CBS writer drops Dante Moore way back in Big Ten quarterback rankings

David Cobb of CBS Sports lowballs Dante Moore in his preseason ranking of Big Ten quarterbacks.

Cobb dropped Moore all the way down to No. 10 among the conference's 18 starting quarterbacks. Drew Allar of Penn State, a senior in his third year starting, was No. 1.

Moore threw eight passes for the Ducks last season and completed seven, serving a redshirt year behind sixth-year starter Dillon Gabriel after transferring from UCLA.

As a true freshman with the Bruins in 2023 he struggled, appearing in nine games and starting five. Behind a porous offensive line he was sacked 25 times, 114-213 passing for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns, 9 interceptions. Opponents returned three of the interceptions for touchdowns.

Big Ten Quarterback Rankings, according to David Cobb of CBS Sports

1. Drew Allar Penn State

2. Julian Sayin, Ohio State

3. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

4. Luke Altmyer, Illinois

5. Demond Williams, Washington

6. Nico Iamaleava, UCLA

7. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska

8. Bryce Underwood, Michigan

9. Jayden Maiava, USC

10. Dante Moore, Oregon

11. Aidan Chiles, Michigan State

12. Mark Gronowski, Iowa

13. Billy Edwards Jr., Wisconsin

14. Preston Stone, Northwestern

15. Malik Washington, Maryland

16. Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers

17. Ryan Browne, Purdue

18. Drake Lindsey, Minnesota

About Moore, Cobb writes, "UCLA threw Moore into the fire as a true freshman in 2023 and then replaced him as the starter in the middle of the season. It was an odd development plan for a five-star prospect who was considered the No. 4 overall player in his class by 247Sports."

Will Stein and Dan Lanning are banking on Moore's reset as a starter after that disastrous beginning. At UO he's blessed with a much better supporting cast, a strong running game, a veteran offensive line, a dynamic tight end and a strong defense.

This is a year of dramatic change around the Big Ten and college football as a whole. For two years quarterback play has been dominated by the Covid bubble, extra-year transfers like Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, Will Howard and Cam Ward. Now a crop of talented but relatively untested newcomers are taking over.

Bryce Underwood at Michigan, Sayin, Moore and Drake Lindsey (five career passes) are all relatively new to the demands of being QB-1. Purdue's Ryan Browne started one game last year.

At Washington, Demond Williams looked brilliant in mop-up duty and two late-season starts, but he's still thrown just 105 career passes entering his sophomore year. The Ducks sacked him 10 times in a 49-21 Husky loss in Eugene. He threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl but lost 35-34 to Louisville.

Cobb gives Washington head coach Dedd Fisch high marks for his track record in grooming quarterbacks.

Cobb places Ohio State's Julian Sayin second. A former five-star from Carlsbad, California, Sayin is 5-12 on 12 career pass attempts (41.7 percent) for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Sayin's 55-yard touchdown throw late in the fourth quarter capped a 56-0 win over Western Michigan last September. He's yet to take a meaningful snap in a college game. In fact, he's yet to officially win the job over Lincoln Kienholz.

Certainly he could prove to be every bit that good, but already the No. 2 quarterback in the league? Over veterans like Luke Altmyer, Fernando Mendoza, Dylan Raiola and Nico Iamaleava?

The eventual starter at OSU does have an incredible supporting cast in college football's best receiver, Jeremiah Smith, hulked-out running back James Peoples, Carnell Tate, new tight end Max Klare from Purdue and a solid offensive line with four returning starters, including center Carson Hinzman and right guard Tegra Tshabola.

Just about every preseason rating and forecast agrees about Allar being the class of the league after electing to pass up the NFL draft and return for his senior year. He's also blessed with rock-solid support including a beautiful mind at offensive coordinator in Andy Kotelnicki, the league's best running back tandem and a veteran offensive line.

Cobb writes, "Allar went from good to great last season under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. The Nittany Lions lost star tight end Tyler Warren to the NFL, but they snagged some much-needed receiver talent from the portal, which will give Allar a chance to match or exceed last year's passer efficiency rating of 153.5."

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