College football QB rankings after Rivalry Week: Heisman race comes down to Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels
College football QB rankings after Rivalry Week: Heisman race comes down to Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels
The 2023 college football season has come to a close for nearly every team in the nation with Rivalry Week now in the books, though players bound for the NFL will have the chance to continue improving their draft stock with conference championship week and the postseason to follow for the teams that qualify.
This season has been filled with a solid crop of quarterbacks — both in regard to the draft prospects and the rising stars — several of whom continued to impress in their regular-season finales.
Here’s a look into where the top 15 quarterbacks in the nation stand after Week 13.
MORE: Breaking down every College Football Playoff scenario ahead of championship weekend
College football QB rankings 2023
1. Bo Nix, Oregon
According to BETMGM, Nix has sat in the driver’s seat of the Heisman Trophy race for multiple weeks now and should be the player who takes home the award.
That is far from without reason as Nix has created an entirely new version of himself at Oregon in the best of ways, shining a positive light on the transfer portal, which has been met with some controversy over recent years.
Nix ends the regular season with a 79% completion rate, 3,906 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was recently asked about where Nix stands in the Heisman race in relation to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels.
“Well Bo’s obviously an elite player, and we’re still playing football and I think that speaks to the caliber of player that Bo is… The fact that we’re competing for a championship, [Nix] leads the nation in passing, I don’t memorize all of Bo’s statistics, but just watch Bo play and watch how much of a difference he makes for us.”
Latest game stats: vs. Oregon State, (31-7), 33-of-40 passing, 367 yards, 2 TD; 31 rushing yards, 1 TD
2. Jayden Daniels, LSU
If there is anyone who is going to take the Heisman Trophy away from Nix at this point, it’s going to be Daniels. The Arizona State transfer has left us all in one of the more difficult voting scenarios for the award.
Nix has checked all the boxes to be deserving of the honor and is on the team with the better record, but Daniels has had one of the biggest transfer portal transformations we’ve seen since it was brought into existence with stats that are off the charts as he finished the season with a 72.2% completion rate, passing for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
And looking into each game, he’s given LSU a chance at victory every time he takes the field even when other position groups come up short against high-level competition.
Latest game stats: vs. Texas A&M, (W, 42-30), 16-of-24 passing, 235 yards, 4 TDs; 120 rushing yards
3. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
Penix and Co. can thank kicker Grady Gross, who earned a scholarship after kicking the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the victory over Washington State, for their avoidance of what would have been one of the worst upsets of the week.
The year-over-year growth Penix has had continues to show itself through in the reunion with Kalen DeBoer that has paid dividends for both sides as he continues to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. But he’s become more of a long-shot for the Heisman Trophy with the way Daniels and Nix have performed down the stretch.
He’ll need a huge performance in the conference championship game to have a chance.
Latest game stats: vs. Washington State (W, 24-21), 18-of-33 passing, 204 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; -9 rushing yards
MORE: Heisman Trophy odds: Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels favored but don’t overlook Michael Penix Jr.
4. Caleb Williams, USC
A disappointing season became even more so for Williams and the Trojans as the team ended things off with a loss to UCLA, marking the cap on a three-game losing streak as USC finished the regular season at 7-5.
Like some of the other top quarterbacks in this draft class, the players around Williams haven’t even come close to matching the level of talent he brings to the table as the Trojans have struggled to find the semblance of a real defense for the majority of the season.
Though some things surrounding the way he carries himself from an intangibles perspective when USC is losing have drawn some negative attention, Williams is expected to be the first or one of the first quarterbacks off the board in April.
Latest game stats: vs. UCLA (L, 38-20), 31-of-42 passing, 384 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; -20 rushing yards
5. Drake Maye, North Carolina
The stat line from Maye’s latest action against NC State doesn’t look fantastic, but several who actually watched it will tell you it’s not indicative of the full quality of his performance — though he did look unlike himself with some uncharacteristic misses.
Maye and the offense did get off to a bit of a weird start though that set them behind to a point that a bounceback attempt in the second half when they got into a bit more of a rhythm. Maye put the responsibility on his own shoulders for the sputters.
“I’ve got to do a better job, I’m the ultimate decision-maker,” Maye said after the loss in the rivalry game. “Ball’s in my hand, touches my hands every play, so at times when I felt like we didn’t answer, it just falls back on me.”
Currently recovering from an ankle injury, Maye is hoping to be healthy enough to play in the bowl game and is expected to be one of the first quarterbacks selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Latest game stats: vs. NC State, (L, 39-20), 22-of-38 passing, 254 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs; 106 rushing yards, 1 TD
6. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Despite the ability he’s shown to generate explosive plays as a passer when called upon, McCarthy’s stat line by the game typically doesn’t pop off the charts. One could argue that has a lot more to do with way Michigan chooses to run its offense that it has to do with McCarthy’s performance, though it has gotten him pinned with “game manager” label by many.
McCarthy has also been dealing with a lingering ankle injury, which he says he is “almost healed.” That comes at a good time ahead of conference championship week.
Latest game stats: vs. Ohio State, (W, 30-24) 16-of-20 passing, 148 yards, 1 TD; 17 rushing yards
7. Carson Beck, Georgia
Like the quarterback listed above him, Beck has transformed into a polarizing prospect at the position as well. It comes down to the same question that surrounded Beck (and has surrounded several other quarterbacks at the helm of Georgia and dynasty teams like Alabama over the years): Is he just a part of the system, or can he elevate any team in his own right?
It’s true Georgia has everything Beck could possibly ask for to run a successful offense as a team that looks like it could very well win a third consecutive national title, but if you spend time looking at the tape looking back at the season broadly, it’s clear there’s something to Beck that’s going to be appreciated at the next level and that he’s got the potential to be much more than just a cog in the machine.
Latest game stats: vs. Georgia Tech, (W, 31-23), 13-of-20 passing, 175 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 24 rushing yards
8. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
It would be so easy for so many people to move Rattler much further down in the rankings if all they looked at was the stat line. But Rattler has been the gem of this South Carolina offense that has not given him the supporting cast and the type of pass protection he deserves. If the Gamecocks had gotten that right — consistently and early — this could have been more of a storybook season both for them and Rattler with the burst the quarterback has brought to the offense.
Even offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains feels like the unit overall hasn’t done Rattler justice.
“How do you have such good quarterback play? How do you not turn the ball over at that position and not have a better record?” Loggains said after the latest loss. “That’s where I feel like we’ve let him down a little bit.”
Latest game stats: vs. Clemson (L, 16-7), 16-of-32 passing, 112 yards, INT; 16 rushing yards
9. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Milroe started off the season looking like the same inexperienced quarterback who was inconsistent in his time filling in for Bryce Young in 2022. While that was met with some disdain from the Alabama fan base, such a transition is rather typical for a quarterback who doesn’t have a ton of game reps under his belt.
But Milroe did more than just adjust as the season went on — he rose to become a player worthy of being one of the contenders in the Heisman Trophy conversation, though this year’s group of quarterbacks was loaded with players who had more complete seasons.
Expect him to be (much) closer to the front of that race in 2024 in he can continue to perform this well as a passer in addition to the solid mobility and improvisation ability he’s already put well on display.
Latest game stats: vs. Auburn (W, 27-24), 16-of-24 passing, 259 yards, 2 TDs; 107 rushing yards
MORE: Picks against the spread for conference championship weekend
10. Michael Pratt, Tulane
Pratt was lackluster through the air in his latest performance, but did enough to get the job done and help Tulane to power its way to a second consecutive AAC Championship appearance in which the Green Wave will play host once more.
Injury has marred his performances at certain points in the season after he suffered a knee injury in the first game of the season against South Alabama and he appeared to aggravate it once more in the finale. According to sources, he’s been talked about in the NFL as an early-mid round pick, though that will be something to watch when the draft gets underway. Pratt has not yet officially declared for the draft, but was the first player of this cycle to accept a Senior Bowl invite.
Latest game stats: vs. UTSA (W, 29-16), 9-of-22 passing, 125 yards, 2 TDs; 50 rushing yards
11. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Gabriel didn’t look like the same quarterback who was considered among the nation’s best in 2021 and 2022 for a lot of the season, but he seems to have gotten back from what was limiting him as he finished the season on a hot streak. Even with this, it’s hard to argue he was anything but the Sooners’ most important offensive player in 2023.
He’s thrown for at least 400 yards in two of his last three games.
Latest game stats: vs. TCU (W, 69-45), 24-of-38 passing, 400 yards, 3 TDs, INT; 36 rushing yards, 1 TD
12. Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
Reed is a bit behind the eight ball when it comes to catching attention at the national level, though he did plenty enough to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation ahead of the season. At the G5 level, though, and with the false Air Raid stigma surrounding schools that run the offense, he’s flown under the radar in a class as stacked in the Power 5 as this one.
He finished the 2022 season as the nation’s top passer with 4,746 yards. He ends out the 2023 season 3,340 yards, which comes out to equally impressive when you do the math — Reed attempted 470 passes in 2023 and 602 passes in 2022.
Latest game stats: vs. FIU (W, 41-28), 26-of-35 passing, 280 yards, 4 TDs; -6 rushing yards
13. Brady Cook, Missouri
Cook remains among the nation’s most improved players as he (and the Tigers as an entire team) took a huge step forward in 2023.
Mizzou had a lackluster offense in 2022 with questionable play-calling from head coach Eli Drinkwitz that clearly proved to be a limiting factor for Cook when looking at that season and the most recent one side by side. On top of that, Cook has made notable strides as a pure passer, though his ability to take care of business on the ground remained the same as last season.
Latest game stats: vs. Arkansas (W, 48-14), 12-of-20 passing, 112 yards, 2 TDs
MORE: Transfer portal QB tracker 2023: Tyler Van Dyke, Will Howard on the move
14. Noah Fifita, Arizona
Fifita is a quarterback who has flown under the radar but has since gone on to demand attention in a way the national media can no longer ignore. He had his biggest performance of the year when he threw for over 500 yards with five touchdowns in the huge win over rival Arizona State.
Head coach Jedd Fisch viewed Fifita’s performance as nearly perfect.
“Well he threw the ball really well in the game, that’s for sure,” Fisch told reporters after the game. “Had a couple opportunities that we missed, certainly had a chance to probably have a touchdown at the end of the half that we just didn’t come down with the ball, had a third down play and then threw an interception on the five-yard-line which should have hit Jacob (Cowing) for a touchdown there. Outside of those couple plays, I think he was pretty close to perfect, the way he played.
Latest game stats: vs. Arizona State, (W, 59-23), 30-of-41 passing, 527 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT
15. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
Hartman may not have been widely celebrated by Notre Dame fans in the back half of the season and his year with the Fighting Irish was filled with highs and lows. But, looking at the product overall, Hartman was efficient and proved a solid pickup from the transfer portal.
He was among the nation’s best quarterbacks in passing efficiency at 17th in the category (159.5).
Latest game stats: vs. Stanford (W, 56-23), 8-of-14 passing, 140 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 47 rushing yards