College Football 2024: Power Ranking Top 25 Quarterbacks After Week 4
Welcome to Bleacher Report's Top 25 college football quarterback rankings.
These rankings will again be a weekly feature published each Tuesday morning throughout the 2024 season, with the goal of 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 2024.
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.
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 few weeks is only going to go so far if a player falls flat in Week 5 and fails to duplicate his early success.
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
Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State
Emmett Brown, San Jose State
Brady Cook, Missouri
Tucker Gleason, Toledo
Ethan Hampton, Northern Illinois
Seth Henigan, Memphis
Will Howard, Ohio State
KJ Jefferson, UCF
Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers
Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
Gio Lopez, South Alabama
Arch Manning, Texas
Jordan McCloud, Texas State
Owen McCown, UTSA
Chandler Morris, North Texas
Behren Morton, Texas Tech
Miller Moss, USC
Maalik Murphy, Duke
Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Jake Retzlaff, BYU
Blake Shapen, Mississippi State
Evan Simon, Temple
Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati
Injured, Removed from Rankings
Quinn Ewers, Texas
Cam Rising, Utah
Nos. 25-21
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25. Kaidon Salter, Liberty (Previous: HM)
Stats: 66-of-103, 949 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT; 131 rush yards
Salter racked up 2,876 passing yards, 1,089 rushing yards and 44 total touchdowns while leading Liberty to a 13-win season and a New Year's Six bowl game last year. He is off to a slower start this season, but he picked things up with 223 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 35-24 victory over East Carolina.
24. Alonza Barnett III, James Madison (Previous: NR)
Stats: 46-of-74, 742 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT; 203 rush yards, 2 TD
A 3-star recruit in 2022 who spent last season on the bench behind Jordan McCloud, Barnett is now the starter for a James Madison program on the rise. After tallying just two total touchdowns in Week 1 and Week 2 before a Week 3 bye, he lit up North Carolina on Saturday for 388 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, 99 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a 70-50 shootout.
23. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska (Previous: 22)
Stats: 83-of-115, 967 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT; -38 rush yards
A hyped 5-star recruit getting the starting role as a true freshman, Raiola looked the part in wins over Texas El-Paso, Colorado and Northern Iowa to vault Nebraska to the No. 22 spot in the AP poll. The Cornhuskers were upended by Illinois in a 31-24 loss on Friday night, but Raiola still had a solid individual performance with 297 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
22. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee (Previous: 19)
Stats: 61-of-88, 892 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT; 117 rush yards, 1 TD
Tennessee scored a major win for the resume with a victory over Oklahoma on Saturday, though Iamaleava had a relatively quiet game, completing 13 of 21 pass attempts for 194 yards and one touchdown. The running game and defense has been the focal point for the Volunteers so far this year, but Iamaleava has held his own as a first-year starter.
21. Blake Horvath, Navy (Previous: NR)
Stats: 21-of-33, 412 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 366 rush yards, 7 TD
Horvath has been excellent running Navy's run-heavy, option offense this season, and he threw for 192 yards, rushed for 211 yards and accounted for six total touchdowns in Saturday's impressive 56-44 victory over a good Memphis team. Don't sleep on the Midshipmen in the race for that Group of Five spot in the playoff field.
Nos. 20-16
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20. Haynes King, Georgia Tech (Previous: 15)
Stats: 102-of-138, 1,274 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT; 216 rush yards, 4 TD
Keep in mind that Georgia Tech has already played five games when looking at the numbers above, but it has still been a solid start of the season for King in his second year as Georgia Tech's starter. He has improved his completion percentage from 61.6 to 73.9 percent this year and done a much better job protecting the ball after tossing 16 interceptions a year ago.
19. Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland (Previous: 24)
Stats: 102-of-136, 1,155 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT; 69 rush yards, 2 TD
Edwards leads the Big Ten in completions (102), attempts (136) and passing yards (1,155) while doing a solid job filling the big shoes left behind by Taulia Tagovailoa. He threw for a career-high 328 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 38-20 victory over Villanova, and he now has multiple touchdown passes in all four games this season.
18. Kurtis Rourke, Indiana (Previous: HM)
Stats: 71-of-94, 1,013 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT; 55 rush yards, 2 TD
Rourke had a strong run at the University of Ohio, including a 2022 season where he threw for 3,257 yards and 25 touchdowns against only four interceptions, and he was a sneaky good pickup in the transfer portal for Indiana. He has completed an impressive 75.5 percent of his passes while leading a team that finished 3-9 a year ago to a 4-0 start.
17. Luke Altmyer, Illinois (Previous: HM)
Stats: 75-of-105, 862 yards, 10 TD, 0 INT; 58 rush yards
Altmyer completed 21 of 27 passes for 215 yards and four touchdowns in a huge win over Nebraska on Friday, and he already has a pair of four-touchdown games to his credit this season. The Fighting Illini now have multiple wins over ranked teams for the first time since 2007 and are up to No. 19 in the latest AP poll heading into a huge matchup with Penn State.
16. Will Rogers, Washington (Previous: 13)
Stats: 84-of-111, 1,048 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT; -17 rush yards
Rogers has been extremely efficient steering the ship for the Huskies, and his 75.7 percent completion rate trails only Dillon Gabriel (84.0%) and Jaxson Dart (79.8%) among all qualified FBS quarterbacks. After a loss to Washington State in the Apple Cup, the Huskies rebounded with a 24-5 victory over Northwestern, with Rogers throwing for 223 yards and two scores.
Nos. 15-11
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15. Kyle McCord, Syracuse (Previous: 7)
Stats: 86-of-127, 1,074 yards, 10 TD, 3 INT; 1 rush yard, 1 TD
McCord vaulted into the Top 10 of these rankings with back-to-back, four-touchdown performances to open the year, but he stumbled coming out of a Week 3 bye in a 26-24 loss to Stanford. He tallied 339 passing yards and two touchdowns in the game, but he was also picked off twice, including a pick-six in the third quarter. An FCS opponent in Holy Cross in Week 5 will give him a nice opportunity to get back on track.
14. Josh Hoover, TCU (Previous: 10)
Stats: 111-of-162, 1,418 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT; 0 rush yards, 2 TD
After piling up eight touchdowns and zero interceptions during the first three games of the season, Hoover was picked off twice in Saturday's 66-42 loss to SMU. Despite those giveaways, he still has 798 passing yards and seven touchdowns the last two weeks, and he is off to a strong individual start while TCU has gone 2-2 to kick off the year.
13. Thomas Castellanos, Boston College (Previous: 12)
Stats: 45-of-70, 729 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT; 112 rush yards, 1 TD
Castellanos has made significant strides in completion percentage (57.3% to 64.3%) and yards per attempt (6.8 to 10.4), developing into more of a well-rounded quarterback after leaning heavily on his legs last year when he rushed for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns. He threw for 140 yards and a touchdown in a 23-19 victory over Michigan State on Saturday.
12. Tyler Shough, Louisville (Previous: 16)
Stats: 52-of-76, 850 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT; -4 rush yards
Shough outplayed Haynes King in a 31-19 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday while throwing multiple touchdown passes for the third time during Louisville's 3-0 start to the season. After three years at Oregon and three years at Texas Tech, he finally seems to have found a home under center for the No. 15 team in the latest AP poll.
11. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (Previous: 11)
Stats: 110-of-162, 1,340 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT; 10 rush yards, 1 TD
Sanders delivered one of the most memorable moments of the 2024 season when he hit LaJohntay Wester with a 43-yard, game-tying touchdown pass with two seconds left to send Saturday's game against Baylor to overtime. He completed 25 of 41 passes for 341 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 38-31 victory.
Nos. 10-6
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10. Carson Beck, Georgia (Previous: 8)
Stats: 56-of-82, 680 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT; 55 rush yards
After throwing for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, Beck entered the year as one of the most hyped quarterbacks in the country leading a Georgia squad that was among the favorites to win the national title. The Bulldogs were on a bye in Week 4, but they are back in action in a big way against Alabama this weekend.
9. Drew Allar, Penn State (Previous: 17)
Stats: 41-of-58, 729 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT; 77 rush yards, 2 TD
Allar logged the second 300-yard passing game of his career last weekend against Kent State, connecting on 17 of 21 pass attempts for 309 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-0 blowout victory. His 12.6 yards per attempt are tops in the Big Ten and rank second only to Ole Miss star Jaxson Dart (13.1) among qualified FBS quarterbacks.
8. Cade Klubnik, Clemson (Previous: 14)
Stats: 58-of-79, 729 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT; 58 rush yards, 3 TD
After a lackluster first season as Clemson's starting quarterback last year, Klubnik has looked much better through three games this season, making major strides with his completion percentage (63.9% to 73.4%) and yards per attempt (6.3 to 9.2). He has thrown eight touchdown passes in two games since the Tigers season-opening loss to Georgia while adding another three scores on the ground.
7. Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh (Previous: 19)
Stats: 87-of-129, 1,186 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT; 189 rush yards, 2 TD
A 4-star recruit who started his college career at Alabama before transferring to Pitt during the offseason, Holstein has the Panthers off to a 4-0 start following a 3-9 finish a year ago amid a shaky quarterback situation. He had 247 passing yards, 93 rushing yards and five total touchdowns in a 73-17 dismantling of Youngstown State on Saturday, and now he gets a bye week this weekend.
6. John Mateer, Washington State (Previous: 5)
Stats: 63-of-116, 1,102 yards, 11 TD, 4 INT; 425 rush yards, 5 TD
Following a big win over Washington in the Apple Cup, Mateer and the Cougars improved to 4-0 with a 54-52 double-overtime win against San Jose State on Saturday. He again made a major impact with his arm (390 yards, 4 TD) and his legs (111 yards, 1 TD), and while he also threw a pair of interceptions, he did enough to get the win. His 425 rushing yards lead all quarterbacks and rank 14th overall in the nation.
5. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
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Previous Rank: 6
Stats: 113-of-160, 1,247 yards, 13 TD, 2 INT; -12 rush yards
Four games into filling the huge shoes of replacing Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels under center in the LSU offense, Garrett Nussmeier looks the part of a contender for the hardware in his own right.
The 22-year-old completed 32 of 44 pass attempts for 352 yards and three touchdowns in a lopsided 34-17 victory over UCLA, and he now has three 300-yard performances under his belt already this season.
With a Week 5 matchup against South Alabama on deck, he should be able to continue padding his stats. His 13 passing touchdowns currently rank second in the nation, behind only Cam Ward (14).
4. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
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Previous Rank: 4
Stats: 79-of-94, 914 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT; 26 rush yards, 2 TD
Dillon Gabriel leads the nation with an 84.0 percent completion rate, and he has made a seamless transition into the Oregon Ducks offense after transferring from Oklahoma to replace departing first-round pick Bo Nix.
His 15,779 career passing yards rank fifth on the all-time FBS leaderboard, and he needs just 15 more yards to pass Texas Tech legend Graham Harrell to move into fourth on that list as he continues to cement his legacy.
After a bye week, Oregon will kick off Big Ten play against UCLA and Michigan State the next two weeks before a huge matchup against Ohio State on Oct. 12.
3. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
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Previous Rank: 3
Stats: 35-of-52, 590 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT; 156 rush yards, 6 TD
Jalen Milroe has only played three games this season since Alabama was on a bye week in Week 4, but his 14 total touchdowns accounted for are good for the fourth-highest total in the nation, behind only John Mateer (16), Cam Ward (15) and Jaxson Dart (15).
Now the 21-year-old has a chance to potentially move into the driver's seat in the Heisman Trophy race if he can turn in a strong performance against Georgia in Week 5.
Milroe was limited to 192 passing yards, 29 rushing yards and two total touchdowns against the Bulldogs in the SEC championship game last year, though the Crimson Tide came away with a 27-24 victory.
2. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
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Previous Rank: 2
Stats: 95-of-119, 1,554 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT; 90 rush yards, 3 TD
Jaxson Dart continued his strong early production with 382 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 52-13 win over Georgia Southern, making it four straight games with at least 375 passing yards to start the year.
The Rebels have started the season with a fairly easy schedule, but a sneaky tough matchup awaits this weekend against a Kentucky squad that gave Georgia everything it could handle in Week 3.
A strong showing from Dart in his first SEC matchup of the year would help solidify his standing as one of the early contenders in the Heisman Trophy race.
1. Cam Ward, Miami
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Previous Rank: 1
Stats: 89-of-123, 1,439 yards, 14 TD, 2 INT; 89 rush yards, 1 TD
A week after lighting up Ball State for 346 yards and five touchdowns, Cam Ward had another huge day through the air in a rare non-conference road game against a Group of Five opponent.
The 22-year-old completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 404 yards and three touchdowns in a 50-15 victory over South Florida, and the Hurricanes are now 4-0 to start the year and ranked No. 7 in the latest AP poll.
The Hurricanes' schedule does not feature No. 17 Clemson or Boston College and Pittsburgh who were both among the Others Receiving Votes in the latest AP poll, so their biggest hurdle in a potential undefeated season could come against No. 15 Louisville on Oct. 19.
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