By Chris Marler
It’s time for another fun edition of my weekly quarterback rankings. Critics are calling it “one of the dumbest things ever written not by the Washington Post.” This week’s rankings are a lot like my crippling ADHD as they feature instability, constant movement, and simply inexplicable things that don’t seem to have a ton of, if any, logic or reason to them. Enjoy!
1. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Jaxson Dart is back? People are asking. Dart was great in Ole Miss’s 26-14 win over Oklahoma, and he was great even without his best target as Tre Harris missed the game due to injury. Dart ended the day completing more than 70 percent of his passes and 335 yards.
More importantly, and unlike several quarterbacks this past Saturday, he didn’t have a single turnover. The accuracy was still the highlight though as Dart had struggled in recent weeks completing less than 58 percent of his passes in his previous two games.
2. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
Despite two interceptions and arguably his worst game of the season, Pavia stays at two because he still found a way to crawl back into that game against the best defense in the SEC. Pavia had two interceptions against Texas and completed barely 55 percent of his passes
3. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
As I write this, I am wearing an orange jumpsuit and watching that Menendez brothers series on Netflix because I am a prisoner of the moment with this pick in every sense of the phrase. I was high on Marcel Reed before Saturday, and the cracks in the Conner Weigman foundation were more than obvious for a while.
But, I absolutely did not see that coming. Coming off the bench and leading Texas A&M to a come from behind win against a top ten team with five straight scoring drives is a story that Aggie fans will tell for years to come. On the season, he has 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. The Marcel Reed era begins now, and it will be fun to watch him this Saturday against a very good South Carolina defense.
4. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
I feel like other quarterbacks have dropped for less, but I am still very high on the Nuss Bus experience despite what happened in College Station. Garrett Nussmeier has been arguably the best quarterback in the SEC for a majority of the season. Garrett Nussmeier also cost LSU a win on Saturday night with an unbelievable collapse and comedy of errors in the second half of that game.
Both things can be true at the same time.
5. Taylen Green, Arkansas
Green was incredible on Saturday against Mississippi State. He accounted for nearly 400 yards of offense and six total touchdowns in a 58-25 rout of Mississippi State. Green completed 79.3 percent of his passes against the Bulldogs and had a season high 10.8 yards per attempt. He added another 79 yards on the ground on just eight carries. On the season, he has nearly 2500 yards of total offense and 16 touchdowns while averaging over 300 yards per game.
6. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
What do you know, Alabama took multiple shots down field for the first time in weeks and Jalen Milroe returned to form. I am shocked, shocked, I tell you.
Listen, you can be unimpressed with Alabama’s 34-0 win due to Missouri’s quarterback being out for a majority of the game. But, what Milroe did was impressive, or at the very least a very good sign moving forward. Missouri’s defense had allowed only 16 plays of 20 yards or more all season, which ranked second in the SEC and top ten nationally. Alabama had 12 alone on Saturday.
Most importantly, Milroe didn’t have a turnover in the game which is the first time in his last five games without one.
7. Carson Beck, Georgia
I moved Beck down three spots. Was he on a bye week? Yes. Was it performance based? No. Was it solely because of his cringe TikToks with his girlfriend? Absolutely.
8. Quinn Ewers, Texas
Ewers continues to be up and down. He completed 73 percent of his passes for nearly 300 yards, but he also had another two interceptions, bringing his season total to six, including four in the last three games alone.
Ewers did however complete 19 straight passes against Vanderbilt which was very impressive. It was good to see him get the start and finish without Arch Manning taking a single snap on Saturday.
9. Michael Van Buren, Mississippi State
We forget how hard it is to play quarterback in this league, especially for young players. Van Buren is a true freshman who has made four career starts replacing injured starter Blake Shapen after the Florida game. Three of those four starts have come against teams currently ranked in the Top 10 including two of the three on the road. Mississippi State is 0-4 in those games, but that’s not on Van Buren. All he’s done is score 10 touchdowns in those four games with eight passing touchdowns in the last three games. The future is bright for Van Buren under Jeff Lebby. I don’t know if State will win a lot of games, but I do know that they have a quarterback for the future and foundation of the Lebby era.
10. Payton Thorne, Auburn
It’s time we had an honest conversation about Payton Thorne. Thorne has 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. However, if you take away the Cal game, he has 12 touchdowns to just three picks.
The longer the season goes on the more apparent it is to me that Hugh Freeze has simply not put him in great situations for a lot of the year. Auburn finally got Jarquez Hunter a career high in carries (23) and he ended up with a career high in rushing yards (278). Subsequently Thorne completed a season high 76.9 percent of his passes going 20-for-26 and leading Auburn to a 14-point road win.
Thorne has weapons around him. It’s time that Hugh Freeze starts allowing him to use them more efficiently. Maybe he should poison Freeze’s food before every game moving forward.
Bottom Six
11. Lanorris Sellers, South Carolina
12. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
13. DJ Lagway, Florida
14. Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma
15. Brock Vandagriff, Kentucky
16. Drew Pyne, Missouri
