
Season - 38/52 575 yds 6 touchdowns 1 interception/2 carries -12 yds 0 touchdowns
Cameron Ward, Washington State
Wk 2 - 20/32 212 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/17 carries 43 yds 0 touchdowns v Wisconsin (31-22 W)
Season - 57/81 663 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/30 carries 80 yds 1 touchdown
Previous Rankings
Thank you for taking the time to read through the list! Hope you enjoyed it! If you did, give the article a like and comment down below how you felt!
While you're at it, go subscribe and/or follow me on all forms of social media!
Facebook: The Logan Blackman Show
Instagram (personal): @blackmanlogan
Instagram (show): @theloganblackmanshow1
LinkedIn: Logan Blackman
TikTok: @theloganblackmanshow
Twitter: @logan_blackman
YouTube: The Logan Blackman Show
Comments