Power Ranking Big Ten QBs Heading into Week 10
With the final stretch of the regular season approaching, several Big Ten teams have no shortage of question marks—both positive and negative.
And whether a team has aspirations of making the College Football Playoff or creating momentum at the end of an otherwise disappointing campaign, its hopes are undoubtedly tied to the play of its quarterbacks in what's been a banner year for the position in the conference.
From an unprecedented quarterback battle at Ohio State to potential first-round picks playing at Penn State and Michigan State to surprise performances at Iowa and Northwestern, never has the league seen this much talent playing behind center at the same time in a single season. Even in the bottom half of the league, some teams have found reason for optimism moving forward, thanks in large part to the play of their signal-callers through the first two months of the regular season.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the current power rankings of Big Ten quarterbacks in 2015, based on their performances to this point in the year.
14. Purdue's David Blough
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Although he just picked up the first win of his college career with Purdue's 55-45 win over Nebraska on Saturday, Boilermakers quarterback David Blough still has plenty to prove in his still young college career.
A redshirt freshman by way of Carrollton, Texas, Blough has started five of Purdue's seven games this season, leading the Boilermakers to a 1-4 record when he's taken the field. In the first five starts of his college career, Blough has completed 111 of his 196 pass attempts (56.6 percent) for 1,104 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions while compiling a quarterback rating of 112.3.
While the 6'1", 202-pounder's numbers may be lackluster to this point, he showed plenty of potential in Purdue's upset win over the Cornhuskers on Saturday. Completing 28 of his 43 attempts for 274 yards and four touchdowns while adding 82 yards and an additional score on the ground, Blough earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors in what could be a promising sign of things to come for the Boilermakers' freshman signal-caller.
"He made some really good decisions from the position and took care of the ball," Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell said in his weekly press conference on Tuesday. "I'm excited for David and getting the accolade of being an Offensive Player of the Week in the Big Ten. He needs to continue to get better."
13. Minnesota's Mitch Leidner
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After entering 2015 with expectations of winning the Big Ten West, Minnesota has gotten off to a sluggish 4-4 start to the season and may find bowl eligibility difficult to obtain with games against undefeated Ohio State and Iowa ahead in the next two weeks.
Some of the Golden Gophers' woes can be pinned on the play of their quarterback, as Mitch Leidner hasn't made the jump that many expected of him in his junior season.
A year after helping lead Minnesota to contention for a division championship until the end of the season, Leidner has seen his quarterback rating dip from 123.8 to 119.7, which ranks seventh among all Big Ten quarterbacks this season. The 6'4", 236-pounder is also on track to throw more interceptions this season than he did a year ago; he's already tossed six picks in eight games after throwing eight in all of 2014.
If there's a silver lining for Leidner and the Golden Gophers, it's that the junior quarterback's best performance was also his most recent. Nearly knocking off Michigan before falling by a score of 29-26 to the Wolverines, Leidner completed 16 of his 33 passes for 317 yards and a touchdown, adding 37 yards and a score on the ground.
Time will tell whether Minnesota will receive similar efforts from its quarterback moving forward. But for now, 2015 remains a disappointing season for both the Golden Gophers and their quarterback.
12. Maryland's Perry Hills
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After being inserted into Maryland's starting lineup against Ohio State on Oct. 10, Perry Hills has struggled with taking care of the ball, throwing eight interceptions in his last three starts and 10 in total for the season. The junior quarterback ranks 14th in the Big Ten with a quarterback rating of 103.2, having completed 67 of his 128 of his pass attempts (52.3 percent) for 738 yards and seven touchdowns.
But what Hills has lacked through the air, he's helped make up for on the ground, rushing for 517 yards, the most of any quarterback and 11th most of any player in the Big Ten this season. The 6'3", 210-pounder has rushed for 100 or more yards in each of his three starts this season, adding three touchdowns on the ground to his season tally.
While this season is already a lost one for the 2-6 Terrapins, Hills could prove to be a nice piece for Maryland's next head coach to start with in 2016, should he opt to run a spread-like system. But the Pittsburgh native will need to improve as a passer if he's going to become a mainstay in the starting lineup beyond this season.
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11. Illinois' Wes Lunt
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After getting off to a strong start as Illinois jumped out to a 4-1 record to start the season, Fighting Illini quarterback Wes Lunt has seen a slip in production in the past three weeks.
It's likely not a coincidence either that his past three performances have all come in losses, as the 4-4 Illini have fallen out of contention in the Big Ten West.
Having completed 174 of his 313 pass attempts (55.6 percent) for 1,831 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions, the 6'5", 225-pound Lunt ranks 12th in the Big Ten with a passer rating of 111.7. The Oklahoma State transfer's struggles were apparent in Illinois' most recent outing, as he completed 16 of his 37 attempts for 129 yards and an interception in the Illini's 39-0 loss to Penn State this past weekend.
After he showed plenty of promise as a sophomore a year ago, Lunt's junior season is beginning to look like one of the Big Ten's bigger disappointments. For now, he remains Illinois' starting quarterback, but should he continue on this trajectory, the Illini's next head coach will have a decision on his hands at quarterback in 2016.
10. Michigan's Jake Rudock
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In his first season as Michigan's starting quarterback, Jake Rudock has become one of the Big Ten's more polarizing signal-callers.
Having helped led the Wolverines to a 6-2 record and the No. 17 ranking in the first College Football Playoff standings of the season, it'd be tough to argue that Michigan hasn't seen an improvement from its quarterback position compared to past years. But statistically, Rudock has been in the bottom half of Big Ten quarterbacks, ranking ninth in the conference with a quarterback rating of 120.3 and 10th in passing yards with 1,443.
And while those numbers have been good enough to help the Wolverines improve in their first season under coach Jim Harbaugh, it's worth noting that Rudock is just one of two Big Ten starters to have thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season. The Iowa graduate transfer has thrown six touchdowns and seven picks on the year.
Harbaugh, however, has stood by his quarterback, pointing to the one stat that he values over all others.
"His job is to win football games," Harbaugh said of Rudock following Michigan's 28-0 win over Maryland on Oct. 3. "That's what he's doing."
Still, it's hard to imagine that the Wolverines offense wouldn't be running more consistently with a number of other Big Ten quarterbacks in Rudock's place. After he left Michigan's 29-26 win over Minnesota with a torso injury, Rudock's status moving forward remains unclear, but the Wolverines will need to see steadier play from its quarterback as it enters the final month of the regular season.
9. Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong Jr.
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While Nebraska has been arguably the most disappointing team in the Big Ten this season, having jumped out to a 3-6 start to the Mike Riley era, the Cornhuskers' troubles have had little to do with quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.
In fact, while still adjusting from a spread offense under Bo Pelini to Riley's pro-style system, Armstrong ranks second in the Big Ten in touchdown passes with 16 and passing yards with 2,052, despite having missed Nebraska's most recent outing due to injury. The 6'1", 220-pounder possesses the conference's eighth-best passer rating (127.9) and has also been steady on the ground, rushing for 257 yards and four touchdowns in eight games.
But perhaps he showed his true value this past weekend, as he found himself sitting at home with turf toe as his Cornhuskers teammates lost 55-45 to Purdue. In his absence, Nebraska failed to keep pace in the shootout, with backup quarterback Ryker Fyfe throwing four interceptions against the Boilermakers.
The junior signal-caller is expected to be back for this weekend's matchup with Michigan State. If Nebraska is going to have any shot at turning around its disappointing season, the Cornhuskers are going to need to get the best out of Armstrong in the next four weeks.
8. Wisconsin's Joel Stave
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As Wisconsin has attempted to keep pace with Iowa and Northwestern in the race for the Big Ten West, quarterback Joel Stave has been steady, albeit unspectacular.
Having helped lead the Badgers to a 7-2 record, the senior signal-caller ranks seventh in the Big Ten with a passer rating of 128.6. In nine games, Stave has completed 163 of his 268 pass attempts (60.8 percent) for 1,974 yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Without Melvin Gordon to rely on and expected starter Corey Clement having missed much of the season because of injury, Stave's consistency has been a welcome addition to the Wisconsin lineup under first-year head coach Paul Chryst. But the Badgers will need the 6'5", 220-pounder to do a better job of taking care of the ball if they're going to have any shot at advancing to a second consecutive Big Ten title game.
7. Northwestern's Clayton Thorson
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As the front-runner to be named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year, Clayton Thorson has helped make Northwestern one of the Big Ten's most pleasant surprises of the 2015 season.
Still in the hunt for the Big Ten West, the Wildcats have jumped out to a 6-2 record and are No. 21 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
While his passing numbers may not show it—the redshirt freshman ranks 13th in the league with a passer rating of 103.8—Thorson's presence in the lineup has been one of the biggest reasons for the Wildcats' success this season. In addition to completing 52.7 percent of his passes for 1,119 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions, he has added 297 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Although he's more of a game manager than anything else, Northwestern will continue to rely on its 6'4", 210-pound quarterback as it hits the final month of the regular season. Whether the Wildcats will be able to parlay that into a surprise appearance in the Big Ten title game remains to be seen, but regardless of how this season ends, Thorson has already laid the groundwork for a promising career in Evanston, Illinois.
6. Rutgers' Chris Laviano
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Ranking fourth in the Big Ten with a quarterback rating of 140.8, Rutgers' Chris Laviano has been one of the conference's better signal-callers this season from a statistical standpoint. The Scarlet Knight's sophomore quarterback has completed a Big Ten best 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,536 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
And while it may be easy to pin most of Laviano's success on playing with arguably the best wide receiver in the Big Ten in Leonte Carroo, the 6'3", 210-pound quarterback is more than just an average passer who is throwing to a talented wideout. That's been evidenced by Carroo's continued absence in the Rutgers lineup, which has come due to both injury and temporary departure from the team this season.
With two years of eligibility still ahead of him, Laviano appears to be a promising piece for a Rutgers program that has seen no shortage of turmoil in the past year. Keeping pace when Carroo is in the NFL next season will be easier said than done, but the Glen Head, New York, native has already shown the ability to play without a superstar wide receiver at his disposal.
Of course, having one doesn't hurt, either.
5. Ohio State's J.T. Barrett
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Arguably the toughest quarterback in the Big Ten to evaluate this season, J.T. Barrett has started just one game in 2015 due to an unprecedented quarterback conundrum featuring the starter of Ohio State's first seven games of the season, Cardale Jones.
But while Barrett shined with a 325-yard (passing and running), five-touchdown performance against Rutgers on Oct. 24, Jones will once again start for the Buckeyes when they take this field this Saturday. Barrett, meanwhile, will serve a one-game suspension due to a citation for an OVI that occurred over Ohio State's bye week.
After that, it remains unclear whether Barrett will return to the undefeated lineup for a season-defining three-game stretch. Ohio State will take on Illinois on Nov. 14, before facing back-to-back games against Michigan State and Michigan and a potential appearance in the Big Ten title game.
"We'll worry about that after this game," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer answered when asked whether Jones can win his starting job back with a strong effort against Minnesota this weekend. "Obviously, all focus is somehow find a way to win this game."
But with the way Barrett has performed in the past month—first as a situational red-zone quarterback and then as a starter—it's hard to imagine that he won't be playing a key role, in one way or another, in the Buckeyes' attempt at defending their College Football Playoff championship.
4. Indiana's Nate Sudfeld
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Bouncing back from a season-ending ACL injury a year ago, Nate Sudfeld has returned to the Indiana lineup as one of the best statistical quarterbacks in the Big Ten. The senior signal-caller leads the conference with a passer rating of 155.9 and ranks third in passing yards (2,049) and touchdowns (14), despite having missed the Hoosiers' Oct. 10 loss to Penn State due to an ankle injury.
Sudfeld's solid efforts, however, haven't been enough for Indiana to find the consistency that it was looking for in its fifth season under Kevin Wilson. After getting off to a 4-0 start, the Hoosiers have dropped four straight games, including a close call with Rutgers and a strong effort against Michigan State in their past two outings.
With games against Iowa and Michigan ahead in the next two weeks, the Hoosiers have their work cut out for them moving forward. After that, Indiana will face Maryland and Purdue to close the season and could well need to win both games in order to obtain bowl eligibility.
If the Hoosiers can find a way to do just that, it's a safe bet that their 6'6", 240-pound quarterback will be a big reason why.
3. Penn State's Christian Hackenberg
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Statistically, Christian Hackenberg's junior season could be viewed as a disappointment. While he's improved from his sophomore slump a year ago, the highly touted NFL prospect ranks sixth in the Big Ten in quarterback rating (134.9), fourth in touchdowns (13) and sixth in yards (1,787) in what was expected to be a season where he would reassert himself as one of the country's top signal-callers.
But anybody who's watched the Nittany Lions play this season knows that Hackenberg is better than his numbers indicate, as the 6'4", 228-pounder hasn't received much help outside of running back Saquon Barkley when it's come to leading Penn State to a 6-2 start.
"When you look at his numbers, it isn't necessarily because of the quarterback. For whatever reason, they've had a number of drops," Ohio State defensive Chris Ash pointed out in advance of the Buckeyes' Oct. 17 matchup with the Nittany Lions. "It may not look favorable for the quarterback's stats, but he's making some really good throws, he's making some really good short throws, deep throws and for whatever reason, every now and then, a ball may be dropped by a receiver."
With three straight games against ranked opponents in Northwestern, Michigan and Michigan State left to close the season, Hackenberg will have no shortage of opportunities to prove he belongs in the conversation of college football's best quarterbacks. And if the 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year does that, he could hear his name called early this spring, as some experts still consider Hackenberg to be a potential first-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
2. Iowa's C.J. Beathard
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Last winter, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz had the opportunity to choose between C.J. Beathard and Rudock as his starting quarterback for the 2015 season.
Having chosen Beathard and knowing that Rudock would likely use his ability as a graduate transfer to move on, Ferentz appears to have made the right call.
Leading Iowa to an 8-0 record and No. 9 ranking in the first College Football Playoff standings of the year, Beathard has played a key role in what's arguably been the Big Ten's most balanced offense. Two-thirds of the way through the regular season, the Franklin, Tennessee, native has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,598 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions, helping provide an aerial complement to running back Jordan Canzeri's breakout season on the ground.
"I think C.J.'s certainly a part of that," Ferentz said of his offense's ability following a 62-16 win over North Texas on Sept. 26. "A lot of guys who are emerging along the way too, and obviously, C.J. is one of those guys."
Currently in pole position to win the Big Ten West and potentially play for a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Hawkeyes will need to continue to get a strong effort from their starting quarterback in the final month of the regular season. If they can do that, the only question left would be why the move to Iowa's current starter didn't happen sooner.
In fact, it might be fair to already ask that.
1. Michigan State's Connor Cook
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Despite a makeshift offensive line playing in front of him and inexperienced playmakers around him, Michigan State's Connor Cook has proved he made the right call to return to East Lansing for his senior season. Leading the Spartans to an 8-0 record and the No. 7 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings, the Hickley, Ohio, native has positioned himself to be a potential first-round pick in next spring's NFL draft.
But before the 6'4", 220-pounder does that, he still has unfinished business at the college level as he hopes to knock off defending national champion Ohio State and crash this season's College Football Playoff. With the way he's been playing, Cook could very well do that, as he ranks second in the Big Ten in passer rating (146.5) and first in touchdown passes (17) and yards (2,070). Perhaps most impressively, he has only thrown two interceptions so far this season.
"He's a gamer. He's able to put the ball right on the money," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said of Cook following the Spartans' win over Indiana on Oct. 24. "He's got that X-factor a little bit. The biggest thing I can tell you is when there's something that goes wrong, he gets sacked or he doesn't make the throw, he's able to bounce back and make the plays and make the throws. I think that's a credit to him."
With Cook having been the most important piece of the Spartans offense this season, Dantonio's team will continue to rely on its senior signal-caller entering the final month of the regular season. With postseason wins over Ohio State, Stanford and Baylor already on his resume, Cook is looking to add a few more impressive victories before he ends what will already go down as one of the most storied careers in Michigan State history.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Odds provided by Odds Shark. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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