Ranking Quarterbacks in Power-5 Conferences by Attempts Per Interception

Is the most effective quarterback the one who makes the fewest mistakes?

In other words, is Pitt’s Chad Voytik—with only four interceptions—a better quarterback than Washington State’s Connor Halliday, who has already thrown seven picks?

Though there is no denying that interceptions are bad, saying that the quarterback who throws the most is automatically the worst is not accurate because pass frequency varies by offense.

Think about it this way: Voytik has thrown the ball 113 times in five games, while Halliday has 299 attempts, also in five games.

So, even though Voytik looks like the more effective passer—by virtue of fewer mistakes—he’s thrown a pick in every 28 throws, while Halliday has thrown one in every 43 attempts.

It’s a new statistic to chew on: attempts per interception.

Take a look at each power-five team’s starting quarterback (or the guy with the most throws) ranked by interceptions per attempt. Then check out the top 10 quarterbacks (with 90-plus attempts) in the entire FBS.

Food for thought: The average attempt-per-interception number for the FBS is 41, or on average, quarterbacks are throwing an interception in every 41 attempts.

The ACC and Notre Dame

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NC State's Jacoby Brissett

The ACC has 17 guys listed because of the addition of Notre Dame and the shared stats at Virginia and Clemson.

Notable is North Carolina State’s Jacoby Brissett, who has thrown 167 passes in five games with only one interception. That’s the fourth-most attempts in the ACC with the fewest errors, behind Virginia Tech’s Michael Brewer (193 throws and 10 picks), Duke’s Anthony Boone (185 attempts and three picks) and Wake Forest's John Wolford (179 throws and 10 picks).

Also worth highlighting is Florida State’s Jameis Winston, who has thrown a pick in every 26 attempts, putting him in the bottom quarter of the FBS and on par with Appalachian State’s Taylor Lamb (26.5) and Tulsa’s Dane Evans (26.4).

1. Jacoby Brissett, NC State: 167
2. Deshaun Watson, Clemson: 77
3. Cole Stoudt, Clemson: 68
4. Everett Golson, Notre Dame: 67.5
5. Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech: 65
6. Anthony Boone, Duke: 62
7. Terrel Hunt, Syracuse: 57
8. Will Gardner, Louisville: 56
9. Marquise Williams, North Carolina: 30
10. Chad Voytik, Pitt: 28
11. Jameis Winston, Florida State: 26
12. Greyson Lambert, Virginia: 24
13. Brad Kaaya, Miami (Fla.): 21.57
14. Matt Johns, Virginia: 21.5
15. Michael Brewer, Virginia Tech: 19
16. John Wolford, Wake Forest: 18
17. Tyler Murphy, Boston College: 17

The Big 12

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Among the power-five leagues, only the Pac-12 surpasses the Big 12 in the number of quarterbacks with attempts-per-interception numbers over 100.

TCU’s Trevone Boykin, Baylor’s Bryce Petty and Texas’ Tyrone Swoopes have all thrown the ball right at around 100 times with only one interception each.

At the bottom of the barrel, Kansas’ Montell Cozart has thrown the ball 117 times in four games with a whopping seven interceptions.

1. Trevone Boykin, TCU: 123
2. Bryce Petty, Baylor: 101
3. Tyrone Swoopes, Texas: 99
4. Clint Trickett, West Virginia: 58
5. Daxx Garman, Oklahoma State: 44
6. Trevor Knight, Oklahoma: 43
7. Jake Waters, Kansas State: 37
8. Sam Richardson, Iowa State: 34
9. Davis Webb, Texas Tech: 30
10. Montell Cozart, Kansas: 16

The Big 10

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The Big 10 ranks last out of the power-five conferences in average attempts per interception with 35, which is below the national average of 41.

On the plus side is Illinois’ Wes Lunt, who has thrown 153 passes in four games with only three interceptions; only 11 quarterbacks with 150-plus attempts have performed better. 

Then there is Michigan’s Devin Gardner, who has thrown six interceptions in only 98 attempts, a statistical explanation for the Wolverines’ 2-3 start and No. 128 ranking in turnover ratio.

1. Nate Sudfeld, Indiana: 65
2. Jake Rudock, Iowa: 64
3. Wes Lunt, Illinois: 51
4. C.J. Brown, Maryland: 43
5. Connor Cook, Michigan State: 39
6. Tommy Armstrong, Nebraska: 38
7. Trevor Siemian, Northwestern: 37
8. Christian Hackenberg, Penn State: 32.5
9. Danny Etling, Purdue: 32.4
10. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State: 22
11. Tanner McEvoy, Wisconsin: 21.5
12. Mitch Leidner, Minnesota: 19
13. Devin Gardner, Michigan: 16
14. Gary Nova, Rutgers: 15.8

The SEC

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With eight new starting quarterbacks in 2014, it’s no surprise that a throng of SEC members have low attempts-per-interception numbers.

That said, give credit to Texas A&M’s sophomore quarterback, Kenny Hill, who has not only thrown 180 passes for 1,745 yards in five games, but recorded only two interceptions.

On the debit side, Vanderbilt’s two young gunslingers—Stephen Rivers and Wade Freebeck—have combined for seven interceptions in 97 attempts—one pick in every 14 throws.

Also worth noting is Ole Miss’ Bo Wallace, who’s thrown an interception every 22 times he’s touched the ball, a low mark that may be exposed as the SEC portion of the schedule gets underway. 

1. Brandon Allen, Arkansas: 97
2. Kenny Hill, Texas A&M: 90
3. Nick Marshall, Auburn: 73
4. Dylan Thompson, South Carolina: 60
5. Justin Worley, Tennessee: 52
6. Blake Sims, Alabama: 49
7. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State: 48
8. Hutson Mason, Georgia: 42
9. Maty Mauk, Missouri: 40
10. Jeff Driskel, Florida: 39
11. Patrick Towles, Kentucky: 34
12. Anthony Jennings, LSU: 28
13. Stephen Rivers, Vanderbilt: 25
14. Bo Wallace, Ole Miss: 22 
15. Wade Freebeck, Vanderbilt: 9

The Pac-12

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Not only does the Pac-12 own the best attempts-per-interception average among the power-five conference, but it is the only big league to boast a starter with zero interceptions.

If that weren’t enough, the Pac-12 has five such guys.

The honor roll consists of USC’s Cody Kessler, Washington’s Cyler Miles, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, Utah’s Travis Wilson and Arizona State’s Taylor Kelly.

The Pac-12’s lowest finisher—Oregon State’s Sean Mannion at 36 with four picks in 145 throws—is at least 20 clean attempts better than the low man for the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.

1. Cody Kessler, USC: 0 in 132 attempts
2. Cyler Miles, Washington: 0 in 100 attempts
3. Marcus Mariota, Oregon: 0 in 96 attempts
4. Travis Wilson, Utah: 0 in 96 attempts
5. Taylor Kelly, Arizona State: 0 in 68 attempts
6. Brett Hundley, UCLA: 104
7. Anu Solomon, Arizona: 58
8. Kevin Hogan, Stanford: 50
9. Connor Halliday, Washington State: 43
10. Mike Bercovici, Arizona State: 42.5
11. Jared Goff, Cal: 42.3
12. Sefo Liufau, Colorado: 40
13. Sean Mannion, Oregon State: 36

10. Ozzie Mann, Ball State

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Attempts Per Interception: 135

Coming in at No. 10 in the FBS ranks through five weeks of play, Ball State’s Ozzie Mann has only thrown a single pick in 135 attempts this season.

Mann, a 2-star sophomore from Hartford City, Indiana, played sparingly in relief of Keith Wenning last season, throwing one interception in only nine attempts.

Mann is 74-of-135 for 774 yards and five touchdowns; his only interception came in Ball State’s sole win this season, a 30-10 victory over FCS Colgate.

9. Fredi Knighten, Arkansas State

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Attempts Per Interception: 136

Fredi Knighten’s only interception this season came in Week 4’s 21-14 win over Utah State.

Other than that misstep, Knighten has thrown 136 passes for 792 yards and three scores, leading Arkansas State to a 2-2 start.  It’s worth noting that the Red Wolves’ two losses came via road trips to Miami (Fla.) and Tennessee.

Knighten is a first-year starter as a junior, originally signing on with Arkansas State as a 2-star dual-threat prospect out of Little Rock.

Despite his careful efforts, the Red Wolves are ranked No. 106 in turnover margin, with only six takeaways versus nine giveaways (seven fumbles and an additional interception committed by kicker Luke Ferguson).

8. Ikaika Woolsey, Hawaii

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Attempts Per Interception: 146

Another first-year starter off to a great start, Hawaii’s Ikaika Woolsey has tossed only one interception in 146 throws.

Woolsey’s sole pick came in the 38-30 loss to Oregon State in Week 2, one of three near-misses for the Warriors against power-five teams.

Woolsey—with 695 yards and one score in 2014—was a 2-star pro-style prospect in 2012, hailing from Richmond, California. 

At 1-3 Hawaii has already matched its win total from last season, thanks in part to its young quarterback and its plus-one turnover margin.

7. Jacoby Brissett, NC State

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Attempts Per Interception: 167

Jacoby Brissett—a former 4-star recruit from West Palm Beach, Florida—came to NC State via a transfer from Florida in 2013.

After sitting out last season, Brissett has blazed his way to a 1,364-yard, 13-score start in 2014 that includes only one interception in 167 attempts.

The results include a 4-1 start for a Wolfpack team that won only three games last season and a No. 16 ranking in turnover margin. 

Brissett’s only interception this season came in the opener, a narrow 24-23 win over Georgia Southern. 

6. Jaquez Johnson, Florida Atlantic

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Attempts Per Interception: 0 interceptions in 94 attempts.

One of six FBS quarterbacks to throw 90-plus passes without an interception, Jaquez Johnson has been mistake-free in four outings.

Johnson missed part of the opener at Nebraska and all of Week 2’s loss to Alabama with a shoulder injury, but all together he’s thrown 94 passes for 773 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Johnson, a dual-threat prospect from Starkville, Mississippi, started for the Owls last season, throwing eight picks in 256 attempts or one every 32 throws.

The Owls are 2-3 this season with losses to Nebraska, Alabama and Wyoming.

4. Travis Wilson, Utah

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Attempts Per Interception: 0 in 96 attempts

One of four Pac-12 quarterbacks in the top five, Utah’s Travis Wilson is off to the best start of his career.

Wilson took over as the starter in 2012, but before now has never had a four-game stretch without an interception. He threw 16 picks in 237 attempts last season, one of every 15 throws.

Wilson was a 3-star pro-style prospect in 2012, coming to Utah from San Clemente, California.

Utah is 3-1 this season, the only loss coming in a 28-27 Week 5 defeat to Washington State.  The Utes have improved from being ranked No. 113 in turnover margin last year to No. 12 this season.

4. Marcus Mariota, Oregon

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Attempts Per Interception: 0 interceptions in 96 attempts

Despite the Ducks’ near miss to Washington State in Week 4, Marcus Mariota is off to a head-spinning start to 2014.

Mariota is 71-of-96 (74 percent) for 1,135 yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions.  He is No. 1 in the FBS in completion percentage, No. 1 in quarterback rating and tied for No. 3 in touchdown passes.

Last season he threw only four interceptions in 386 tries—or one every 96 throws.  In 2012, as a freshman, he threw six in 336 attempts, one every 56 passes.

Mariota signed with Oregon in 2011 as a 3-star dual-threat prospect from Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Ducks are 4-0, ranked No. 2 in The AP and No. 7 in turnover margin.

3. Cyler Miles, Washington

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Attempts Per Interception: 0 interceptions in 100 attempts

Cyler Miles threw two interceptions in 61 attempts as Keith Price’s backup last season, but in 2014 he’s been perfect through his first 100 throws.

Miles is 63-of-100 for 623 yards and six touchdowns, despite missing the opener against Hawaii due to a suspension. He came to Washington as a 4-star dual-threat prospect from Denver, Colorado, with the class of 2012.

Washington is 4-1 after a narrow 20-13 loss to No. 16 Stanford last Saturday and is ranked No. 4 in the nation in turnover margin.

2. Brandon Silvers, Troy

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Attempts Per Interception: 0 interceptions in 106 attempts

The top quarterback in attempts per interception who doesn’t play for a power-five team, Troy freshman quarterback Brandon Silvers is a rare ray of hope for the Trojans in 2014.

Troy is 0-5 this season, including a 38-35 defeat at the hands of FCS Abilene Christian, a program that only moved up from Division II last season. 

Silvers is 71-of-106 for 779 yards and four scores, playing in every game except for the Week 4 road trip to Georgia, which he missed due to a “above the neck” injury.

He came to Troy as a 2-star prospect from Gulf Shores, Alabama, in the class of 2012.

1. Cody Kessler, USC

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Attempts Per Interception: 0 interceptions in 132 attempts

Not only is Cody Kessler the least interception-prone quarterback in the Pac-12, but he’s the best in the entire FBS.

Kessler is 95-of-132 (72 percent) for 1,107 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.  In 2013, he threw seven interceptions in 362 attempts—or one in every 52 tries.

He came to USC as a 4-star recruit from Bakersfield, California, ranked by Rivals as the No. 2 quarterback among pro-style prospects in the class of 2011.

The Trojans are 3-1, ranked No. 16 in The AP and No. 7 in turnover ratio.

Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com.