- Many of college football’s top preseason quarterbacks have underperformed early in the season.
- Miami’s Carson Beck and Oklahoma’s John Mateer have emerged as top performers after three weeks.
- Several quarterbacks, including Oregon’s Dante Moore and Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson, are making a case for Heisman consideration.
Things are not going as expected for many of college football’s top quarterbacks.
The top five names on the USA TODAY Sports preseason ranking of the best passers in the Bowl Subdivision failed to make the cut in our updated glance after the opening stretch of the regular season.
Clemson’s Cade Klubnik ranks near the bottom of the ACC in efficiency. Garrett Nussmeier led LSU to a big win against the Tigers but is averaging only 5.9 yards per attempt, second from the bottom in the SEC. Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt had two interceptions in the Sun Devils’ shocking loss to Mississippi State.
Most notably, Arch Manning misfired in his starting debut against Ohio State but did rebound with five total touchdowns against San Jose State. Penn State’s Drew Allar has been steady in blowout wins against Nevada and Florida International but was still bumped from our updated ranking, though four from the Big Ten did manage to crack the list.
These quarterbacks have been the best in the country through three weeks:
1. Carson Beck, Miami
Beck has been everything No. 6 Miami hoped he would be through two games. After leading the Hurricanes to a 27-24 win against No. 8 Notre Dame to open the year, Beck set a program record by completing his first 15 attempts in a blowout of Bethune Cookman.
2. John Mateer, Oklahoma
Beck replaced Cam Ward. Mateer replaced a pair of Oklahoma quarterbacks who combined to average 175.8 passing yards per game and 6.1 yards per attempt last season. While Beck has been superb, Mateer has been even more impactful in vaulting the No. 16 Sooners into the SEC mix. He had 344 yards of offense and three touchdowns in the big win against then-No. 13 Michigan.
3. Dante Moore, Oregon
Moore has made it look easy. (So has Oregon.) After learning the system last season behind Dillon Gabriel, the former UCLA transfer has 479 yards on 10.9 yards per throw and six scores without an interception through two games. He’s yet to attempt a pass in the fourth quarter.
4. Sawyer Robertson, Baylor
Robertson is bursting into the Heisman Trophy picture after throwing for 419 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Auburn and 440 yards and four more touchdowns to lead Baylor past rival SMU. The senior is even better than he was in 2024, when he had over 3,000 passing yards and 28 scores.
5. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
Raiola took what he could get in the Cornhuskers’ 20-17 win against Cincinnati, completing 33 of 42 attempts for 243 yards against the Bearcats’ bend-but-don’t-break scheme. The sophomore looked even more at home in Dana Holgorsen’s offense with 364 yards and four touchdowns on 11.7 yards per attempt in a 68-0 romp over Akron.
6. Rocco Becht, Iowa State
Yes, Becht can be an adventure at times, and yes, a big chunk of his 595 yards and six touchdowns passing came in a 55-7 win against South Dakota. Sandwiched around that performance are wins against Kansas State and Iowa, which have moved No. 14 Iowa State to the front of the line in the Big 12.
7. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
After making a statement in last year’s season-opening victory against Virginia Tech with 190 passing yards and 104 yards on the ground in a 34-27 win, Pavia had 193 passing yards on 10.7 yards per attempt with another 61 rushing yards in the Commodores’ 44-20 defeat of the Hokies in Week 2. Pavia might have the highest comfort level in his scheme of any quarterback in the Power Four.
8. Joey Aguilar, Tennessee
The offseason swap with UCLA has worked out wonderfully for No. 15 Tennessee and not so well for Nico Iamaleava and the Bruins. Aguilar has 569 yards of offense through two games while Iamaleava is averaging only 6.2 yards per throw for winless UCLA. A big test awaits in this Saturday’s home game against No. 3 Georgia.
9. Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Altmyer continues to fly under the national radar. So does No. 9 Illinois, coincidentally. He was the clear winner of last weekend’s highly anticipated quarterback duel with Duke’s Darian Mensah, throwing for 296 yards and three touchdowns as Illinois won 45-19. He’s not the biggest or fastest, but he’s very effective in running the Illini scheme.
10. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
In his first career start, Sayin outplayed Manning to lead No. 1 Ohio State to a 14-7 win against then-No. 2 Texas. In his second, the sophomore completed 18 of 19 throws for 306 yards and four touchdowns against overmatched Grambling. This résumé gives him the edge over three other contenders for the last spot in Allar, Southern California’s Jayden Maiava and Pittsburgh’s Eli Holsten.