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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Phil Harrison

Big Ten quarterbacks ranked by Total QBR after Week 4: A two-man race for the top spot

We are four full weeks into the college football regular season, and we continue to get more data points with Big Ten quarterbacks to see who is doing the best at their position, including Ohio State football’s new starter under center, Kyle McCord who just happened to orchestrate one memorable game-winning drive over Notre Dame on Saturday.

The metric we like to use more than any other is ESPN’s Total QBR rating. We find it to be a better indicator of performance because it takes into account many aspects others don’t, including the level of competition.

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So what is Total QBR exactly? According to ESPN, Adjusted Total Quarterback Rating “values the quarterback on all play types on a 0-100 scale adjusted for the strength of opposing defenses faced.”

OK, we’re game.

So where are McCord and Big Ten signal-callers like J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, Drew Allar of Penn State, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, and Cade McNamara of Iowa following Week 4 of the college football season? It now seems to be a clear race for the top spot between two old rival schools’ quarterbacks.

Here’s how things stack up after another week of the still relatively new college and Big Ten football season.

14
Cade McNamara , Iowa

Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 29.5
Total Before Last Week | 30.4
Ranking Last Week | 13 ( one spot)

13
Tayven Jackson, Indiana

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 33.5
Total Before Last Week | 55.5
Ranking Last Week | 7 ( six spots)

12
Noah Kim, Michigan State

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 39.9
Total Before Last Week | 44.2
Ranking Last Week | 10 ( two spots)

11
Heinrich Haarberg, Nebraska

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 40.7
Total Before Last Week | N/A
Ranking Last Week | N/A

10
Ben Bryant, Northwestern

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 41.8
Total Before Last Week | 25.2
Ranking Last Week | 14 ( four spots)

9
Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin

Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 48.6
Total Before Last Week | 39.0
Ranking Last Week | 11 ( two spots)

8
Hudson Card, Purdue

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 52.1
Total Before Last Week | 53.6
Ranking Last Week | 8 (⇔ no change)

7
Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 57.3
Total Before Last Week | 49.2
Ranking Last Week | 9 ( two spots)

6
Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 57.3
Total Before Last Week | 56.6
Ranking Last Week | 6 (⇔ no change)

5
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland

Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 70.7
Total Before Last Week | 66.4
Ranking Last Week | 5 (⇔ no change)

4
Gavin Wimsatt, Rutgers

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 76.2
Total Before Last Week | 77.4
Ranking Last Week | 4 (⇔ no change)

3
Drew Allar, Penn State

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 82.2
Total Before Last Week | 78.1
Ranking Last Week | 3 (⇔ no change)

2
Kyle McCord, Ohio State

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 87.7
Total Before Last Week | 87.2
Ranking Last Week | 1 ( one spot)

1
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 91.0
Total Before Last Week | 85.7
Ranking Last Week | 1 ( one spot)

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

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