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Report Card Grades for Top 20 College Football QBs after Week 5
Every Tuesday morning throughout the 2026 college football season, we will be grading the performance of the top 20 quarterbacks in the nation, then re-ranking a new top 20 for next week's report card assignment.
Included are each player's numbers through the air and on the ground, their game's outcome, and the quality of their opponent. A 1-5 star system was used to highlight the quality of the opponent, using the most recent version of The Athletic's ranking of all 138 FBS teams, with stars awarded as follows:
5 stars: No. 1-10 in the rankings
4 stars: No. 11-40 in the rankings
3 stars: No. 41-70 in the rankings
2 stars: No. 71-100 in the rankings
1 star: No. 101-138 in the rankings or an FCS opponent
Each quarterback's performance was given a grade of A, B, C, D or F. Those grades were factored into the reordering of the rankings for the following week.
20. Austin Simmons, Missouri
1 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 23-of-30, 340 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 3 carries, 1 yard
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★★ (Florida)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (45-17)
One week after the Florida defense limited Ole Miss star Trinidad Chambliss (25/34, 298 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) in a 52-28 win, Austin Simmons carved up the Gators, leading Missouri to a 28-point victory.
Simmons has 1,287 passing yards, with 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions this year. He ranks third in the SEC in passer rating, behind only Georgia's Gunner Stockton and Alabama's Keelon Russell.
Week 5 Grade: A
19. Braden Atkinson, Oregon State
2 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 31-of-34, 428 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 4 carries, 26 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★ (Colorado State)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (56-26)
A 3-star transfer who spent his freshman season at Mercer University, Braden Atkinson had 3,596 yards and 34 touchdowns last season. His production has translated to the FBS level.
Oregon State has already improved on last year's 2-10 finish with a 3-2 start. Atkinson leads the nation in completions (137) and passing yards (1,848) while pacing the new-look Pac-12 in virtually every passing category.
Week 5 Grade: A
18. John Alan Richter, Toledo
3 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 19-of-35, 201 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 1 carry, 12 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★ (Ball State)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (39-24)
After three seasons serving as backup to DeQuan Finn and Tucker Gleason while attempting just 96 passes, John Alan Richter has stepped into the starting role.
He leads the MAC in passing yards (1,362) and passing touchdowns (13). The Rockets have won four straight since a season-opening loss on the road against Michigan State. They didn't need much from him on Saturday, as the running game piled up 352 yards and three touchdowns on 51 carries.
Week 5 Grade: B
17. Mason Heintschel, Pitt
4 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 10-of-18, 113 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 4 carries, 2 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Virginia Tech)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (35-33)
The Panthers entered the latest AP poll at No. 25 after Friday night's victory over Virginia Tech, but quarterback Mason Heintschel's season ended when he suffered a torn ACL in the third quarter.
He completed 66.2 percent of his pass attempts for 1,304 yards, with 14 touchdowns and one interception prior to the injury. He was on track toward taking a significant step forward after a solid true freshman campaign.
Week 5 Grade: Incomplete
16. Michael Hawkins Jr., West Virginia
5 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 11-of-23, 227 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 20 carries, 149 yards, 2 TD
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Iowa State)
Week 5 Outcome: Loss (42-45)
Michael Hawkins Jr. put together another dynamic dual-threat performance on Saturday, scoring four touchdowns. He did so with his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the year and logging a season-high 227 passing yards.
Unfortunately, the West Virginia defense was torched for 577 yards and 45 points. The Mountaineers came out on the losing end of his strong individual performance.
Week 5 Grade: A
15. Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska
6 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 26-of-39, 238 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 10 carries, 108 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★ (Maryland)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (48-23)
The Cornhuskers are 5-0 for the first time since 2016. UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea has proven to be a better fit for Nebraska under Matt Rhule than touted recruit Dylan Raiola was in his two years with the team.
Saturday was the first 100-yard rushing game of Colandrea's career, which is saying something after his 649-yard, 10-touchdown performance with his legs a year ago. A much tougher test awaits this weekend when Nebraska welcomes No. 7 Indiana to Lincoln.
Week 5 Grade: A
14. Aaron Philo, Florida
7 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 21-of-34, 197 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 7 carries, 3 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Missouri)
Week 5 Outcome: Loss (17-45)
Aaron Philo was asked to throw a season-high 34 passes on Saturday after averaging 21.8 attempts through Florida's first four games. With the running game bottled up (25 carries, 42 yards), he couldn't pick up the slack and carry the load offensively.
The Gators had eight punts and a turnover on downs in a game where Missouri had 235 more yards of total offense. One of Florida's two touchdowns drives actually came with backup Tramell Jones Jr. under center to close out the game.
Week 5 Grade: C
13. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
8 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 25-of-32, 295 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 7 carries, 22 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Vanderbilt)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (38-14)
After a shaky performance (14/25, 171 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) against Oklahoma in Week 4, Gunner Stockton rebounded with a season-high 295 passing yards and his first multi-touchdown game in SEC play this year.
Stockton now leads the SEC in completion percentage (75.5) and passer rating (202.0). He has thrown 13 touchdown passes against one interception. The Bulldogs have not faced a ranked opponent yet, but that will change on Saturday when they travel to Tuscaloosa to face No. 6 Alabama.
Week 5 Grade: A
12. Beau Pribula, Virginia
9 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 14-of-32, 168 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 15 carries, -62 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Florida State)
Week 5 Outcome: Loss (7-38)
The Virginia offense had its worst game of the season by a significant margin on Saturday, as Beau Pribula was sacked 10 times. They finished with seven punts and four turnovers on downs.
Fingers need to be pointed in multiple directions when a team allows 10 sacks. Pribula certainly deserves his share of the blame for not finding a way to mitigate some of those losses.
Week 5 Grade: D
11. CJ Carr, Notre Dame
10 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 21-of-29, 234 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 4 carries, 15 yards, 1 TD
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (North Carolina)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (37-26)
With a season-high five total touchdowns and an impressive 72.4 percent completion rate, CJ Carr put together his best individual performance of the season on the road against the Tar Heels.
The running game still shouldered the load, with 45 carries for 241 yards and a touchdown, but Carr scored the touchdown. Next up is a matchup against a Stanford defense that allows the sixth-most passing yards per game in the country (299.8).
Week 5 Grade: A
10. Kevin Jennings, SMU
11 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 20-of-30, 160 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 10 carries, -7 yards, 1 TD
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★ (Boston College)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (25-16)
With seven touchdowns and only one turnover in the last two weeks, Kevin Jennings has done a much better job taking care of the football after turning it over five times through SMU's first three games.
He leads the ACC with 1,588 passing yards, and his 75.0 percent completion rate this year ranks fourth among FBS quarterbacks, up from 66.1 percent a year ago. After falling behind 10-6 early in the game, Jennings' three touchdowns flipped it to 25-10.
Week 5 Grade: B
9. Lincoln Kienholz, Louisville
12 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 21-of-30, 254 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 7 carries, 24 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (NC State)
Week 5 Outcome: Loss (28-31)
After climbing to No. 16 in the AP poll during a 2-1 start, Louisville has fallen to 2-3 on the year with losses to Wake Forest and NC State in the last two weeks, dropping them out of the national picture.
Lincoln Kienholz has been one of the nation's most productive transfer quarterbacks. His 1,552 total yards rank eighth in the nation this year. His 15 total touchdowns rank third among ACC players, trailing only Darian Mensah (17) and Kevin Jennings (16).
Week 5 Grade: B
8. Josh Hoover, Indiana
13 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 20-of-27, 251 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 3 carries, -3 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★ (Rutgers)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (47-15)
The Rutgers defense is allowing 38.5 points per game to FBS opponents this season, so Indiana's lopsided victory was the expected outcome on Saturday. Josh Hoover successfully padded his passing stats by throwing four passing touchdowns for the fourth time this year.
The TCU transfer leads the Big Ten in passing touchdowns (15) and passer rating (203.7). After tallying 24 interceptions over the last two seasons, he has yet to be picked off this year.
Week 5 Grade: A
7. Conner Weigman, Houston
14 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 18-of-33, 239 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 13 carries, 50 yards, 3 TD
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (UCF)
Week 5 Outcome: Won (27-17)
Conner Weigman has five rushing touchdowns in the last two weeks, including a career-high three rushing scores in Saturday's victory against UCF. With 700 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground a year ago, his legs have been a major weapon since he arrived at Houston as a Texas A&M transfer.
His 17 total touchdowns this season are tied with Heisman Trophy candidates Darian Mensah and Jayden Maiava for fourth-most in the nation, as he has piloted Houston to a 4-1 start and the No. 22 spot in the AP poll.
Week 5 Grade: B
6. Noah Fifita, Arizona
15 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 25-of-37, 284 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 8 carries, 17 yards, 1 TD
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Cincinnati)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (34-7)
The Big 12 leader in passing yards (1,415) and passing touchdowns (13), Noah Fifita is in his fourth season as the starting quarterback at the University of Arizona and has led the Wildcats to a 4-1 start after a blowout win over previously undefeated Cincinnati.
He led four straight scoring drives to begin the second half, turning a 10-0 game at halftime into a convincing victory. He will line up opposite dual-threat standout Michael Hawkins Jr. in next week's matchup with West Virginia.
Week 5 Grade: B
5. Keelon Russell, Alabama
16 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 16-of-22, 285 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 5 carries, 16 yards, 1 TD
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Mississippi State)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (56-23)
In a marquee matchup of breakout quarterbacks and undefeated SEC contenders, Keelon Russell and Alabama cruised past Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State to improve to 5-0 and climb to No. 6 in the AP poll.
After a shaky first two weeks settling in as the starting quarterback, Russell has completed 60-of-79 pass attempts for 970 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions over the last three games. He also has 107 rushing yards at 6.7 yards per carry and three more scores with his legs.
Week 5 Grade: A
4. Jayden Maiava, USC
17 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 21-of-34, 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 3 carries, -3 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Washington)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (25-21)
It has been a tale of two seasons for Jayden Maiava so far, as he has cooled off after a red-hot start to the year that had him steadily climbing in the Heisman Trophy picture.
Week 0-3: 87-of-115 (75.7%), 1,173 yards, 12 TD, 1 INT
Week 4-5: 44-of-76 (57.9%), 517 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
That said, the Trojans fell behind 21-10 early in the third quarter on Saturday against Washington. He led a pair of scoring drives, along with a defensive touchdown from USC, to spark the comeback win.
Week 5 Grade: B
3. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
18 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 19-of-34, 258 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 6 carries, -26 yards
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★★ (Alabama)
Week 5 Outcome: Loss (23-56)
On his first two drives of the game on Saturday, Kamario Taylor fumbled and threw a pick-six, digging a 14-0 hole before he really had a chance to settle into the game against Alabama.
To his credit, he responded to the pick-six with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, but three turnovers, five sacks and an inconsistent passing performance overall were too much to overcome.
He injured his right leg against Missouri in Week 4 and left Saturday's game early before returning to the sideline in a walking boot. Head coach Jeff Lebby called him "day to day," as the Bulldogs have a well-timed bye week before facing LSU on Oct. 17.
Week 5 Grade: C
2. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
19 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 20-of-27, 324 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 9 carries, -1 yard
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Iowa)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (31-14)
The Ohio State offense vs. Iowa defense matchup was one of the most compelling storylines of the Week 5 slate. The Hawkeyes secondary simply had no response to the Julian Sayin-to-Jeremiah Smith connection.
Smith hauled in 11 catches on 15 targets for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He has 44 receptions for 823 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. That standout production has helped Sayin lead the Big Ten in completion percentage (72.5) and yards per attempt (10.8) in what has been another extremely efficient season.
Week 5 Grade: A
1. Darian Mensah, Miami
20 of 21
Week 5 Passing Stats: 18-of-27, 227 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 5 Rushing Stats: 3 carries, 27 yards, 1 TD
Week 5 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Clemson)
Week 5 Outcome: Win (41-13)
Darian Mensah had a season-low completion percentage and failed to throw multiple touchdown passes for the first time this year, but it's hard to poke too many holes in a 28-point road victory over Clemson.
Even with the good-not-great showing, Mensah still leads the nation with an absurd 84.2 percent completion rate. He has 1,438 passing yards and 15 touchdowns during Miami's undefeated start.
Week 5 Grade: A
Updated Top 20 Quarterbacks List
21 of 21
To keep things fresh and include breakout performers, we will re-rank the top 20 quarterbacks each week on this final slide. That will then reset the field for next week's report cards.
Quarterbacks with a Week 6 bye who are performing at a top-20 level were still included in the updated rankings to show how they stack up to the field.
However, since there will be no Week 6 performance to grade, they are presented with "***" rather than a ranking number and will not appear in next week's article.
Week 6 CFB Quarterback Rankings
***Darian Mensah, Miami
1. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
2. Keelon Russell, Alabama
3. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
4. Josh Hoover, Indiana
***Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
5. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
6. CJ Carr, Notre Dame
7. Jayden Maiava, USC
***Kevin Jennings, SMU
8. Marcus Stokes, Memphis
9. Lincoln Kienholz, Louisville
10. Austin Simmons, Missouri
11. Braden Atkinson, Oregon State
12. Devon Dampier, Utah
13. Conner Weigman, Houston
14. Michael Hawkins Jr., West Virginia
15. Noah Fifita, Arizona
16. Ethan Grunkemeyer, Virginia Tech
17. Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
18. Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska
19. Arch Manning, Texas
20. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
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