Breaking Down College Football's Best Backup QBs in 2012

When it comes to backup quarterbacks Oregon, Iowa State and Northwestern are sitting in the catbird seat. Bryan Bennett, Jared Barnett and Trevor Siemian are the cream of the crop where backup quarterbacks are concerned and rightfully so; unlike most of their counterparts around the nation, they've actually played and won games for their ball clubs.

Obviously, when you look around the nation, guys like Ryan Williams, who was a starter at Memphis before going to Miami, and Clint Trickett at Florida State come to mind as quality backups. Throw in Case McCoy, Jacoby Brissett and Clint Mosely, at Texas, Florida and Auburn respectively, and you have quarterbacks who came very close to being "the guy" at their schools. 

Oh, and we cannot forget Brian Kelly's quarterback trio behind Everett Golson; Tommy Rees, Andrew Hendrix and Gunner Kiel. Rees and Hendrix have started and Kiel is a guy that plenty of coaches, especially Les Miles, wish they had in their stable.

That said, Bennett, Barnett and Siemian stand out amid the crowd.

In Bennett the Ducks have a player who, up until the very end, had every intention of winning the starting quarterback gig. He's an explosive athlete that guided the Ducks to a win in his lone start a season ago and who is capable of running Chip Kelly's offense flawlessly. Should Marcus Mariota have issues developing, turning the ball over, the new helmet rule or injury woes, expect the Ducks to keep their offense humming with Bennett at the helm.

Iowa State had one of the more under-publicized quarterback battles in the offseason; Steel Jantz won the starting gig at Iowa State ahead of Jared Barnett. Yes, "the" Jared Barnett who was the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Yes, "the" Jared Barnett who showed remarkable poise in going 31-of-58 for 376 yards, plus another 84 rushing yards en route to beating No. 2 Oklahoma State. Barnett is a heck of a "Plan B" for the Cyclones, as a season ago he was a large part of getting them to bowl eligibility by winning three of their last five games.

We have already seen the impact that Trevor Siemian can have on the game as he helped guide the Wildcats to a win, in a shootout, over Syracuse. He showed poise, he showed the ability to get it done under pressure and Siemian got the game-winner the Wildcats, after giving up a 22-point lead, desperately needed. Most interestingly in all of this? As the Chicago Tribune reported, it was starter Kain Colter who had the confidence in Siemian to get the job done.

"

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said Monday that before NU's final series, Colter told offensive coordinator Mick McCall through his headset that because he was banged up, "I think Trevor would give us a better chance to win."

"

That speaks volumes in support of Siemian, and Colter had the right idea as Northwestern escaped with a W.

As it stands now, especially with the new helmet rule, backup quarterbacks have got to be ready to go at a moment's notice. Teams that have the luxury of a quality backup will be able to keep their offense moving, instead of settling for a couple handoffs and a punt.