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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. Maddux Madsen, Boise State
1 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 14-of-23, 149 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 4 carries, 34 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★ (Washington State)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (31-10)
The Boise State offense is built on the running game, as they rank seventh in the nation with 237.9 rushing yards per game and have the nation's leading rusher in Dylan Riley (140 carries, 963 yards, 8 TD).
That helps open up the passing game for third-year starter Maddux Madsen, but he deserves credit for his efficiency when he pushes the ball downfield. He has thrown 14 touchdown passes without an interception. His 65.6 percent completion rate is a significant improvement on last year's 58.3 percent mark.
Week 8 Grade: B
19. Tayven Jackson, North Texas
2 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 17-of-23, 305 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 2 carries, -8 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★ (Navy)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (49-39)
A former 4-star recruit who made stops at Tennessee, Indiana and UCF over his first four collegiate seasons, Tayven Jackson has found a home at North Texas this year as one of the AAC's top quarterbacks.
He recorded his third straight 300-yard passing game on Saturday to help North Texas improve to 5-2 on the year. He now leads the AAC in passing yards (2,173), yards per attempt (9.8) and passer rating (177.3).
Week 8 Grade: A
18. JC French IV, Cincinnati
3 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 19-of-30, 172 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 12 carries, 46 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★★ (Texas Tech)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (37-24)
After three seasons at Georgia Southern, including a 2,929-yard, 20-touchdown campaign last year, JC French IV landed at Cincinnati in the transfer portal as the replacement for Brendan Sorbsy.
Despite two interceptions on Saturday, his four touchdown passes helped drive the upset win over previously undefeated Texas Tech. He now has seven touchdown passes in the last two weeks after recording just six total over his first five games.
Week 8 Grade: B
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17. Marcus Stokes, Memphis
4 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 29-of-43, 320 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 7 carries, 31 yards, 2 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★ (East Carolina)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (41-34, OT)
After throwing three interceptions in a loss to Tulane in Week 7, Marcus Stokes matched a season high with five total touchdowns on Saturday. His go-ahead rushing score in overtime held up as the game-winner.
He leads the AAC in total yards (2,392) and total touchdowns (23), ranking in the top 10 nationally in both categories. The West Florida transfer has looked the part this year after making the jump from D-II.
Week 8 Grade: A
16. Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
5 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 19-of-26, 203 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 5 carries, 23 yards, 1 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Vanderbilt)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (34-17)
Kentucky clinched a winning record in SEC play for just the third time since 1977 with Saturday's victory over Vanderbilt. Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey has played a major role in their unexpected success.
Picked to finish 14th in the preseason media poll, the Wildcats are now up to No. 9 in the latest AP poll, behind only No. 3 Georgia among conference foes. With 1,755 passing yards and a 14-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, Minchey has done an excellent job piloting the offense for one of the nation's biggest surprises.
Week 8 Grade: B
15. Aidan Chiles, Northwestern
6 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 19-of-25, 219 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 12 carries, 83 yards, 2 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★ (Rutgers)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (42-14)
Two years after completing fewer than 60 percent of his passes and leading the Big Ten with 11 interceptions as the starter at Michigan State, Aidan Chiles has helped transform Northwestern into a dark-horse playoff contender.
The meaty part of the schedule is still on the horizon with Oregon, Iowa and Ohio State the next three weeks, but he leads the Big Ten with a 71.3 percent completion rate and has steered the Wildcats to a 6-1 start and the No. 24 spot in the latest AP poll.
Week 8 Grade: A
14. Michael Hawkins Jr., West Virginia
7 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 7-of-15, 79 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 20 carries, 87 yards, 2 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (TCU)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (24-20)
Michael Hawkins Jr. was more of a running back lining up under center than anything resembling a traditional quarterback on Saturday. He now ranks 11th in the nation with 836 rushing yards and is tied for the FBS lead with 16 rushing touchdowns.
Zooming out on his dual-threat abilities, he also has 1,598 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns and a Big 12-leading 10.1 yards per attempt. After three straight losses to start conference play, the Mountaineers have won back-to-back games and are now one victory away from bowl eligibility after finishing 4-8 a year ago.
Week 8 Grade: B
13. Sam Leavitt, LSU
8 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 32-of-45, 387 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 8 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Auburn)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (38-17)
Sam Leavitt threw at least one interception in each of LSU's first six games, but he has put together back-to-back standout performances against Mississippi State and Auburn with seven touchdowns, zero interceptions and a terrific 75.9 percent completion rate.
Looking beyond his early turnover struggles, he leads the SEC in completions (180), passing yards (2,163), passing touchdowns (17) and total touchdowns (25). The Tigers are all the way up to No. 15 in the latest AP poll after tumbling to No. 22 a few weeks ago.
Week 8 Grade: A
12. Bear Bachmeier, BYU
9 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 16-of-32, 257 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 15 carries, 37 yards, 1 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (UCF)
Week 8 Outcome: Loss (31-39, 2OT)
Bear Bachmeier had multiple chances to help BYU avoid Saturday's shocking upset to UCF, but the Cougars' offense went three-and-out on back-to-back possessions at the end of regulation. He threw three straight incompletions to end the second overtime and the game.
With a 50 percent completion rate and 2.5 yards per carry, his dual-threat talents were effectively contained. BYU will get a chance to regroup next weekend at home against a middling Arizona State squad.
Week 8 Grade: C
11. Ethan Grunkemeyer, Virginia Tech
10 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 20-of-32, 156 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 16 carries, 14 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Clemson)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (20-16)
Ethan Grunkemeyer was held below 200 passing yards for the second time this season, but he played mistake-free football and led an 11-play, 69-yard drive for the game-winning touchdown with 1:44 remaining.
The Hokies have leaned heavily on the Penn State transfer offensively. He leads the ACC in completions (187) while ranking second in attempts (261). The redshirt sophomore has three years of eligibility left and the potential to become a top-tier quarterback.
Week 8 Grade: B
10. Devon Dampier, Utah
11 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 18-of-26, 204 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 15 carries, 150 yards, 2 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Houston)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (21-13)
Despite throwing a pair of interceptions, Devon Dampier made a massive impact with his legs and scored the go-ahead rushing touchdown with 2:09 remaining to keep Utah undefeated.
It was the first game all season in which he didn't throw multiple touchdown passes. His 68.7 percent completion rate is an improvement on last year's 63.5 percent mark, but he has already surpassed the five interceptions he threw a year ago.
Week 8 Grade: C
9. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
12 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 21-of-36, 386 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 8 carries, 8 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★ (Colorado)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (57-24)
Over his last five games, Drew Mestemaker has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 1,768 yards with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions, looking more and more like the same quarterback who led the nation in passing yards (4,379) a year ago at North Texas.
This weekend's performance came against a Colorado defense that allowed more than 30 points per game, but a 386-yard, four-touchdown performance against anyone is a solid day's work.
Week 8 Grade: A
8. Keelon Russell, Alabama
13 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 19-of-30, 311 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 9 carries, 20 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Texas A&M)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (31-20)
After turning the ball over three times in a disappointing road loss to Tennessee in Week 7, Keelon Russell bounced back nicely with his third 300-yard, three-touchdown passing performance of the season.
His 2,308 total yards trail only LSU's Sam Leavitt (2,487) on the SEC leaderboard. He has 20 total touchdowns through eight games. Those two dual-threat standouts will go head-to-head on Nov. 7 in a clash of two-loss playoff contenders that will likely be an elimination game for the loser.
Week 8 Grade: A
7. Noah Fifita, Arizona
14 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 27-of-34, 308 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 3 carries, 18 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★ (Iowa State)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (39-3)
Arizona put points on the board in each of its first four offensive possessions to build a 25-3 halftime lead, then cruised to victory to improve to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 conference play.
Noah Fifita kicked off the scoring with a 71-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Mizell on the second play of the game. After another efficient passing performance, he now ranks second in the nation with a 74.2 percent completion rate.
Week 8 Grade: A
6. Kevin Jennings, SMU
15 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 16-of-23, 223 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 7 carries, 26 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★ (California)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (59-20)
Kevin Jennings has now gone three straight games without an interception after some early turnover issues. He became SMU's all-time leader with his 73rd career passing touchdown in Saturday's victory.
The three-year starter now holds the top spot in completions (781), passing yards (9,771) and passing touchdowns (74). While several contenders have suffered their second loss in recent weeks, he quietly has a 6-1 SMU squad up to No. 19 in the latest AP poll.
Week 8 Grade: A
5. Josh Hoover, Indiana
16 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 8-of-18, 81 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 4 carries, 7 yards, 1 TD
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Michigan)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (13-6, OT)
The Michigan secondary has surrendered 154.6 passing yards per game this year. That is the seventh-lowest total among FBS teams and the third-lowest among major conference defenses. In other words, Josh Hoover is not the first quarterback to struggle to move the ball against the Wolverines.
That said, he didn't have a single completion after halftime until Indiana's possession in overtime. He ultimately scored the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback keeper, but it was an ugly day under center. Hoover still appeared banged up from the Week 7 loss to Ohio State.
Week 8 Grade: C
4. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
17 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 25-of-52, 250 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 5 carries, 7 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Texas)
Week 8 Outcome: Loss (27-34)
Trinidad Chambliss had never thrown multiple interceptions in a game during his time at Ole Miss prior to Saturday's three-interception performance against Texas, matching his total for the entirety of the 2025 season.
Zooming out, the more troubling trend might be his 51.1 percent completion rate over the last two weeks. He managed to make things interesting with a pair of second-half touchdown passes after the Rebels trailed 24-3 at halftime, but he was unable to orchestrate a game-tying drive after they recovered an onside kick in the final two minutes.
Week 8 Grade: D
3. Jayden Maiava, USC
18 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 31-of-50, 258 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 5 carries, -57 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Wisconsin)
Week 8 Outcome: Loss (7-24)
The USC offense ran into a brick wall against Wisconsin's defense, finishing with the fewest points ever scored by a Lincoln Riley-coached team en route to the Trojans' second loss of the season.
Jayden Maiava is still the Big Ten leader in completions (183), passing yards (2,302) and passing touchdowns (19), but he had his worst game of the season on Saturday. Even without the 57 yards lost on five Wisconsin sacks, the USC running game still produced just 40 yards on 20 carries. He was unable to shoulder the load in the passing game.
Week 8 Grade: D
2. Conner Weigman, Houston
19 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 19-of-35, 282 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 8 carries, 20 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Utah)
Week 8 Outcome: Loss (13-21)
Conner Weigman had a crucial fumble after being crushed by blitzing safety Jackson Bennee late in the fourth quarter. The Utes iced the victory with a Devon Dampier rushing touchdown on the next play.
Prior to that, it had still been a relatively quiet game for Houston's quarterback. He failed to record a touchdown after entering play with 26 total touchdowns through seven games.
Week 8 Grade: C
1. Darian Mensah, Miami
20 of 21
Week 8 Passing Stats: 31-of-37, 387 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Week 8 Rushing Stats: 5 carries, -12 yards
Week 8 Quality of Opponent: ★★★★ (Pitt)
Week 8 Outcome: Win (52-23)
The gap between Darian Mensah and the rest of the nation's quarterbacks continues to grow, as he lit up the Pitt defense for his fourth 300-yard passing game and his second with at least four passing touchdowns.
More than half of his 31 completions went to Malachi Toney, who finished with 16 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Mensah is the FBS leader in completion percentage (81.4), yards per attempt (10.5) and passer rating (204.6). He is Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith's biggest competition in the Heisman race.
Week 8 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 9 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 9 performance to grade, they are presented with "***" rather than a ranking number and will not appear in next week's article.
Week 9 CFB Quarterback Rankings
1. Darian Mensah, Miami
2. Braden Atkinson, Oregon State
***Conner Weigman, Houston
3. Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
4. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
5. Kevin Jennings, SMU
6. Noah Fifita, Arizona
***Keelon Russell, Alabama
7. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
***Sam Leavitt, LSU
8. Jayden Maiava, USC
9. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
10. CJ Carr, Notre Dame
11. Aidan Chiles, Northwestern
12. Lincoln Kienholz, Louisville
13. Devon Dampier, Utah
***Ethan Grunkemeyer, Virginia Tech
14. Josh Hoover, Indiana
***Michael Hawkins Jr., West Virginia
15. Marcus Stokes, Memphis
16. Tayven Jackson, North Texas
17. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
18. Austin Simmons, Missouri
***Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
19. JC French IV, Cincinnati
20. Maddux Madsen, Boise State
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