Power Ranking Terrelle Pryor's Place in All BCS Conferences

Throughout his collegiate career, Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor has been one of the biggest names in the game, whether he deserves it or not.

And after an MVP performance in the Rose Bowl, Pryor's stock in the college game skyrocketed, as some pundits are considering him a Heisman contender.

And he is one of the top QBs in the Big Ten along with Iowa's Ricky Stanzi.

But flashback to just before the 2009 BCS National Championship Game between Florida and Oklahoma, when Sooners DB Dominique Franks said that (Tim) Tebow would be the fourth best QB in the Big 12.

That got us thinking where Pryor would project in the other five BCS conferences were he to have the same career path as he did in Columbus.

Here's a look at where Pryor would stand in all five remaining BCS automatic-qualifier conferences.

1. ACC—Third Best

QBs Better than Pryor: Christian Ponder, FSU; Jacory Harris, Miami

Despite the recent run of mediocrity of Florida State football, Christian Ponder has been a very accurate passer who had a strong start to his 2009 season.

Ponder had only one interception heading into Halloween before he suffered a separated shoulder, boasting a strong 68.8 completion percentage and throwing for 2,717 yards in just nine games.

Heading into his senior season, much will be expected of Ponder as he must help compensate for what many feel will be a young, inexperienced defense.

And although Ponder is a better QB than Pryor, the battle for second between Pryor and Jacory Harris is a little closer.

But the nod goes to Harris because despite being sacked 34 times last year and throwing more interceptions than Pryor, Harris is the better pure passer.

Harris started 2009 very strong but faded down the stretch, including an unimpactful performance in a surprising loss to Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Luckily, this year these two QBs will match up, so we will see for sure who is better.

2. Big 12—Fourth Best

QBs Better than Pryor (in order): Blaine Gabbert, Mizzou; Landry Jones, Oklahoma; Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M

The Big 12 has been the biggest victim of the college football expansion process but still boasts a strong collection of QBs who can outplay Pryor more nights than not.

The best of whom, Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, may be playing for another Ohio-born coach in Gary Pinkel.

Right behind Gabbert is Oklahoma's Landry Jones, who filled in for Sam Bradford and was mostly unnoticed during the team's shocking freefall last year.

What distinguishes the two QBs is Gabbert's higher passing yardage and slightly higher completion percentage.

Both QBs threw for over 3,000 yards in the pass-happy Big 12, and although Jones had the better postseason showing against Stanford, he failed to win close games, losing four of five appearances by a touchdown or less.

A better defense and offensive line in 2010 should help Jones, but he is a close second on this list to Gabbert.

Third is Texas A&M's Jerrod Johnson, who, like Pryor, has amazing physical stature and athletic ability.

Johnson had touchdown passes in every game in 2009 and only had eight interceptions, but his team's porous defense and inconsistencies kept him from having a great impact on most games.

One could make a case for Texas' Garrett Gilbert to have a spot on this list after his near-comeback against Alabama, but it remains to be seen if that finish was a fluke or not.

3. Big East—Best

QB Closest to Pryor: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati

The Big East is not a very strong conference heading into 2010 as far as QBs are concerned, but new Cincinnati starter Zach Collaros is probably the best in the conference.

Collaros was spectacular in relief of Tony Pike and helped keep the Bearcats' undefeated season alive, though whether or not this was because of Brian Kelly's system will be seen later this season.

But while Collaros was great in 2009, he will have to duplicate his success in 2010 under Jones, and he will have to do it without top receiver Mardy Gilyard.

To some, Terrelle Pryor might be best because there is very little left in the cupboard throughout the conference.

But it's closer than you think when it comes to the margin between Pryor and Collaros.

4. Pac-10—Fourth Best

QBs Better than Pryor (in order): Jake Locker, Washington, Andrew Luck, Stanford, Nick Foles, Arizona

The Pac-10 may be the best conference for quarterbacks in the country, and 2010 should provide a great passing show in almost every game.

Leading the pack is Jake Locker, who should be the top pick in next year's NFL Draft.

Locker had a strong junior season under Steve Sarkisian, showing off his great physical abilities, racking up 28 touchdowns, and improving his completion percentage to 58.2 percent.

And although the Huskies have not experienced the postseason in his career, Locker will look to send himself out of Washington on a high note.

But as he leaves, the next big star under center may be coming from an unlikely place in Stanford's Andrew Luck.

Luck burst onto the scene in 2009 as a redshirt freshman and was a very key reason the Cardinal finished in a tie for second in the Pac-10.

Though his stat sheet was not overly impressive in 2009, what he was able to do well was protect the football and have a solid completion percentage, things most quarterbacks typically don't do in their first year.

In third, just getting the slight nod over Pryor, is Arizona's Nick Foles, the Michigan State transfer who showed tremendous accuracy in 2009.

Foles threw for nearly 2,500 yards but had a completion percentage of 63.6 after only throwing eight passes before this season.

His 19 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions show a lot of promise and gives Arizona fans hope for a Rose Bowl appearance in 2011.

5. SEC—Third Best

QBs Better than Pryor (in order): Ryan Mallett, Arkansas, Greg McElroy, Alabama

In two seasons Pryor has not faced off against a team from arguably the strongest conference in the country.

But even still, Pryor might be one of the top quarterbacks in the conference, whether it is because of talent or because of a situation like that in the Big East where there was a big exodus of talented QBs.

In the case of the SEC, QBs like Tim Tebow and Jevan Snead have graduated.

Looking down at Pryor in the SEC are Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, who ironically started his career at Michigan, and Alabama's Greg McElroy.

Mallett, under Bobby Petrino, put up explosive numbers in 2009, throwing for 3,627 yards and 30 touchdowns despite a meager 55.8 completion percentage.

Much is expected of Mallett in his second year as a starter in 2010, especially if he wants to live up to that top-five draft pick hype that he has received.

Right below him on the chart is Greg McElroy, a player who has not lost a start since the eighth grade.

McElroy, at times in 2009, was asked to just hand the ball to Heisman Trophy back Mark Ingram. But when he needed to step up and have a big game, like against Florida in the SEC Championship Game, he did so in a big way.

McElroy had only four interceptions, compared to 17 touchdown passes, and a completion percentage just short of 61 percent.

In 2010 McElroy will have to improve more because more defenses will be stacked to stop Ingram and backup Trent Richardson.

Florida QB John Brantley may be the next great SEC quarterback, but like Garrett Gilbert in Texas, Brantley will need to prove against other teams that he is worthy of the hype.