College Football Rankings 2011: 10 Quarterbacks Who Deserve Better Teams
College football rankings 2011 are out and we're taking a look at the quarterbacks.
We're going deeper than just ranking quarterbacks though. Sometimes, as a quarterback, you do a lot of things right. You put up stats, you put points on the board and you're a great player, only your team lets you down in the end.
With that in mind, we're taking a look at 10 guys who are players that deserve to be playing competitive football instead of being stuck on the teams they're on. If you have any thoughts or comments, leave them below.
No. 10: Zach Collaros, Cincinnati
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Zach Collaros is a guy who has carried his offense, but doesn't have much to show for it.
Sure, he's had his bad games, but every quarterback does. In one game against South Florida, he threw for 463 yards, three touchdowns and a pick and somehow lost the game. The Bearcats' defense rarely helped out the offense, hurting Cincinnati's record.
Collaros has a lot of potential and with a better team, he might get noticed more often.
No. 9: Nathan Scheelhaase, Illinois
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For a freshman, Nathan Scheelhaase showed a lot of potential.
In his first season under center for the Illini, Scheelhaase threw 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions while running for 868 yards and five touchdowns. That's a great stat line for someone with such little experience at the college level.
He's only going to get better in Illinois. Hopefully they can get a team around him and build the program up to the point it was at when it went to the Rose Bowl.
No. 8: Danny O'Brien, Maryland
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Another freshman last year, Danny O'Brien showed Maryland he can be a force for the Terrapins going forward.
In his first year, he threw 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but Maryland still lost four games, all of them coming against the better teams in the ACC. If the Terrapins can put some talent around O'Brien, Maryland could start making noise in the conference.
It will be interesting to watch O'Brien's maturity going forward.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 7: Russell Wilson, NC State
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Russell Wilson is a guy who has flown under the radar.
Sure, he has to limit his interceptions, but he threw 22 touchdowns and for 3563 yards. If Wilson can get some help and limit the mistakes, he's going to be a very good player in the ACC and can get NC State a couple of big wins.
Then again, when you have your quarterback throwing 50 or 60 times, you won't win many games.
No. 6: Robert Griffin III, Baylor
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Robert Griffin III was a huge part of what Baylor did on offense last year and coming into his junior year, he's going to be a handful.
Griffin III threw for 3501 yards to go with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Not only that, but he ran for eight more touchdowns and 635 yards. Baylor flirted with some conference prominence last year but couldn't be the top teams.
If the Bears start beating some of the top teams, people will realized how special Griffin III is.
No. 5: Matt Barkley, USC
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It may have been overshadowed by all of the drama around USC, but Matt Barkley had one heck of a year.
Barkley threw for 2791 yards to go with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. USC lost five games last year and the defense didn't do Barkley and the rest of the Trojans any favors. If USC can find some balance on offense and Barkley can cut down on his mistakes, he's going to become an even better player.
The rest of the team has to come into shape under Lane Kiffin.
No. 4: Geno Smith, West Virginia
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He may not have gotten the hype that Pat White did during his time at West Virginia, but Geno Smith has been very productive.
Smith threw for 2763 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. West Virginia lost three games last year, but two of them were to Connecticut and Syracuse. That's really something that shouldn't happen to a team like the Mountaineers.
If West Virginia can find consistency, Smith will thrive even more than he has.
No. 3: Denard Robinson, Michigan
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Denard Robinson has struggles of his own, but there's no denying how great he was at times.
Robinson is such a dynamic player and is a gamebreaker in every sense of the word. Yes, he struggled in some big games, but the team was also poorly coached and just did not have the skill to get it done in the Big Ten.
If Michigan can get talent around Robinson, there's no telling what he can do.
No. 2: Aaron Murray, Georgia
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The highest ranking freshman on the list, Aaron Murray was a beast last year.
Murray threw for 3049 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions while running for four more scores. It is certainly an impressive stat line, only the Bulldogs never really helped him out on the field. Georgia finished with seven losses on the year last year and if the team can build around Murray, the Bulldogs could be back in contention.
There is something to be said for the job he did with the way the season went.
No. 1: Dan Persa, Northwestern
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Dan Persa was one of the best players on the field last year for Northwestern.
Persa played an exciting brand of football under center until an injury ended his season early, but the big problem with Northwestern was the defense. This was a team that had 70 dropped on them by Wisconsin and then another 45 by Texas Tech.
When Northwestern can stop someone, Persa will win them plenty of football games.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
