Grading New College Football Starting QBs' Week 1 Performances
The start of a new college football season meant the start of a new era for plenty of programs across the country—especially when it came to the quarterback position.
While the game still has several star signal-callers, plenty of potential title contenders and Power Five dark horses lined up with new No. 1 quarterbacks in Week 1 of the 2015 campaign.
More than half of the nation's top 10 teams had to replace starters at the position this year, including three of the four College Football Playoff teams from last season.
Let's take a look at the 22 new full-time starting quarterbacks in the Power Five conferences—and at Notre Dame—and grade their Week 1 performances based on decision-making, comfort within the offense, ability to create big plays and leadership in their new roles.
Players who have recorded starts in their career but haven't been full-time starters, such as Auburn's Jeremy Johnson, were eligible for this list—as well as transferred starters like Florida State's Everett Golson.
Jake Coker (Alabama)
1 of 22
15-of-21 passing for 213 yards, one TD and zero INTs
The stats weren't flashy—and he hasn't officially won the starting quarterback job at Alabama just yet—but Jake Coker did a great job managing the game for the No. 3 Tide in their neutral-site win over No. 20 Wisconsin.
"[Coker] didn't turn it over," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said, per Matt Zenitz of AL.com. "We need to protect a little bit better. ... But I thought he did a nice job. I thought he was accurate with the ball. He didn't make any poor decisions. He didn't put the ball into coverage anywhere. Did a nice job of executing what we wanted him to do."
The former Florida State transfer overcame a bad first drive to record five completions in each of his three quarters of action and an easy 17-yard touchdown pass to Robert Foster. With no turnovers and only a few mistakes the entire evening, Coker was exactly what Alabama wanted to see in a game-managing offensive leader.
Grade: A
Mike Bercovici (Arizona State)
2 of 22
25-of-41 passing for 199 yards, one TD and zero INTs; one rushing TD
Because of a relentless pass rush from Texas A&M's resurgent defense, Mike Bercovici was sacked a staggering nine times Saturday night in No. 15 Arizona State's 38-17 loss to the unranked Aggies.
Under that pressure, Bercovici was unable to get a consistent offensive flow going for the Sun Devils. His one passing touchdown of the game, a four-yarder to Kody Kohl midway through the second quarter, only came after the Arizona State defense returned a fumble inside the Texas A&M 5-yard line.
Bercovici kept Arizona State in the game with a nice rushing touchdown in the third quarter, but big plays were at a premium against the Aggies. Despite his two scores, Arizona State's high-powered offense sputtered in Bercovici's first game as the full-time starting quarterback.
Grade: C-
Jeremy Johnson (Auburn)
3 of 22
11-of-21 passing for 137 yards, one TD and 3 INTs; one rushing TD
The hype train surrounding Jeremy Johnson practically derailed Saturday in the Georgia Dome. Although No. 6 Auburn escaped Atlanta with a 31-24 victory over Louisville, Johnson had by far the worst game of his collegiate career, tossing three interceptions that were results of awful decision-making.
"He wanted to do well so bad and obviously forced three balls that were really bad, maybe even another one that could have been a disaster, and he knows that," Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said, according to James Crepea of AL.com. "It's always good to learn from your mistakes if you win."
Johnson's previous spot starts behind Nick Marshall in 2013 and 2014 were marked by efficient passing and excellent poise in the pocket. Although Johnson had a few big-time throws and scored the opening touchdown on the ground, Gus Malzahn's high-octane attack had one of its worst games in years as its new No. 1 quarterback forced the ball too much.
Grade: D
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Seth Russell (Baylor)
4 of 22
15-of-30 passing for 376 yards, five TDs and one INT; one rushing TD
Seth Russell's first start in Baylor's destructive offense wasn't perfect—he even told John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald he would call his performance "subpar." But the No. 4 Bears had no problem putting up a massive amount of points and yardage in their 56-21 win at SMU.
Russell had a strong first quarter through the air as he fired the ball all over the field to Baylor's playmakers. His second quarter, though, was a major struggle. Russell did not complete a single pass in that period and overthrew Jay Lee on a bad interception.
The new starting quarterback and the rest of the Baylor offense rebounded for a huge second half, and Russell finished the game with five passing touchdowns, which were tied for the most nationally in Week 1. According to Werner, Baylor head coach Art Briles said that output "ain't bad."
Grade: A-
Thomas Sirk (Duke)
5 of 22
27-of-40 passing for 289 yards, two TDs and zero INTs
Leading a rather inexperienced team for the first time away from home, new Duke starting quarterback Thomas Sirk had a dream debut for the Blue Devils. Adding rushing yards into the equation, Sirk had more than 350 yards of total offense by himself in Duke's 37-7 victory at Tulane.
"If you prepare a quarterback well enough in practice—if practice is really like a game—that’s the results that you will see," Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said, per Laura Keeley of the Charlotte Observer. "The game didn’t speed up for him. It was like he was at practice. He’s talented, and he is accurate with that football. If you play man-to-man as much as they did, they’re not going to intercept passes if you’re accurate."
Sirk showed great command of the read-option attack and didn't make any big mistakes throwing the ball. Tulane was an overmatched opponent, but Sirk helped Duke answer plenty of questions about its 2015 season with a fantastic first start.
Grade: A
Everett Golson (Florida State)
6 of 22
19-of-25 passing for 302 yards, four TDs and zero INTs
Everett Golson, the former Notre Dame starter who transferred to Florida State this offseason, looked like a brand-new starter early in No. 10 Florida State's 59-16 rout of Texas State. But once Golson settled down in the offense, he delivered in a big way for the Seminoles.
Golson's best work of the evening came in the play-action passing game, which should be a staple of the offense this fall with returning starter Dalvin Cook at running back. According to Brendan Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel, Golson completed seven of his 11 passes off of play action for 86 yards—and three of those four incompletions were drops from the receivers.
The new Seminoles starter improved as the game went on, and he made some impressive throws toward the end of his night. Golson still has room to improve in Florida State's playbook, but it's hard to knock anything he did in his first start for FSU.
Grade: A
Greyson Lambert (Georgia)
7 of 22
8-of-12 passing for 141 yards, two TDs and zero INTs
Greyson Lambert's first start at Georgia was cut short by lightning, but the Bulldogs' shortened 51-14 win over UL-Monroe featured some nice passes from the former Virginia Cavalier.
Georgia had a run-first, conservative game plan on offense—and why wouldn't it, considering the number of star running backs on the roster?—and Lambert got a few chances to make plays downfield. His third-quarter touchdown pass to a leaping Malcolm Mitchell in the corner of the end zone was one of the top highlights from Georgia's rout.
Lambert wasn't asked to do a whole lot with the likes of Nick Chubb and the returning Keith Marshall in the backfield, but he mostly delivered when his chances came. Look for Lambert's production in Georgia's offense to increase as the Bulldogs wind through the early stretch of the season.
Grade: A-
C.J. Beathard (Iowa)
8 of 22
15-of-24 passing for 211 yards, one TD and zero INTs; two rushing TDs
C.J. Beathard sealed his spot as the starting quarterback at Iowa on the second drive of the Hawkeyes' opener Saturday against Illinois State. In the shadow of his own goalposts, Beathard led Iowa—yes, conservative offense Iowa—to a 99-yard touchdown drive.
"He took command of that huddle and said, 'Hey, we're going go to go score. We're not going to dilly-dally, help field position. We're going to change it and turn this into a positive,'" Iowa wide receiver Matt VandeBerg said, per Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register. "And we did just that."
Beathard's passing numbers weren't mind-blowing, and he didn't get much of a chance to showcase his arm in deep-ball situations. But his leadership and his strong running were quite impressive for the Hawkeyes, and he won over plenty of fans in a 31-14 home victory over a FCS power.
Grade: A-
Jesse Ertz (Kansas State)
9 of 22
No passing stats
Jesse Ertz won Kansas State's quarterback job this offseason, but he didn't even last more than two plays in his debut as the Wildcats' new starter. He was carted off the field shortly after suffering an undisclosed injury on the first offensive play of the game.
"I feel dramatically bad for him," Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder said, per Ken Corbitt of the Topeka Capital-Journal. "We’ll see how it plays out. I have no idea right now. Hopefully it’s something he can get back on his feet."
Former walk-on Joe Hubener stepped into the role following Ertz's injury, and he had a decent performance, going 9-of-18 passing with one touchdown. But Ertz was the chosen No. 1 heading into K-State's season opener against South Dakota, and his injury put a damper on a shutout start for the Wildcats.
Grade: N/A
Perry Hills (Maryland)
10 of 22
12-of-21 passing for 138 yards, two TDs and one INT
Maryland overcame a slow start on offense to defeat FCS-level Richmond 50-21 on Saturday, but Terrapins fans wouldn't have left Byrd Stadium with much confidence in new starting quarterback Perry Hills. The junior completed a little over half of his passes but had more than his fair share of bad throws against the Spiders.
"Very inconsistent," Maryland head coach Randy Edsall said at halftime, per Josh Moyer of ESPN.com. "He's not throwing the ball; he's winging it."
Hills benefited mostly from his receivers getting big yards after the catch, but Maryland mostly decided to stick with the ground game in order to put away Richmond. While his stats weren't bad, Hills needs to show improvement for Maryland.
Grade: C
Jake Rudock (Michigan)
11 of 22
27-of-43 passing for 279 yards, two TDs and three INTs
Last season, Jake Rudock only threw five interceptions for Iowa. Heading into a graduate transfer season at Michigan, Rudock's biggest attribute in his favor was that he protected the football and didn't make a bunch of mistakes.
That was not the Rudock that Michigan fans saw in Jim Harbaugh's coaching debut with the Wolverines on Thursday night. The 22-year-old was erratic, tossing three interceptions—including a backbreaking pick-six in the fourth quarter—and missing on several chances for big plays downfield.
Rudock did manage to throw a pair of touchdown passes, but he could've had a much, much better game in his Michigan debut. He is an experienced quarterback too, which makes his three-interception performance an even bigger disappointment for the Wolverines.
Grade: D+
Clayton Thorson (Northwestern)
12 of 22
12-of-24 passing for 105 yards, zero TDs and zero INTs; one rushing TD
Northwestern's redshirt freshman quarterback took a lot of people by surprise Saturday afternoon when the Wildcats upset No. 21 Stanford by a score of 16-6. Clayton Thorson ran for 68 yards from the signal-caller spot, scoring the game's only touchdown on a 42-yard sprint in the second quarter.
"He's fast when he gets in the open field," Northwestern running back Justin Jackson said, per Teddy Greinstein of the Chicago Tribune. "He has those long strides. I'd bet on me (in a race), but he would give me a tough challenge."
Thorson didn't wow anyone with his arm, though, completing only 50 percent of his passes and making a few risky decisions—including a backward pass for a fumble. Still, his success on the ground earned Northwestern a low-scoring win over a ranked opponent, and the future is looking brighter in Evanston.
Grade: B-
Malik Zaire (Notre Dame)
13 of 22
19-of-22 passing for 313 yards, three TDs and zero INTs
When No. 11 Notre Dame thrashed Texas, 38-3, on Saturday night, sophomore Malik Zaire was the Irish's brightest star. While he stuck mostly to the ground game in his work toward the end of the 2014 season, Zaire picked apart what was expected to be a challenging Texas defense with his arm.
"As the Irish enter 2015, they’re a much better team and program without Everett Golson at quarterback," Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated wrote. "His replacement, Malik Zaire, authored a turnover-free game, threw with alarming accuracy and galvanized his teammates with his extraverted personality."
Zaire only threw three incompletions all evening and was able to hit the Longhorns for big plays time and time again. The Notre Dame offense will need him to produce more and more with the continued blow to the running game, and he won the confidence of supporters everywhere with his masterful performance in Week 1.
Grade: A+
Chad Kelly (Ole Miss)
14 of 22
9-of-15 passing for two TDs and one INT; one rushing TD
It's hard to hand out a solid grade for a quarterback whose team obliterated an overmatched FCS opponent to the tune of 76-3. But Chad Kelly delivered in his few passes for No. 17 Ole Miss on Saturday, and head coach Hugh Freeze only had a few nitpicking criticisms of his new quarterback.
"Missed a touchdown throw to Evan and probably could've thrown one a little bit better on the fade to Laquon (Treadwell) earlier in the game," Freeze said, per Brad Crawford of Saturday Down South. "Thought he had a solid day. Look forward to watching the film, but felt pretty good about it out there."
Kelly got the start over a pair of quarterbacks who also featured on Saturday, and he had the biggest performance for the Rebels. With only a few misplayed passes and an interception, Kelly had more than just "a solid day" in Oxford.
Grade: A-
Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma)
15 of 22
23-of-33 passing for 388 yards, three TDs and zero INTs; one rushing TD
No. 19 Oklahoma left spring practice without a solid answer at quarterback, but new starter Baker Mayfield did a lot to ease those concerns in a 41-3 rout of Akron on Saturday. In offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley's Air Raid attack, the former Texas Tech star broke several school records, according to Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World.
The Sooners offense started slow in the new system—five punts on the first six drives—but the team was soon flying up the field without much resistance against the Zips. Mayfield spread the ball around well in the Air Raid, as 10 different Sooners recorded receptions in the victory.
Mayfield led a parade of touchdowns in the second and third quarters for Oklahoma, and he looked comfortable in charge of the offense. After an excellent debut, his first real test will come against an experienced Tennessee team this weekend.
Grade: A
Vernon Adams (Oregon)
16 of 22
19-of-25 passing for 246 yards, two TDs and zero INTs
While his new team's defense struggled against the offense he once led, Vernon Adams excelled for No. 7 Oregon in a 61-42 shootout against FCS foe Eastern Washington on Saturday. According to Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer, the only thing that could stop Adams in his Oregon debut was a nasty late hit.
"The damage done against his former team? A total of 340 yards of offense and two touchdown passes in a sharp performance that showed no signs of a player who has barely worked out on a field since the end of 2014," Fischer wrote. "That is certainly one way to make an entrance."
Adams looked plenty comfortable in Oregon's breakneck-speed offensive system, and he showed that he'll be just fine delivering the ball to a stacked group of running backs and receivers all season long.
Grade: A
Seth Collins (Oregon State)
17 of 22
10-of-18 passing for 92 yards, two TDs and zero INTs
Before Oregon broke in its new senior dual-threat quarterback against Eastern Washington, rival Oregon State debuted true freshman quarterback Seth Collins on Friday night in a 26-3 win against Weber State. Collins won the job over Marcus McMaryion during the actual game, overcoming a bad first half for the entire offense to earn the victory.
Collins had fewer than 100 yards through the air, but he delivered a picture-perfect 44-yard toss to Jordan Villamin for a second-half touchdown. His rushing statistics were much better, as he ranked ninth nationally in Week 1 among all FBS players with 152 yards on the ground.
The freshman flashed some of his athleticism with another memorable hurdle in the first half, and he responded well to nail down the quarterback job after halftime. That's enough for a good grade here.
Grade: B+
Connor Mitch (South Carolina)
18 of 22
9-of-22 passing for 122 yards, one TD and zero INTs
South Carolina got an ugly Thursday night win against North Carolina, but new starting quarterback Connor Mitch had a rough night overall for the Gamecocks. Mitch completed only 41 percent of his passes, and he misfired on his first five. Later in the game, he left with a hip pointer.
"Our passing game was not very good as all of you know," South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said, per Josh Kendall of the State. "We have to find a way to hit some passes somewhere down the field. We will work on it and see if we can get better."
To his credit, Mitch didn't produce any massive turnovers like his opposite number, North Carolina's Marquise Williams, did in the Thursday night matchup. But that might be the only real positive from his performance.
Grade: D+
Josh Rosen (UCLA)
19 of 22
28-of-35 passing for 351 yards, three TDs and zero INTs
While more experienced first-year starters—and even some returning veterans—struggled in Week 1, true freshman Josh Rosen was simply magnificent Saturday in No. 13 UCLA's 34-16 victory over Virginia. He completed 80 percent of his passes and looked more than comfortable in the pocket during his first collegiate game.
"The last time a freshman quarterback with this much advance billing looked this good in his first game was Jameis Winston’s flawless 2013 debut against Pitt," Grantland's Matt Hinton wrote. "... For an 18-year-old just a few months removed from high school graduation, Rosen looked so far ahead of schedule that it’s tempting to scrap the learning curve concerns altogether and declare him fully arrived."
Rosen checked off all the boxes for excellent pocket-passing play on Saturday against a mediocre Virginia team. While there's danger of overreacting to his brilliant performance, let's call it what it was—the best all-around game of any quarterback in the country on Saturday.
Grade: A+
Jake Browning (Washington)
20 of 22
20-of-35 passing for 150 yards, zero TDs and one INT
Although he didn't find the end zone in his collegiate debut, true freshman Jake Browning held his own in Washington's narrow 16-13 road loss to No. 23 Boise State last Friday night. Washington's offense as a whole struggled for fewer than 200 yards of production, but Browning made solid decisions for a newcomer.
"I thought he got out of there a couple times and threw balls away (on plays) that we had nothing, which was good," Washington head coach Chris Petersen said, per Christian Caple of the Olympian. "He ran a couple times, and I think he can run a little bit more. But I think he and we will continue to progress and get better."
Browning will get some opportunities over the next few weeks to settle into the college game before getting into the meat of the Pac-12 schedule. He showed some promise amid the Huskies' poor evening of offense, so he gets a slightly higher grade than expected here.
Grade: C
Luke Falk (Washington State)
21 of 22
27-of-41 for 289 passing yards, two TDs and zero INTs
Judging solely by his stat line on Saturday, Luke Falk would seem to have one of the better performances of any first-year starting quarterback. But numbers didn't tell the whole story, as Washington State's offense imploded in a miserable 24-17 loss to a bad FCS team in Portland State.
"It was more like there were times when (the play call) didn’t get communicated all the way around," Washington State head coach Mike Leach said, per Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times. "(Falk would) call something and then somebody wouldn’t be on the same page, whether they were distracted and not looking or Luke didn’t communicate it to the front or that type of thing."
Falk made a number of good plays in the contest, including two touchdown passes and a fourth-down rushing conversion that led to a tough injury to his throwing shoulder. But a lot of the offensive execution woes fall on Falk, and Washington State is in real trouble to start 2015.
Grade: C-
Skyler Howard (West Virginia)
22 of 22
16-of-25 passing for 359 yards, two TDs and zero INTs
Like several other quarterbacks on this list, West Virginia's Skyler Howard didn't have a fantastic beginning to his 2015 opener. The Mountaineers had more than 300 yards of offense in the first half against an inefficient Georgia Southern team, but they only had one touchdown to their name.
Howard and the rest of the offense started converting and creating more big plays in the second half, though, as he would finish the game with the third-highest yards per pass attempt of anyone in Week 1. Howard added a 26-yard touchdown pass to his 41-yarder on the first drive of the game.
West Virginia will need Howard to be more consistent this season, especially against Big 12 teams that have incredible offenses. But Howard's resurgence with the WVU offense in the second half earned him a good debut grade as the Mountaineers' new full-time starting quarterback.
Grade: B
All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
