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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 5: Clear separation at the top

We are now five 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. That includes Ohio State football’s new starter under center, Kyle McCord, who orchestrated one memorable game-winning drive over Notre Dame on Saturday before he and his teammates took the week off last 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 such as J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, Drew Allar of Penn State, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa and surprising newcomer, Gavin Wimsatt of Rutgers following Week 4 of the college football season? This thing still looks like it’s a heat between two arch rival schools, but there’s still a long way to go.

Here’s how things stack up after another week of an already wild college football season in the Big Ten.

14
Cade McNamara, Iowa (now injured)

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 28.0
Total Before Last Week | 29.5
Ranking Last Week | 14 (⇔ no change)

13
Tayven Jackson, Indiana

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 33.8
Total Before Last Week | 33.5
Ranking Last Week | 13 (⇔ no change)

12
Heinrich Haarberg, Nebraska

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 38.8
Total Before Last Week | 40.7
Ranking Last Week | 11 ( one spot)

11
Noah Kim, Michigan State

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 39.9
Total Before Last Week | 39.9
Ranking Last Week | 12 ( one spots)

10
Ben Bryant, Northwestern

Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 41.6
Total Before Last Week | 41.8
Ranking Last Week | 10 (⇔ no change)

9
Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 50.0
Total Before Last Week | 57.3
Ranking Last Week | 6 ( three spots)

8
Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 451.5
Total Before Last Week | 48.6
Ranking Last Week | 9 ( one spot)

7
Hudson Card, Purdue

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 54.9
Total Before Last Week | 52.1
Ranking Last Week | 8 ( one spot)

6
Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 65.0
Total Before Last Week | 57.3
Ranking Last Week | 7 ( one spot)

5
Drew Allar, Penn State

Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 74.9
Total Before Last Week | 82.2
Ranking Last Week | 3 ( two spots)

4
Gavin Wimsatt, Rutgers

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 76.0
Total Before Last Week | 76.2
Ranking Last Week | 4 (⇔ no change)

3
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 76.0
Total Before Last Week | 70.7
Ranking Last Week | 5 ( two spots)

2
Kyle McCord, Ohio State

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 87.7
Total Before Last Week | 87.7
Ranking Last Week | 2 (⇔ no change)

1
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 94.2
Total Before Last Week | 91.0
Ranking Last Week | 1 (⇔ no change)

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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