After a slaughter at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats defense, Justin Herbert, for the first time this season, looked uncomfortable for an entire night. Was it enough to derail him from the top spot in my weekly QB rankings. See below to find out.
Stats via ESPN
1. Justin Herbert (Oregon)
Stats: 24/48 for 186 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Justin is still the guy. Even though Saturday was misery compiler for the Oregon offense and its passing game, JH still has the best cannon in the college football kingdom. He is the most fundamentally and instinctually sound signal caller at the amateur level. I still believe he will be the first QB off the board in April and one bad outing isn’t going to flip my seasoned opinion.
2. Will Grier (West Virginia)
Stats: 17/27 for 353 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
After a bye and a poor performance vs. Iowa State, the Mullet-ed Maestro found hit footing once again by murdering a depressing Baylor pass defense. Grier’s massacre of another weak Big 12 defense is a huge positive sign, but don’t get too carried away with the one performance because he’s still yet to face the level of defense that a Drew Lock of Missouri has faced. Speaking of him…
3. Drew Lock (Missouri)
Stats: 15/27 for 165 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Lock’s performance Saturday evening was…in a word…not good. Aside from the first few possessions, he and the Missouri offense were anemic. Hell, they failed to even muster one first down in the entire second half. An outsider would gloss over these facts and likely dismiss Drew’s professional ability immediately. But here’s a factor to consider: The Tigers were playing against the best defense in the country. Yes, their opponent, the Kentucky Wildcats, have the best defense in the country. Lock has faced theirs, Georgia’s and Alabama’s–all better than any defense the first two guys have gone up against. Just something to keep in mind when you see Lock struggle.
4. Kyler Murray (Oklahoma)
Stats: 19/24 for 352 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
I know: Murray is undersized, has a more weapons than the Terminator and has a Sean McVay duplicate as his head coach. But, you know who else checked all those boxes? Baker Mayfield, the most recent number one pick. Murray can succeed at the next level because of his underrated arm and elite playmaking ability. He’s the Trae Young of college football: some doubt his next-level potential and some love it; but everyone should respect what he does currently on the field. I certainly do.
5. Clayton Thorson (Northwestern)
Stats: 17/30 for 167 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
I wanted to mix things up a bit so, like the football-analyzing predator I am, I fetched some fresh meat for the rankings. I stumbled upon this Clayton Thorson fellow. Look, do you want someone who can make short and intermediate passes with pinpoint accuracy? If so, he’s your guy. He generally makes the right decisions (dismiss this week’s interceptions please) and is reliable in short-yardage situations. His long ball isn’t great, but I think his likely future role as a backup in the NFL won’t require such a trait. He’s a de facto backup, and that’s what I’m looking for at number 5.