2015 College Football QBs We Would Want with Game on the Line
Quick: Your favorite team is down with two minutes remaining and is backed up inside its own 20-yard line. You have the choice of any quarterback in college football to drive down the field and get the win. Who do you want?
Call this the Jameis Winston list (or, for you Group of Five aficionados, the Kellen Moore list). Forget how a quarterback played during the course of the game. When everything is on the line and you need a score (or to run out the clock), which quarterback do you want on the field? That's what we attempt to answer.
Note there isn't a single, great "clutch" metric that calculates quarterback stats in the fourth quarter/overtime when the game is on the line. Therefore, a mixture of stats—fourth quarter/overtime numbers plus stats when the game is tied or within one touchdown—is used.
It's not the cleanest combination (fourth quarter numbers don't necessarily mean a game is close, and the score doesn't have to be tied with two minutes left), but it provides some context. Experience, especially in late-game situations, also plays a role.
Trevone Boykin, TCU
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Not only was TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin one of the most improved quarterbacks from 2013 to '14, he turned out to be one of the more clutch in late-game situations.
It didn't start out that way, though. The Frogs had a huge meltdown against Baylor in October, giving up 24 fourth-quarter points without responding offensively. TCU also relied on its defense to escape with a win against Oklahoma one week before the Baylor game.
However, Boykin helped mount a game-winning drive against West Virginia on the road in November. Boykin's consistency needs to improve, but he accounted for four personal fourth-quarter touchdowns throughout the season (running and throwing) and managed a TCU offense that was one of the best in the country.
Marquise Williams, North Carolina
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Statistically, North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams is best passer in the ACC in the fourth quarter. No player threw for more late-game yards last year than he did (805). More importantly, he was incredibly efficient with six touchdowns to just two picks. He was also efficient when losing in close games (five touchdowns, two picks, 979 yards).
North Carolina was all over the place last season. All but one of the Tar Heels' seven losses were by double digits. However, when games were close, UNC had a lot of success. The Tar Heels won all four of their games that were decided by five points or fewer.
Add in the fact that Williams brings an extra dimension with his running ability, and defenses have a lot to cover. That's a good thing for UNC in late-game situations.
J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
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We realize it's possible J.T. Barrett isn't even Ohio State's starting quarterback in 2015. Again, though, let's also admit the Buckeyes have a quarterback situation unlike anything else in college football. Barrett, along with Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller, could start (and win a lot of games) anywhere.
Anyway, Barrett showed he can come up big in close games last year. He threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away from Indiana in what was a generally sluggish game. He also had three huge drives in the fourth quarter of a shootout against Michigan State. Two of those drives ended in touchdowns, while the third took nearly five crucial minutes off the clock to give the Spartans little time to mount a comeback.
Barrett has been praised for his leadership. That was on display as a redshirt freshman last year not only because he filled in for the injured Braxton Miller but because he exceeded all expectations others had for him outside the program.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Cody Kessler, USC
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USC quarterback Cody Kessler lived in the shadow of Oregon's Marcus Mariota in 2014. That shouldn't be the case this year.
The hype—Kessler is already getting Heisman consideration—is fairly deserved. No full-time returning starter in the Pac-12 was better than Kessler in the fourth quarter. Kessler threw only five picks a year ago, and none came in the final 15 minutes of game play. The redshirt senior was also excellent when trailing in close games, throwing just one interception in such scenarios.
The knock on the Trojans last year was they struggled to finish out games. By itself, that isn't really Kessler's fault. In two of USC's four losses last year, the defense gave up the final touchdown either in the last seconds of the game or as time expired. A third loss, to Boston College, came largely in part because USC had no answer for Eagles quarterback Tyler Murphy.
Anu Solomon, Arizona
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Let's address one thing first since it's undoubtedly going to be the first rebuttal: Yes, Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon took an awful—and we mean awful—game-ending sack in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State. No one's excusing it or overlooking it.
“It hurt the next couple weeks,” Solomon said to Ezra Amacher of The Daily Wildcat in March.
However, we'd be remiss if we didn't at least point out that Solomon led the Wildcats on an 11-play drive starting at their own 20-yard line before taking said sack and might have thrown a touchdown one play before if David Richards hadn't slipped in the end zone.
Additionally, Solomon was the leader of the "Cardiac 'Cats" throughout the 2014 season. No other team in college football besides Florida State came out on the right side of more close victories than Arizona. Recall that Solomon hit receiver Austin Hill for a game-winning Hail Mary against Cal in late September. He also almost led a miraculous comeback against USC, but the Wildcats missed what would have been the game-winning field goal.
Other than the loss to USC, Arizona won five of six games decided by seven points or fewer. The Fiesta Bowl mistake looms large, but it's not a reflection of how good Solomon was in late-game situations.
Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
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No other conference has more compelling quarterback battles this offseason than the SEC. That makes Mississippi State one of the rare teams in that league in 2015. Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott easily enters next season as the top signal-caller, which means you'd want him on your side if the game's on the line.
Mississippi State didn't play in a ton of close games last season—or at least as close as some scores indicated—which is a testament to how well the Bulldogs did early on in games. If anything, Prescott and Co. should be praised for getting off to fast starts.
Still, Prescott was solid in the fourth quarter. He completed 60 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and just one pick. The run game was key, though. The Bulldogs were usually trying to slow down the game and wind down the clock, as the offense scored just 12 touchdowns in fourth quarters.
It's a different kind of clutch, but Prescott was excellent at starting fast and then letting the clock tick away late.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
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