QB Power Rankings
| 1 | 
Drake Maye
North Carolina Tar Heels QB
|
| It was a big week for QBs not having their best days, but Drake Maye moved to No. 1 this week because his bad day still included 293 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Virginia. I've been touting Maye all season long, and now draft analysts are saying things like he'd be the first QB taken in the draft this year if he came out. Now, take that with a grain of salt because they said the same thing about Kentucky's Will Levis a few weeks ago, and the cycle of The Next Great QB Prospect always begins with "this guy I haven't seen play for three years yet is great." Then, when they enter their third year with the draft looming, they get nitpicked to death. So enjoy the love while you can, Drake. It won't last forever. (Last Week: 3) | |
| 2 | 
Hendon Hooker
Tennessee Volunteers QB
|
| Listen, the QB Power Rankings have great respect for the power of recency bias and vibes, and if we look at those things closely, Hooker should fall a lot further than one spot. But he's been too good the rest of the season and he still tore Alabama apart. He's certainly not the only QB to have a bad day against Georgia (195 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT), so simply losing the No. 1 spot seems like punishment enough. (1) | |
| 3 | 
Bo Nix
Oregon Ducks QB
|
| Speaking of bad performances against Georgia, all Hooker needs to do is look at Bo Nix to see what you can do post-Georgia when the schedule lightens up! Nix and the Ducks clowned Colorado over the weekend, throwing for touchdowns, running for touchdowns and even catching a touchdown. He finished the day with 274 yards passing and five total scores. He's now up sixth nationally in passing efficiency and yards per dropback. (7) | |
| 4 | 
Caleb Williams
USC Trojans QB
|
| I don't know if you saw this, but College Football Playoff committee chair Boo Corrigan cited Caleb's 28 touchdown passes as one of the primary reasons the Trojans are ranked No. 8 in the latest CFP Rankings, so congratulations to Williams on that. I won't hold the CFP's ridiculous reasoning against him here. Williams had a mediocre stretch of games in early October but has thrown 14 touchdowns with 1,152 yards in the last three weeks. (6) | |
| 5 | 
C.J. Stroud
Ohio State Buckeyes QB
|
| I hear you asking why I only bump Hooker down a spot while Stroud falls three places despite winning and playing in terrible weather. Well, it's simple: Stroud did play in terrible weather conditions against Northwestern but Saturday wasn't his first subpar performance! Over the last three weeks, Stroud ranks 28th nationally in passing efficiency, 46th in completion rate and 41st in touchdown rate. He has not been performing at the level a Heisman favorite or a top-three QB in these rankings should be performing. I still love him, and I still think he's great. But he doesn't deserve to be ranked higher than fifth right now. (2) | |
| 6 | 
Max Duggan
TCU Horned Frogs QB
|
| Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Duggan had his worst performance of the season this weekend. He completed only 52.2% of his passes for 195 yards against Texas Tech. However, he did not turn the ball over, and his two touchdowns were enough to help the Horned Frogs remain undefeated and move into the top four of the CFP Rankings. (5) | |
| 7 | 
Stetson Bennett
Georgia Bulldogs QB
|
| Stetson hIVe, mount up! We are back, baby! I had to knock him out of the QB Power Rankings because his numbers weren't up to snuff, but my guy Stetson Bennett always shows up in the big games. Bennett threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Tennessee, averaging 10.3 yards per attempt. More importantly, the guy who everybody says can't throw downfield averaged 12.44 air yards per attempt a week after averaging 11.42 air yards per attempt against Florida. Remember how I said that the Heisman would go to the guy who plays the best down the stretch? Well, don't rule out #StetsonIVHeisman. (Not Ranked) | |
| 8 | 
Jayden Daniels
LSU Tigers QB
|
| He's not the best pure passer on this list by any means, and if you look at his raw numbers against Alabama, they weren't impressive. He finished with only 182 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.7 yards per attempt. However, he also rushed 95 yards and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. The week before against Ole Miss, he rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns. It took a little while to get comfortable in the offense, but Daniels has looked pretty dang comfortable for about a month now. (NR) | |
| 9 | 
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
UCLA Bruins QB
|
| I'm sorry, DTR. I didn't want to bump you down a spot. You didn't do anything to deserve it, but I had to give Bennett and Daniels a little extra credit for their performances against stiffer competition. Keep playing like you did against Arizona State (169 passing, 110 rushing, three total TD) against the teams remaining on your schedule, and you'll fly up the board, too. (8) | |
| 10 | 
Bryce Young
Alabama Crimson Tide QB
|
| I want to make one thing clear: Bryce Young's ranking is not on him. It is on the players around him and those calling the plays. Alabama's best plays come in two varieties: There are plays where they get the ball into Jahmyr Gibbs' hands and say, "go be Jahmyr Gibbs," and there are plays that break down, forcing Bryce Young has to go be Bryce Young and make something happen. Oddly enough, I'm more confident in Young's ability at the NFL level watching him struggle to make things happen in a bad offense because that's likely the situation he'll find himself in again next season. (4) | |
