The college football season is flying along. Believe it or not, we are seven full weeks into the 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 starter under center, Kyle McCord, who had a solid — not spectacular — game on the road against Purdue in a mighty impressive Buckeye victory.
Just like every other week, there were Big Ten quarterback performances besides what we saw from McCord, and we like to keep track of how they are all doing when stacking them up against one another.
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.
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 gunslingers such as J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, Drew Allar of Penn State, Taulia Tagovailoa of Maryland and Gavin Wimsatt of Rutgers following Week 7 of the college football season? This rating still looks like a heat between two archrival schools — with one pulling away to perhaps an unsurmountable lead. But there’s still half of the season to go and a great many important and competitive matchups down the road.
Nonetheless, here’s how things stack up with Total QBR after another week of a very wild college football season in the Big Ten.
Not eligible
No Longer Eligible
Cade McNamara, Iowa – Injured
Deacon Hill, Iowa – Not enough game experience
* To qualify, a player must average 20 action plays per game
No. 13 - Tayven Jackson, Indiana
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 36.2
Total Before Last Week | 35.8
Ranking Last Week | 13 (⇔ no change)
No. 12 - Noah Kim, Michigan State
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 41.7
Total Before Last Week | 40.8
Ranking Last Week | 12 (⇔ no change)
No. 11 - Ben Bryant, Northwestern
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 42.6
Total Before Last Week | 41.4
Ranking Last Week | 11 (⇔ no change)
No. 10 - Hudson Card, Purdue
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 48.2
Total Before Last Week | 48.2
Ranking Last Week | 9 (⇓ one spot)
No. 9 - Heinrich Haarberg, Nebraska
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 48.5
Total Before Last Week | 48.5
Ranking Last Week | 8 (⇓ one spot)
No. 8 - Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 50.8
Total Before Last Week | 47.8
Ranking Last Week | 10 (⇑ two spots)
No. 7 - Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin (suffered injury vs. Iowa)
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 54.4
Total Before Last Week | 56.7
Ranking Last Week | 8 (⇓ one spot)
No. 6 - Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 56.3
Total Before Last Week | 55.9
Ranking Last Week | 7 (⇑ one spot)
No. 5 - Gavin Wimsatt, Rutgers
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 59.9
Total Before Last Week | 66.2
Ranking Last Week | 4 (⇔ no change)
No. 4 - Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 74.4
Total Before Last Week | 74.0
Ranking Last Week | 4 (⇔ no change)
No. 3 - Drew Allar, Penn State
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 74.6
Total Before Last Week | 75.2
Ranking Last Week | 3 (⇔ no change)
No. 2 - Kyle McCord, Ohio State
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 87.2
Total Before Last Week | 86.6
Ranking Last Week | 2 (⇔ no change)
No. 1 - J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR | 92.6
Total Before Last Week | 93.6
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.
