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By Chris Marler
We are through week eight and there are a minimum of three SEC signal callers who have put themselves in the Heisman Trophy talk. Here are the QB rankings for Week 8.
The Sad 6
16. Arch Manning, Texas
15. Jackson Arnold, Auburn
14. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
13. DJ Lagway, Florida
12. Beau Pribula, Missouri
11. Blake Shapen, Mississippi State
The Top Ten
- Cutter Boley, Kentucky
He probably does not deserve to be here for his full season performance. But, anyone who completes nearly 80% of his passes and puts up over 300 yards against that Texas defense deserves to be here. Good on you kid.
- John Mateer, Oklahoma
Last week marked Mateer’s lowest offensive performance since arriving in Norman. The positive side of that? He didn’t have a single turnover against a defense that has been better than anyone in this conference at forcing them in the last four and a half years.
- Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
I thought Nussmeier looked good this weekend in a game where it felt like he was running for his life. He’s clearly getting healthier each week, and there’s more zip on the ball. LSU may have lost, but it was not because of Nussmeier.
- Joey Aguilar, Tennessee
The reason I’ve consistently put him outside the top five is his inability to protect the football. He’s a great football player and has had a great season. But, his two interceptions were costly, and the one on the goal line was a 14-point swing in favor of Alabama.
- Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
Putting up 300 yards on a Kirby Smart defense on the road is nothing to sneeze at. However, he had his least efficient game and in the fourth quarter he was unable to extend plays and drives when the Rebs needed it most. Still, he’s having a tremendous season with more to come.
- Taylen Green, Arkansas
He’s a human highlight reel playing for a bad team. Part of me wondered two things on Saturday after his five-touchdown, 341-yard performance: what would Arkansas’ record be if it had a defense, and what kind of video game numbers would Green post if he could face his own?
- Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Reed had his most efficient game of his career, completing over 70% of his passes for the first time. He added 335 yards of offense and four touchdowns to boot. Now, on to the actual boot in a massive showdown against LSU.
- Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
It was probably a bit dramatic to drop Pavia after the bye week and a poor performance against Alabama on the road. He was back to his usual self against LSU and finished with 64% completion, 246 yards of offense, three touchdowns, and most importantly, zero turnovers.
The win over LSU wasn’t his coming-out party by any stretch, but it was a statement performance on a national stage, reminding everyone that you can call him crazy, confident, or anything in between, but he always backs it up.
- Gunner Stockton, Georgia
This was an all-time performance that will be talked about in Athens for years to come. He completed 84% of his passes for 358 yards of offense and five touchdowns. Stockton firmly planted himself in the thick of the Heisman trophy race with Saturday’s come from behind victory against Ole Miss.
What was most impressive was the trust that Mike Bobo and Kirby Smart had in him to throw the ball with the lead late in the fourth. Stockton leads the SEC in completion percentage at 70.5 and is second in the country in QBR with a 91.0 rating.
- Ty Simpson, Alabama
Simpson leads the SEC with 18 touchdown passes and a 170.92 passer rating. He’s completing over 70% of his throws, averaging 276 yards per game, and has just one interception all season. He’s played his way into being the clear cut No. 1 quarterback in the league through seven games and did so while having to win four straight games against top-25 SEC opponents.
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