Pac-12 Football: 10 Best Pac-12 Quarterbacks of All Time

The Pac-12 may have recently picked up a reputation for explosive offenses and tons of touchdowns, but this conference has always had successful quarterbacks. Whether you want to look at the Pac-12, Pac-10 or Pac-8 days, you will be able to find guys who could throw the football with the best of them.

Records have been broken numerous times, and this conference has produced many Heisman winners. Some of these guys have also been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. There are plenty of quarterbacks in this conference who paved the way for players today, and most of them will never be forgotten.

Here are the top 10 Pac-12 quarterbacks of all time.

10. Andrew Walter, Arizona State (2001-2004)

When Andrew Walter was finished with his career, he had set many prestigious Pac-10 records. He broke John Elway's record for most touchdown passes with 85 and set the conference single game record with 536 passing yards.

But Walter didn't stop there. He also topped school records in passing touchdowns, passing yards (10,617), most completions (777), attempts (1,416) and total offense (10,142). He was just the sixth Pac-10 quarterback to surpass 10,000 career passing yards and had 14 games of at least 300 passing yards.

The numbers were clearly there, but the reason Walter barely cracks the list is due to his subpar 18-17 record as a starting quarterback. Walter played on some poor teams, and the Sun Devils managed to win only one bowl game during his career. 

9. Joey Harrington, Oregon (1998-2001)

Joey Harrington was one of the last Oregon quarterbacks to tear things up in the passing game before the Ducks started to rely so heavily on the read-option.

Often the forgotten man when discussing Pac-12 quarterbacks, Harrington had an impressive career. Throwing for 6,289 yards and 53 touchdowns, he was really one of the best quarterbacks in the country during his time playing. Harrington was named first-team All-American in 2001 and finished fourth in the Heisman voting that year.

Besides putting up solid numbers, Harrington also led his team to many victories, including a Fiesta Bowl win over No. 3-ranked Colorado in 2002. He finished his career with a 25-3 record.

Harrington is underrated when this conversation pops up.

8. Troy Aikman, UCLA (1986-88)

Troy Aikman began his career with Oklahoma, but he later transferred to UCLA and didn't miss a beat in those two seasons.

He led the program to a 20-4 record in two years, including a bowl victory in both the Aloha Bowl and Cotton Bowl. During his first year, he was rewarded with Pac-10 Player of the Year honors after leading the Bruins to a 10-2 record and throwing for 2,527 yards.

In 1988, his senior season, Aikman set a UCLA record with 24 touchdown passes, and he won the Davey O'Brien Award as the top quarterback in the country. Aikman also finished third in the Heisman voting that year.

Aikman was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008, and Bruins fans will forever be grateful one of the best ever decided to transfer from Oklahoma.

7. Matt Barkley, USC (2009-2012)

Matt Barkley had a chance to solidify himself as an all-time elite quarterback and move up a few notches on this list. Even with a disaster of a senior season, he still did enough throughout his career at USC to earn a top-10 spot.

The biggest reason Barkley is this high is because he holds the Pac-12 record with 116 touchdown passes in his career. In a record that likely will take awhile to be broken, he also holds a USC single-game record with 493 passing yards he set against Arizona in 2012.

Barkley threw for 12,327 yards in his career and broke 20 USC school records. He never got close to winning a Heisman, and that horrible senior season will be difficult to forget. But if we are talking numbers and strictly performance on Saturdays, it doesn't get much better than this guy.

6. Jake Plummer, Arizona State (1993-96)

Jake Plummer was an elusive quarterback who also was as tough as nails. Always taking brutal hits due to running out of the pocket, Plummer would bounce right back up and find a way to lead Arizona State to a victory.

Wins came in bunches during his senior year in 1996, as he led the Sun Devils to an undefeated regular season and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Although the team lost to Ohio State, Plummer was still rewarded with first-team All-Pac-10 honors and finished third in the Heisman voting.

He finished his career with 8,626 passing yards and 64 touchdown passes.

Plummer was a two-time All-Pac-10 player and was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1996. He is arguably the best Arizona State quarterback of all time and deserves a little more credit as far as this conference is concerned.

5. John Elway, Stanford (1979-82)

John Elway is one of a few Stanford quarterbacks who will take over this list.

A two-sport athlete with the program, Elway had a bright future in either baseball or football. Thank goodness he decided to stick to the gridiron and provided us with many memories on the NFL stage.

As far as his days with Stanford, Elway threw for a cool 9,349 yards and 77 touchdowns in his career. He also managed to break 17 Pac-10 records along the way.

Elway won Pac-10 Player of the Year honors twice, was a consensus All-American and finished second in the Heisman voting in 1982 after leading the country with 24 passing touchdowns.

The downside with Elway is that the school's 20-23 record during his time wasn't that terrific, and the final game of his career didn't exactly end well. With that said, he was fun to watch, and he put up impressive numbers in a four-year span.

4. Carson Palmer, USC (1999-2002)

When Carson Palmer retired, he was arguably the most decorated quarterback of all time.

Playing four years with USC, Palmer set nearly every Pac-10 and USC record you could think of when he hung them up. Whether it was total offense (11,621), most touchdowns (72), most completions (927), or most 300-yard passing games in a career (11), Palmer rewrote the record books for the conference and the school.

He also won the Heisman Trophy in 2002 after completing 63.2 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,942 yards and 33 touchdowns. That season USC won the Orange Bowl with an 11-2 record, which marked the first bowl win for the Trojans since 1995.

Palmer was just one of many terrific quarterbacks to play for this program, but his name is always mentioned towards the top.

3. Jim Plunkett, Stanford (1968-70)

It's quite obvious Stanford has set the bar when it comes to quarterback, as Jim Plunkett is considered one of the best to ever play the position. Plunkett broke many records along the way and opened the door for other great signal-callers to play for the program.

Plunkett threw for 7,554 yards and 52 touchdowns, which were school records at the time. In 1970, he led Stanford to its first Rose Bowl appearance in nearly 20 years and became the first Latino player to win the Heisman Trophy. That season he also received first-team All-American honors and won the bowl game with a 27-17 victory over Ohio State.

The former Stanford quarterback didn't put up the gaudy statistics that some of the other guys did, but he played in a completely different era where running the ball was more popular. Still, his 7,887 yards in total offense was the best in the NCAA at the time.

2. Andrew Luck, Stanford (2009-2011)

Too soon?

Nope.

While the other two Stanford quarterbacks were great in their own right, Andrew Luck took things to another level and has the records and hardware to prove it. He holds Stanford career records in passing touchdowns (82), total offense (10,387), completion percentage (67 percent), and most victories (31). He also holds many school single-season records and his career 67 completion percentage is a Pac-12 record that may never be broken.

Luck's .837 winning percentage is the highest among Stanford quarterbacks, and he led the Cardinal to three straight bowl games for the first time since 1933-1935. How Luck never won a Heisman Trophy truly seems strange to this day, as he was able to win nearly every other award invented.

Luck was in a completely different class than those who came before him.

1. Matt Leinart, USC (2001-2005)

Forget the Pac-12, Matt Leinart should be considered one of the best college quarterbacks to ever play the game.

He won a Heisman Trophy in 2004, as well as a national championship. Even though the NCAA would like us to believe that season never took place, the Trojans were by far the best team in the country. A lot of it had to do with Leinart and his ridiculous consistency.

The USC quarterback finished his career 37-2 as a starter and holds school records for career touchdown passes (99) and completion percentage (64.8). Leinart is easily one of the most decorated quarterbacks ever, and there is a case to be made for him being the best ever at the collegiate level.

However, while that debate is for a different time, it is hard to argue him being the top quarterback in the history of the Pac-12.

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