The college football season continues to swiftly move along with just a few weeks left in the regular season.
Believe it or not, we are now nine full weeks in, and we continue to get more data points with Big Ten quarterbacks to see who is doing the best at the position. That includes Ohio State football’s starter under center, Kyle McCord, who probably had his worst performance of the year at Wisconsin throwing two picks and losing a fumble, but he still did enough to notch another victory for his Buckeye brothers.
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 9 of the college football season? It’s now becoming increasingly clear that one guy is separating from the pack with another the clear No. 2. And with only four games left for most, it’s going to be awfully hard to reel in either.
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
Not Eligible
Cade McNamara, Iowa – Injured
Deacon Hill, Iowa – Not enough game experience
* To qualify, a player must average 20 action plays per game
No. 14 - Tayven Jackson, Indiana
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
37.5
Total Before Last Week
37.4
Ranking Last Week
13 (⇓ one spot)
No. 13 - Noah Kim, Michigan State
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
41.4
Total Before Last Week
43.0
Ranking Last Week
10 (⇓ three spots)
No. 12 - Ben Bryant, Northwestern
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
41.5
Total Before Last Week
42.2
Ranking Last Week
11 (⇓ one spot)
No. 11 - Hudson Card, Purdue
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
43.2
Total Before Last Week
47.6
Ranking Last Week
9 (⇓ two spots)
No. 10 - Heinrich Haarberg, Nebraska
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
46.3
Total Before Last Week
41.7
Ranking Last Week
12 (⇑ two spots)
No. 9 - Tanner Mordecai (injured)
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
54.9
Total Before Last Week
55.7
Ranking Last Week
7 (⇓ two spots)
No. 8 - Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
57.4
Total Before Last Week
54.2
Ranking Last Week
8 (⇔ no change)
No. 7 - Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
59.1
Total Before Last Week
58.9
Ranking Last Week
6 (⇓ one spot)
No. 6 - Brendan Sorsby, Indiana
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
60.2
Total Before Last Week
N/A
Ranking Last Week
N/A
No. 5 - Gavin Wimsatt, Rutgers
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
65.0
Total Before Last Week
63.7
Ranking Last Week
5 (⇔ no change)
No. 4 - Drew Allar, Penn State
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
66.4
Total Before Last Week
67.5
Ranking Last Week
4 (⇔ no change)
No. 3 - Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
69.5
Total Before Last Week
75.4
Ranking Last Week
3 (⇔ no change)
No. 2 - Kyle McCord, Ohio State
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
83.4
Total Before Last Week
87.1
Ranking Last Week
2 (⇔ no change)
No. 1 - J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Inside the Numbers
Total QBR
93.8
Total Before Last Week
93.7
Ranking Last Week
1 (⇔ no change)
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