Ranking Top 25 Quarterbacks in College Football After Week 4
Welcome to Bleacher Report's Top 25 college football quarterback rankings after Week 4.
This will be a weekly feature published each Tuesday morning throughout the 2023 season, with the goal of progressively identifying the 25 best QBs in the country each week as the season unfolds.
The only thing that matters here is on-field production in 2023.
That means past performance, future expectations, physical tools and NFL upside have all been removed from the equation.
Each quarterback's individual production and quality of opponent will be considered each week, and players will rise and fall based on where they ranked the previous week, so it will be a fluid process throughout the year.
If your favorite team's quarterback is not currently on the list, fear not. If a guy is putting up numbers, he will find his way onto the list. On the flip side, a strong first two weeks is only going to go so far if a player falls flat in Week 4 and fails to duplicate his early success.
With only 25 spots up for grabs and 133 quarterbacks to consider, an honorable mention slide featuring the "Next 25" who just missed the cut is also included here. Those are the guys with the best chance of jumping onto the list with a strong showing in Week 5.
Let the debate begin.
Honorable Mentions
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These 25 quarterbacks were also under consideration for a spot in the rankings but ultimately settled for an honorable mention following Week 4 action:
Rocco Becht, Iowa State
Jalon Daniels, Kansas
Jayden de Laura, Arizona
TJ Finley, Texas State
Brett Gabbert, Miami (OH)
Darren Grainger, Georgia State
Seth Henigan, Memphis
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
Emory Jones, Cincinnati
Cade Klubnik, Clemson
Riley Leonard, Duke
Drake Maye, North Carolina
Jordan McCloud, James Madison
Kyle McCord, Ohio State
Graham Mertz, Florida
Joe Milton III, Tennessee
Dante Moore, UCLA
Michael Pratt, Tulane
Kaidon Salter, Liberty
Kedon Slovis, BYU
Donovan Smith, Houston
DJ Uiagalelei, Oregon State
Gunnar Watson, Troy
Conner Weigman, Texas A&M
Jacob Zeno, UAB
Nos. 25-21
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25. JT Daniels, Rice (Previous Rank: HM)
Week 4: 27-for-40, 432 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; -23 rush yards
Season: 80-of-125, 1,237 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT; -36 rush yards
After stops at USC, Georgia and West Virginia, Daniels has landed at Rice where he has already tallied a pair of 400-yard passing games during a 2-2 start. The Owls suffered a 42-29 loss on the road to South Florida on Saturday, but Daniels did his best to keep them in the game with 423 yards and three scores.
24. Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland (Previous Rank: 25)
Week 4: 21-of-36, 223 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; 37 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 87-of-135, 1,112 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT; 53 rush yards, 2 TD
The Terrapins are off to a 4-0 start for the second time in three years following a 31-9 victory on the road over Michigan State, and a home game against Indiana this weekend should give them a great chance to jump into the AP poll. Tagovailoa accounted for 50 total touchdowns in 2021 and 2022, and he added four to his 2023 tally on Saturday.
23. Drew Allar, Penn State (Previous Rank: HM)
Week 4: 25-of-37, 166 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT; 22 rush yards
Season: 84-of-125, 903 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT; 74 rush yards, 1 TD
Allar has now thrown 185 pass attempts in his college career without an interception, and he doubled his 2023 touchdown total with a career-high four scores in a 31-0 blowout against Iowa. A matchup with Northwestern, a bye week and a non-conference game against UMass should help him pad his stats over the next three weeks.
22. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan (Previous Rank: 14)
Week 4: 15-of-21, 214 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 51 rush yards
Season: 71-of-89, 930 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT; 86 rush yards
The Wolverines are 4-0 behind a strong rushing attack and a defense that has allowed just 23 points, and while McCarthy has not been a focal point of the offense, he has been extremely efficient with a 79.8 completion percentage that leads all FBS quarterbacks who have attempted at least 50 passes.
21. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss (Previous Rank: 10)
Week 4: 20-of-35, 244 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 6 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 65-of-103, 1,096 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT; 219 rush yards, 3 TD
After strong games against Tulane and Georgia Tech where he showed a good mix of passing and running ability, Dart failed to throw a touchdown pass while tallying just six rushing yards in a 24-10 loss at Alabama. A home game against LSU this weekend will give him a chance to climb back toward the top 10, or he could fall out of the rankings entirely.
Nos. 20-16
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20. Will Howard, Kansas State (Previous Rank: 19)
Week 4: 27-of-42, 255 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 64 rush yards, 2 TD
Season: 91-of-139, 1,072 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT; 123 rush yards, 5 TD
Howard has at least 250 passing yards in each of K-State's four games this year, and Saturday was the first time he didn't tally at least three total touchdowns. However, the senior did lead three straight touchdown drives to close out a 44-31 victory over UCF and avoid a second straight loss on Saturday.
19. Garrett Shrader, Syracuse (Previous Rank: 13)
Week 4: 21-of-26, 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 50 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 72-of-108, 972 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT; 316 rush yards, 6 TD
Shrader leads all quarterbacks with six rushing touchdowns, and Syracuse is off to a 4-0 start. However, the schedule heats up now with Clemson, North Carolina and Florida State over the next three weeks, and Shrader will have a chance to make a statement on a national level if he can play well in those games.
18. Chandler Morris, TCU (Previous Rank: 21)
Week 4: 23-of-32, 261 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 38 rush yards
Season: 97-of-141, 1,117 yards, 9 TD, 3 INT; 184 rush yards, 2 TD
Morris is in his fourth collegiate season, but is still a sophomore in terms of eligibility, and it looks like he could be the answer under center for TCU for multiple years. After throwing for 901 yards and completing 65.7 percent of his passes in limited action over the past three years, he has proven that type of production is sustainable over a larger sample size.
17. Carson Beck, Georgia (Previous Rank: HM)
Week 4: 22-of-32, 338 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 7 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 93-of-128, 1,184 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT; 38 rush yards 2 TD
After attempting just 58 passes during his first three years on campus, Beck has been handed the reins to the Georgia offense. The former 4-star recruit has completed 72.7 percent of his passes, and he doubled his 2023 touchdown total with three passing and one rushing in a 49-21 victory over UAB on Saturday.
16. Jack Plummer, Louisville (Previous Rank: NR)
Week 4: 18-of-21, 388 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT; 2 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 65-of-97, 1,120 yards, 10 TD, 4 INT; 100 rush yards, 1 TD
A six-touchdown performance in a 56-28 blowout of Boston College vaulted Plummer from outside the top 50 to No. 16 in this week's rankings, and Louisville is off to a 4-0 start and knocking on the door for a spot in the AP poll. Plummer is in his third college stop after three seasons at Purdue and a 2022 campaign where he threw for 3,119 yards and 21 touchdowns as the starter at Cal.
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Nos. 15-11
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15. Haynes King, Georgia Tech (Previous Rank: 15)
Week 4: 16-of-27, 222 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 53 rush yards
Season: 84-of-129, 1,132 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT; 148 rush yards, 1 TD
The Yellow Jackets bounced back from a loss to Ole Miss last week by knocking off Wake Forest by a 30-16 margin on the road. King continued his productive start to the season with two more passing touchdowns, and he also ranks third on the team with 148 rushing yards after adding 53 yards on the ground.
14. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina (Previous Rank: HM)
Week 4: 18-of-20, 288 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 43 rush yards
Season: 95-of-128, 1,242 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT; 64 rush yards, 1 TD
Rattler ranks in the top 15 in the nation in passing yards and completion percentage, but only throwing four touchdown passes through his first three games limited him to honorable mention status in last week's rankings. After a nearly perfect day on Saturday where he completed 90 percent of his passes and found the end zone three times, his individual numbers look quite a bit better.
13. Brady Cook, Missouri (Previous Rank: 17)
Week 4: 18-of-25, 341 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 17 rush yards
Season: 72-of-100, 1,073 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT; 31 rush yards, 3 TD
Following their Week 3 upset of No. 15 Kansas State, Missouri avoided a letdown by grinding out a tough 34-27 neutral-site victory over Memphis, and, in the process, they jumped to No. 23 in the latest AP poll. Cook has thrown for 300-plus yards with a pair of touchdowns two weeks in a row to move into the top 15 in the rankings.
12. Jordan Travis, Florida State (Previous Rank: 12)
Week 4: 21-of-37, 289 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; -2 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 74-of-121, 1,028 yards, 10 TD, 1 INT; 94 rush yards, 2 TD
Travis has completed just 56.7 percent of his pass attempts over the past three weeks, and while some of that has to do with his receiving corps, it still knocks him down a bit relative to the nation's top-tier passers. The Seminoles have a bye this weekend before a home game against Virginia Tech on Oct. 7 that should provide an opportunity to run up the score.
11. Quinn Ewers, Texas (Previous Rank: 9)
Week 4: 18-of-23, 293 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 16 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 72-of-112, 1,033 yards, 9 TD, 0 INT; 34 rush yards, 3 TD
The Longhorns had four rushing touchdowns in their 38-6 blowout of Baylor, one of which came from Ewers, and when they did throw the ball, he was an efficient 18-of-23 through the air with almost 300 yards passing. A home game against fellow 4-0 Big 12 foe Kansas this weekend should provide a tougher test.
Nos. 10-6
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10. Mikey Keene, Fresno State (Previous Rank: 22)
Week 4: 24-of-31, 325 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Season: 110-of-163, 1,205 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT; -83 rush yards
Keene has the Bulldogs off to a 4-0 start following a lopsided 53-10 victory over Kent State, and with road wins over Purdue and Arizona State also on their resume they moved into the No. 25 spot in this week's AP poll. There is an easy case to be made that Keene is the best quarterback in the country right now that doesn't play for a Power Five conference team.
9. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (Previous Rank: 11)
Week 4: 17-of-24, 220 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 39 rush yards
Season: 74-of-99, 1,042 yards, 11 TD, 1 INT; 43 rush yards, 1 TD
Since a middling Week 1 performance, Van Dyke has completed 74 percent of his passes for 841 yards and 10 touchdowns with zero interceptions over the last three weeks. It's worth noting that two of those games were against FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman and a bad Temple team, so he does still have something to prove as the ACC schedule ramps up.
8. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (Previous Rank: 4)
Week 4: 23-of-33, 159 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; -34 rush yards
Season: 130-of-169, 1,410 yards, 11 TD, 1 INT; -93 rush yards, 1 TD
After averaging 9.2 yards per pass attempt during Colorado's 3-0 start, Sanders saw that fall to 4.8 per attempt against a tough Oregon defense. He didn't turn the ball over at all and he did connect with Michael Harrison for a touchdown strike in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout, but it was not the same explosive Colorado passing game we saw through the first three games.
7. Bo Nix, Oregon (Previous Rank: 7)
Week 4: 28-of-33, 276 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; 9 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 104-of-131, 1,169 yards, 11 TD, 1 INT; 69 rush yards, 1 TD
It's only fitting that Nix should move ahead of Sanders after he thoroughly outperformed him in Oregon's 42-6 victory on Saturday. On top of throwing for 276 yards and three touchdown passes, he also tallied his first rushing touchdown of the year after piling up 14 touchdowns on the ground a year ago.
6. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma (Previous Rank: 5)
Week 4: 26-of-38, 322 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 23 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 92-of-118, 1,227 yards, 12 TD, 1 INT; 58 rush yards, 2 TD
Coming off a five-touchdown, 421-yard explosion against Tulsa in Week 3, Gabriel put together another strong day through the air against a much better Cincinnati team on the road. The Sooners get Iowa State this weekend before a huge matchup against Texas on Oct. 7 that could have major College Football Playoff implications.
5. Jayden Daniels, LSU
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Previous Rank: 6
Week 4: 20-of-29, 320 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT; 36 rush yards
Season: 90-of-124, 1,296 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT; 193 rush yards, 2 TD
Jayden Daniels has been on a roll since throwing five touchdown passes in the first half of a blowout win over Grambling State in Week 2, tallying four total touchdowns in each of the past two weeks en route to victories over Mississippi State and Arkansas.
The one-two punch of Malik Nabers (32 catches, 523 yards, 5 TD) and Brian Thomas Jr. (25 catches, 413 yards, 5 TD) has been one of the best wide receivers tandems in the country, and that should help Daniels continue to rack up impressive numbers all season.
4. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
7 of 10
Previous Rank: 3
Week 4: 17-of-25, 175 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; -2 rush yards
Season: 81-of-115, 1,236 yards, 14 TD, 0 INT; -9 rush yards, 2 TD
A heart-breaking loss to Ohio State on Saturday night gave Notre Dame its first loss of the season, and while Sam Hartman was by no means the reason for the final score, he didn't have his best game of the year either.
After lighting up NC State and Central Michigan for 616 yards and seven touchdowns in Week 2 and Week 3, he failed to break 200 yards passing in a grind-it-out game where the Fighting Irish finished with just 351 yards of total offense. Now it's on to No. 17 Duke in Durham.
3. Cameron Ward, Washington State
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Previous Rank: 8
Week 4: 28-of-34, 404 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT; 14 rush yards, 1 TD
Season: 105-of-141, 1,389 yards, 13 TD, 0 INT; 109 rush yards, 3 TD
Only Michael Penix Jr. (1,636) and Shedeur Sanders (1,410) have more passing yards than Cameron Ward, and after his 404-yard, four-touchdown performance through the air against Oregon State on Saturday, he has earned a place inside the top-five in these rankings.
The Cougars have already beat then-No. 19 Wisconsin and then-No. 14 Oregon State during their 4-0 start, and Ward is quietly playing his way into the Heisman conversation with gaudy numbers through the air, even if he is overshadowed by two other standout signal callers in his own conference.
2. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
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Previous Rank: 1
Week 4: 19-of-25, 304 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT; 5 rush yards
Season: 103-of-138, 1,636 yards, 16 TD, 2 INT; 14 rush yards
Michael Penix Jr. leads the nation in passing yards, despite the fact that he is tied for 20th in pass attempts, and while his run of 400-yard games through the air was snapped on Saturday, he still added 304 yards and four more touchdowns to his impressive early-season numbers.
Detractors will point to the fact that Boise State, Tulsa, Michigan State and California have not exactly been the toughest road to a 4-0 start, but he will have plenty of opportunities to silence those critics in the coming weeks against a stacked Pac-12 landscape. A road game against the 3-1 Arizona Wildcats is on deck this weekend.
1. Caleb Williams, USC
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Previous Rank: 2
Week 4: 20-of-31, 322 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT; 10 rush yards, 2 TD
Season: 75-of-101, 1,200 yards, 15 TD, 0 INT; 71 rush yards, 3 TD
After playing just nine quarters through three blowout wins to open the year and then sitting during idle Week 3, Caleb Williams finally played a full game on Saturday and added five more total touchdowns to his FBS-leading total of 18 en route to a 42-28 victory over Arizona State.
Now arguably the two biggest storylines of the 2023 college football season in upstart Colorado and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and presumptive No. 1 overall pick in Caleb Williams collide in a highly-anticipated Week 5 matchup.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
