College Football Rankings 2011: Top 25 Quarterbacks Heading into Week 5

Welcome to this week's edition of the Quarterback Scramble.

I've perused the college football landscape, from sea to shining sea (and beyond), looking for the finest proprietors of "amateur" play-callers.

Andrew Luck? Check. Kellen Moore? Check. Landry Jones? Check. Brandon Weeden? Check.

After hours upon hours of searching (i.e. perusing every box score from every FBS game and expertly scrutinizing every number), I've come up with the Top 25 student signal callers.

Granted, I had three previous editions to look back on while whittling down the field to a comfortable two dozen or so.

However, once again, I couldn't bring myself to ignore the accomplishments of some whose performances deserve recognition.

But before I get too wrapped up in rehashing the same business without saying anything new (which I already have), let's have a look at how the rankings shook out after Week 4.

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Who's Out?

As always, I find myself kicking off the QB Scramble by, well, kicking out some of the old tenants, if you will.

Not that these four guys did anything wrong, per se, but rather that it was about time for a few someones else to get their day in the Internet sun.

16. Tyler Hansen, Colorado: 22-of-39 for 238 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-17 loss to Ohio State.

18. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas: 22-of-35 for 185 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 38-14 defeat at No. 3 Alabama.

20. Tyler Bray, Tennessee: did not play, next game vs. Buffalo.

25. Casey Pachall, TCU: 14-of-20 for 214 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a 55-13 victory against Portland State.

Honorable Mentions

As for the "Close, but No Cigar" club, some are old, some are new, some are borrowed.

And, I would assume, some are blue...because they didn't quite crack the Top 25, but that's just my editorial narcissism talking.

Quite loudly, in fact, as you can probably tell by the nearly endless litany of quarterbacks still seeking just a puff of that sweet, proverbial Cuban.

Brock Osweiler, Arizona State: 25-of-32 for 223 yards and two touchdowns in a 43-22 victory over USC.

Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois: 18-of-27 for 187 yards and two touchdowns, along with 13 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown, in a 47-20 twisting of Cal Poly.

Clint Trickett, Florida State: 24-of-38 for 336 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a 35-30 loss to No. 13 Clemson.

Austin Davis, Southern Mississippi: 27-of-41 for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-24 triumph over Virginia.

Tyler Tettleton, Ohio: 23-of-36 for 339 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-26 loss to Rutgers.

Alex Carder, Western Michigan: 30-of-48 for 306 yards, two touchdowns and a pick in a 23-20 near-upset of No. 24 Illinois.

Keith Wenning, Ball State: 24-of-30 for 324 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-21 win over Army.

Derek Carr, Fresno State: 24-of-37 for 371 yards, FIVE touchdowns and two interceptions in a 48-24 victory against Idaho.

Tim Jefferson, Air Force: 11-of-13 for 178 yards and three touchdowns, with three rushes for 41 yards for good measure, in a 63-24 trouncing of Tennessee State.

Matthew McGloin, Penn State: 14-of-17 for 220 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-6 nixing of Eastern Michigan.

Now, on with the show!

25. Aaron Murray, Georgia

Georgia fans, ask and ye shall receive (sort of).

I've been on the fence about Aaron Murray all season, though his efficient performance against Ole Miss in Week 4 finally allayed some of my concerns.

In that 27-13 win in Oxford, the Bulldogs QB hit on 17 of his 26 pass attempts for 268 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, adding a third touchdown with his feet to boost his résumé and UGA's chances of victory.

Anyone this low in the rankings, though, is necessarily on probation, so to speak. He'll need another strong performance, this time against Mississippi State, to solidify his spot in the Top 25.

Last week's ranking: not ranked

24. Zach Collaros, Cincinnati

Life in the Big East isn't easy or glamorous for most of the conference's football stars, though that hasn't seemed to bother Zach Collaros.

The kid was a touchdown machine in a 44-14 win over North Carolina State. In that game, Collaros completed 25 of 34 passes for 263 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and scampered for 52 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

Next up, Collaros will have a chance to pad his stats against in-state "rival" Miami (OH).

Last week's ranking: not ranked 

23. Keith Price, Washington

Quick—who has the most touchdown passes in the NCAA right now?

If you said Bowling Green's Matt Schilz, you'd be right.

But if you guessed Washington's Keith Price, you would also be right.

Price has thrown 14 touchdowns against just three interceptions this season, with three more, along with 292 yards on 19-of-25 passing, in a win over Cal.

Any Huskies fans still missing Jake Locker?

Last week's ranking: not ranked

22. Matt Schilz, Bowling Green

Speaking of Matt Schilz, the Bowling Green quarterback had another efficient performance, this time in a 37-23 win over conference rival Miami (OH).

Schilz hit on 19 of 24 attempts for 183 yards, three touchdowns and an interception to once again boost his own profile as a top-quality quarterback and keep pace with Keith Price.

Last week's ranking: 24th

21. James Vandenberg, Iowa

After last week's heroic performance against Pittsburgh, James Vandenberg and the Iowa Hawkeyes (great name for a band, right?) got a bit of a reprieve in Week 4 with a 45-17 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

Vandenberg (not to be confused with Van Der Beek, from Dawson's Creek) was strong-armed once again, connecting on 21 of 32 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns, with a rushing touchdown thrown in for good measure.

He'll be tested this week when he and his Hawkeyes travel to Happy Valley to open their Big Ten schedule against Penn State.

Last week's ranking: 23rd

20. Bryant Moniz, Hawaii

Bryant Moniz was just humming along, minding his own business, having a fine season.

Then UC Davis came along and, well, he got a bit excited.

So excited, in fact, that he left mercy in the locker room, leaving him to torture the Aggies for 424 yards and SEVEN touchdowns on 30-of-40 passing.

Oh, and he had 50 yards on five carries for good measure.

I know, I shouldn't give him too much credit for piling up numbers against an FCS opponent. Even so, can you really keep a guy down for throwing for those sorts of numbers, even against a far inferior opponent?

Last week's ranking: not ranked

19. B.J. Daniels, USF

One of these days, people will finally start talking about B.J. Daniels and No. 16 South Florida.

Thanks to Daniels' excellent efforts, the Bulls now find themselves firmly in the conversation of which university in Florida has the best football program.

Daniels continued to push the envelope against UTEP, throwing for 202 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 130 yards and a touchdown in a 52-24 trouncing of the Miners.

He and the Bulls will open Big East conference play this weekend with a trip to Pittsburgh.

Last week's ranking: 22nd

18. James Franklin, Missouri

It's easy to criticize No. 1 Oklahoma for beating Missouri at home by "only" 10 points in its Big 12 opener.

But that would too easily overlook the near-Herculean effort put forth by Mizzou's James Franklin in that game. Franklin was fantastic, throwing for 291 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 103 yards and another two scores to keep his Tigers within striking distance of the Sooners.

He'll get a week off to rest his tired legs before getting back up to speed against Kansas State.

Last week's ranking: 21st

17. Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M

Ryan Tannehill was one of a few long-tenured members of the Top 25 quarterbacks who took a tumble in this week's rankings.

Now, if No. 14 Texas A&M hadn't had to play a second half against No. 5 Oklahoma State, Tannehill may well have moved up, seeing as how he'd led his Aggies to a 20-3 halftime lead by way of a spectacular 65-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a scoring pass in the second.

Unfortunately for him, NCAA football games are 60 minutes long, the last 30 of which were a bit of a nightmare for Tannehill. The senior from Big Spring, Texas threw three interceptions in the second half, helping the Cowboys pull out a thrilling 30-29 victory in College Station.

In all, Tannehill finishing with 309 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions on 28-of-47 passing, along with 69 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Tannehill and A&M will seek redemption with a trip to No. 18 Arkansas this week in a matchup of former Southwest Conference and future SEC foes.

Last week's ranking: 10th

16. Tevin Washington, Georgia Tech

If you want to know how much of a big-play threat Tevin Washington has been for No. 21 Georgia Tech this season, consider this: In completing 10 of 14 passes for 184 yards with a touchdown and an interception, Washington's yards-per-attempt average for the season actually went down.

Regardless, Washington was once again dynamic for the Yellow Jackets, chipping in another 74 yards and two scores on 25 rushes in a 35-28 win over North Carolina in their ACC season opener.

Last week's ranking: 19th

15. Nick Foles, Arizona

A quarterback's No. 1 job is to win, though at some point, I had no choice but to overlook Arizona's losing ways and give Nick Foles more credit for his own merits under center.

After all, Foles is fourth in the NCAA in passing yards and has thrown 10 touchdowns without a single interceptions to his name.

Those numbers include the 398 yards and three touchdowns on 34-of-57 passing he racked up in the Wildcats' 56-31 loss to No. 9 Oregon.

'Zona may not win at USC this week, but expect Foles to perform up to par nonetheless.

Last week's ranking: 17th

14. Darron Thomas, Oregon

Speaking of the Ducks, Darron Thomas was good, but not great, in that win over the Wildcats. Hence, he remains at 14 in the rankings.

Thomas tallied 101 yards and two touchdowns by air along with 52 yards and two scores by land.

We'll see if he can bump those numbers up a bit after a weekend off, when Cal comes to town on Thursday, October 6th.

Last week's ranking: 14th 

13. Taylor Martinez, Nebraska

Taylor Martinez put forth a "comfortable" performance in No. 8 Nebraska's final tune-up before its inaugural Big Ten game. The sophomore stocked up 157 yards passing and two total touchdowns in the Cornhuskers' 38-14 road win at Wyoming.

The going will get much tougher for Martinez and Big Red this week with a trip to Camp Randall to face No. 7 Wisconsin on tap.

Last week's ranking: 11th

12. Seth Doege, Texas Tech

Please tell me I wasn't the only one who, up until this past week, had no idea how to pronounce Seth Doege's last name.

(FYI, it's pronounced DAY-gee.)

Doege led Texas Tech back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Nevada, 35-34, all the while racking up 222 yards and three touchdowns passing and another 83 yards rushing.

He and his Red Raiders will open Big 12 play at Kansas on Saturday.

Last week's ranking: 12th

11. Denard Robinson, Michigan

As much as I want to penalize Denard Robinson for being a subpar passer, he's just too darn dynamic in the running game to do anything but keep going up at this point.

Robinson's arm was ineffective against San Diego State, with a mere 93 yards and two interceptions on 8-of-17 passing.

As for his feet, well, how often does a quarterback run for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a single game?

No need to answer that one.

Last week's ranking: 13th

10. Geno Smith, West Virginia

Geno Smith fell two places this week but does deserve credit for claiming (for now) the mantle of "Most Productive Performance Against LSU's Suffocating Defense."

Smith threw a whopping 65 times, completing 38 of those attempts for 463 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in No. 22 West Virginia's 47-21 home loss to No. 2 LSU.

He and the Mountaineers should bounce back quite nicely when Bowling Green comes to Morgantown on Saturday.

Last week's ranking: eighth

9. Matt Barkley, USC

Frankly, Matt Barkley is lucky to still be in the top 10 of this list after the way he struggled against No. 25 Arizona State.

Barkley had far and away his worst performance of the season, completing 21 of 33 attempts for 227 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the Trojans' 43-22 loss in Tempe.

Luckily for Barkley, his body of work this season still merits a fairly high ranking. That being said, he'll have to rebound in a big way against Arizona this week to keep himself among the nation's elite signal callers.

Last week's ranking: third

8. Tajh Boyd, Clemson

Tajh Boyd and No. 13 Clemson continued their dream season with a thrilling 35-30 win over No. 23 Florida State to assert themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the ACC.

With 344 yards passing and four total touchdowns, Boyd not only helped his Tigers pull off their second upset victory in Death Valley in as many weeks, but also declared his candidacy quite emphatically for the Heisman Trophy.

Last week's ranking: 15th

7. Landry Jones, Oklahoma

Landry Jones has yet to live up to the lofty expectations that folks had for him heading into the 2011 season, though his performance against Missouri went a long way toward re-establishing him as a top-tier collegiate quarterback.

His two picks aside, Jones was prolific for No. 1 Oklahoma, connecting on 35 of 48 passes for 448 yards and three touchdowns, with a fourth touchdown on the ground.

He'll have plenty of opportunities to pad his Heisman Trophy stats when Ball State storms into Norman this weekend.

Last week's ranking: ninth

6. Russell Wilson, Wisconsin

Is there anything we haven't seen from Russell Wilson yet (aside from a win over a worthy opponent, of course)?

No. 7 Wisconsin whacked South Dakota, as expected, 59-10, with Wilson working in 19-of-25 for 345 yards and three touchdowns.

We'll finally get to see what Wilson and the Badgers are made of when No. 8 Nebraska storms into Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.

Last week's ranking: fifth

5. Case Keenum, Houston

Case Keenum came calling again in Week 4, asking for a return to the top five in the rankings.

He did plenty to earn it, too, completing 29 of 34 attempts for 415 yards and two touchdowns, albeit in a 56-0 win over lowly Georgia State for Houston.

He and the Cougars will open play in Conference USA with a trip to UTEP on Thursday night.

Last week's ranking: sixth

4. Robert Griffin III, Baylor

I don't know about you folks, but I can't wait to see Robert Griffin III play against some more legitimate competition.

Griffin tore up Rice in Week 4, connecting on 29 of 33 passes for 338 yards and five touchdowns, along with six rushes for 51 yards and another score, in a 56-31 win for No. 15 Baylor.

RG3 and the Bears will get something of a test this week when they open Big 12 play at 3-0 Kansas State.

Last week's ranking: fourth

3. Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State

Major, major kudos to Brandon Weeden this week.

After a so-so start to the 2011 season, Weeden put together a Heisman-worthy performance in Week 4, leading No. 5 Oklahoma State to a huge 30-29 road win over No. 14 Texas A&M.

Weeden came up with single-game school records for completions (47), attempts (60) and yards (438), along with two touchdowns to set off a furious second-half rally by the Cowboys.

For their efforts, Weeden and the Pokes will get the week off before welcoming Kansas to Stillwater in Week 6.

Last week's ranking: seventh

2. Andrew Luck, Stanford

Andrew Luck maintains his spot in the rankings by virtue of No. 6 Stanford's bye week. He'll be back in action when UCLA comes to town on Saturday.

Last week's ranking: second

1. Kellen Moore, Boise State

Twenty-three completions in 29 attempts for 279 yards and four touchdowns.

In other words, just another day at the office for Kellen Moore, this time in a 41-21 win over Tulsa for No. 4 Boise State.

Expect more of the same, if not better, when Nevada steps on the Smurf Turf in what, for the Broncos, will be an opportunity to avenge last year's heartbreaking loss in Reno.

Last week's ranking: first