Grading New College Football Starting QBs' Week 1 Performances
While the 2018 season officially began in August, the first weekend of September marked the starting debuts for several quarterbacks on important teams.
Among the AP Top 25, six programs had a player making his first career start. Tua Tagovailoa finally opened a game for Alabama, while Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins, Oklahoma's Kyler Murray and USC's JT Daniels all replaced a longtime starting quarterback.
Shea Patterson is also included because he transferred from Ole Miss and opened his first career game for Michigan.
Overall, the performances were uneven. But a couple of the quarterbacks could hardly have played a better game.
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
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Tua Tagovailoa wasted little time showing off a little magic—and getting pretty lucky in the process.
On Alabama's opening drive, he impressively evaded a defender in the backfield and then launched a pass into the corner of the end zone while taking a crushing hit. Fortunately for Tagovailoa, the ball harmlessly fell into the waiting arms of Jerry Jeudy.
The sophomores later connected for a 25-yard touchdown perfectly in stride. Tagovailoa, who also found Jaylen Waddle for a 49-yard gain, posted a 12-of-16 line with 227 yards and two scores.
For good measure, Tagovailoa took a designed run nine yards to the house untouched and finished with 26 rushing yards. He's starting to unlock the full potential of Alabama's offense.
Grade: A
Joe Burrow, LSU
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Joe Burrow's final stats don't look wonderful. The Ohio State graduate transfer mustered 11 completions in 24 attempts for 140 yards without a touchdown or interception.
However, Burrow played far better than the stats indicate during LSU's 33-17 win.
Had his receivers not dropped a few perfectly placed passes—at least three, to our count—Burrow surely would've crossed the 200-yard barrier. The eye test offered a considerably more favorable opinion for the SEC debutante.
Burrow wasn't stellar, but he gave the Tigers realistic hope of a competent passing game this season.
Grade: B
Shea Patterson, Michigan
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Patterson started 10 games at Ole Miss before transferring this offseason. His long-awaited, much-anticipated debut at his new program didn't go as Wolverines fans hoped. Michigan lost 24-17 at Notre Dame, and mistakes crushed the visitors.
"I took a sack and put us out of field-goal range [in the first quarter]," Patterson said, per Aaron McMann of MLive. "I threw a careless pick off my back leg. And at the end of the game, ball security is huge."
During the final minute of the fourth quarter, Patterson lost the football on a sack. Notre Dame recovered, sealing the game.
The junior signal-caller made a few good throws, but Michigan's errors—including a botched hold on a field goal—overshadowed any of the promise Patterson displayed in South Bend.
Grade: C-
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State
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Dwayne Haskins has basically solidified himself as the greatest quarterback in Ohio State history.
Sure, that's an overreaction. The sophomore had a fantastic game, though. Haskins connected with his target on 22 of 30 throws, totaling 313 yards and five touchdowns during a 77-31 win.
None of the touchdowns were particularly tough throws; he hit Terry McLaurin on a crossing route, dumped off a ball to Rashod Berry in the flat, flipped scores to Mike Weber and Parris Campbell and found McLaurin on a hook route.
Still, Haskins looked comfortable in the pocket, firing accurate passes with great anticipation. That's a notable change from previous years, when the Buckeyes relied on J.T. Barrett.
Grade: A
Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
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Kyler Murray had a painless day.
The replacement for 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield completed nine of 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Murray didn't take a snap after halftime, leaving a blowout over Florida Atlantic late in the second quarter because of OU's 42-0 lead.
Murray also scampered for 23 yards, 15 of which occurred on a remarkably elusive run. The mobile threat evaded five potential tackles, ran approximately 80 total yards and picked up a first down.
It was a small sample, but so far so good.
Grade: A-
Shawn Robinson, TCU
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TCU kept it simple and Shawn Robinson thrived.
Though the sophomore didn't have a great yards-per-attempt average (7.6), he collected 182 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Robinson posted a 17-of-24 clip during the 55-7 triumph over Southern.
Additionally, he showed the mobile threat that has excited Horned Frogs fans, scampering for 36 and nine yards for scores. Those were his only two carries of the game, but TCU didn't need anything more.
In two weeks, he'll encounter Ohio State for a neutral-site showdown. At worst, TCU must be encouraged by Robinson.
Grade: A-
JT Daniels, USC
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USC wasn't sharp against UNLV until its fourth-quarter explosion, but JT Daniels put together a respectable debut overall.
The true freshman relied heavily on high school teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown, who reeled in seven passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Daniels wrapped up his college debut 22-of-35 for 282 yards and that one score to St. Brown.
On the less positive side, he was ineffective in scoring territory. Daniels finished 5-of-12 for only 24 yards inside UNLV's 40-yard line, so the Trojans kicked five field goals.
Chase McGrath saved Daniels and connected on them all, but field goals aren't going to win Pac-12 games.
Grade: B
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
