After dismantling Texas 35-10 last week, No. 4 Georgia is now 3-0 against teams that were ranked inside the top 15 of the AP poll at the time of the contest. In those games, quarterback Gunner Stockton has been nearly perfect.
His latest triumph was a five-touchdown torching of the then-No. 10 Longhorns. It was a team win, but Stockton’s individual effort was the sort of performance that should give Heisman voters something to think about. If voters are at all interested in valuing performance in big games, Stockton’s record speaks for itself.
He led a fourth quarter rally on Sept. 13 as Georgia came back to win 44-41 in overtime at No. 15 Tennessee. In a 43-35 win over No. 5 Ole Miss on Oct. 18, Stockton led Georgia to scores on every single possession until it was time to take a knee and run out the clock.
Stockton may not be soaring to the top of NFL Draft boards, but he’s playing at a high level and doing it against even the best opponents on the Bulldogs’ schedule. As a result, Stockton is on the rise to No. 1 in this week’s quarterback power rankings.
These rankings are not a Heisman forecast, draft projection or season-long outlook. They’re a real-time evaluation of performance, factoring in competition, pressure and production. With that, here are this week’s power rankings of college football’s top 50 quarterbacks.
1. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
Stockton accounted for all five of Georgia’s touchdowns in a 35-10 beatdown of Texas, as he dissected the Longhorns with a 24 of 29 passing performance. With UGA’s eight-game league slate complete, he ranks atop the conference in passing efficiency against SEC competition. His eight rushing touchdowns are also tops among SEC quarterbacks. Last week: 13
2. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Reed completed 6 of 19 passes with two interceptions in the first half as Texas A&M fell behind 30-3 against South Carolina. Never has the phrase “a tale of two halves” been more apt. He completed 16 of 20 for 298 yards with three touchdowns after halftime while leading the Aggies to a historic comeback win. Reed is now tied for the SEC lead with 22 touchdown passes. Last week: 10
3. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
Sayin only completed 74.2% of his passes in Ohio State’s win over UCLA. Is everything OK? Jokes aside, the redshirt freshman continues to shine as the distributor for the nation’s top-ranked squad. He leads the country in passer efficiency and completion percentage (80.1%). Last week: 2
4. Haynes King, Georgia Tech
King now leads the country in yards per game at 340.7 after throwing for 371 and running for 53 in Georgia Tech’s comeback win at Boston College. He was just named ACC Quarterback of the Week for a fifth time but remains a Heisman Trophy longshot at +3300 (odds via FanDuel). Last week: 3
5. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Mendoza became the first quarterback to reach 30 touchdowns passes this season when he tossed four in the Hoosiers’ 31-7 win over Wisconsin. The performance made him a significant favorite in the Heisman race, as he now sits at +100 (per FanDuel) to hoist the trophy in December. Last week: 4
6. Ty Simpson, Alabama
Simpson committed two crushing turnovers in Alabama’s loss to Oklahoma. His first interception since the season opener resulted an 87-yard pick-six for the Sooners, and a later fumble led to an OU field goal. He remains productive and accurate, but there’s no sugarcoating how devastating those turnovers were. Last week: 5
7. Noah Fifita, Arizona
Fifita is quietly putting together a magnificent bounce-back season with nearly 2,500 passing yards to go with 24 touchdowns and just four interceptions. No other Big 12 quarterback with at least 300 pass attempts has thrown fewer interceptions. The redshirt junior has the Wildcats sitting at 7-3. Last week: 23
8. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
Pavia accounted for 489 of Vanderbilt’s 544 yards in a 45-38 overtime victory over Auburn before the Commodores’ bye week. His 377 yards passing marked a career-high, and his 112 rushing yards were his most in a game at Vanderbilt. He will likely surpass Jay Cutler’s school record for total offense in a season when Vanderbilt hosts Kentucky this week. Last week: 9
9. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
If Chambliss had been Ole Miss’ starting quarterback from the beginning of the season, he’d be near the top of Heisman odds sheet. Saturday’s win over Florida marked the sixth time in nine starts that he’s surpassed 300 yards passing. Chambliss is over 3,000 total yards for the season. Last week: 15
10. Drew Mestemaker, North Texas
Mestemaker leads the American in passing yards (3,000), touchdowns (23) and yards per attempt (9.0). Not bad for a redshirt freshman who didn’t even start in high school. He’s got the Mean Green on the cusp of its first-ever 10-win season. Last week: 24
11. Byrum Brown, South Florida
Brown did his part to keep South Florida in the mix against an unstoppable Navy attack. But his 327 yards passing and 136 rushing weren’t enough in a 41-38 loss that likely ended USF’s playoff hopes. Last week: 7
12. Joe Fagnano, UConn
Fagnano’s streak of 385 straight pass attempts without an interception came to an end last week, albeit on a deflected ball. Regardless, his streak of 25 touchdowns without an interception to open the season was a remarkable feat. He’s the driving force behind UConn’s 8-3 record. Last week: 1
13. Alonza Barnett, James Madison
Barnett reached 300 yards passing for the first time this season in James Madison’s 58-10 rout of Appalachian State. He also scored twice as a runner to reach a Sun Belt-best 12 rushing touchdowns for the season. Last week: 12
14. Jayden Maiava, USC
Maiava’s 254 yards passing in a win against Iowa were the second-most the Hawkeyes have surrendered this season. Heading into a seismic showdown at Oregon, Maiava ranks in the top 10 nationally in passer efficiency, passing yards and yards per completion. Last week: 17
15. Dante Moore, Oregon
Moore was dialed in during Oregon’s 42-13 win over Minnesota, completing 27 of 30 passes for 306 yards with a pair of touchdowns. It was important for the Ducks’ passing game to get back on track after a couple of quiet performances in wins over Wisconsin and Iowa. Last week: 21
16. Bear Bachmeier, BYU
Bachmeier responded well after BYU’s first loss of the season as he guided the Cougars to an authoritative win at TCU. The true freshman completed 23 of 33 passes for 296 yards and scored as both a passer and rusher. He is up to 23 total touchdowns — 13 as a passer and 10 as a rusher — for the 9-1 Cougars. Last week: 19
17. CJ Carr, Notre Dame
Notre Dame didn’t need a heroic performance from its redshirt freshman star to win at Pitt, and he didn’t provide one. Carr was picked off twice in the Fighting Irish’s authoritative win over the Panthers. He wasn’t his sharpest, but Carr did rack up another three touchdowns. Last week: 16
18. Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Altmyer hasn’t been perfect lately, but he got the job done in a win over Maryland last week, despite two turnovers. The savvy veteran hit a couple of deep shots and made key plays with his legs. He’s up to 21 passing touchdowns on the year. Last week: 14
19. Jeff Sims, Arizona State
Sims was named AP National Player of the Week for leading the Sun Devils to a 24-19 Nov. 1 win at Iowa State. He followed up with another strong showing in Arizona State’s win over West Virginia last week. The sixth-year senior appears to be playing the best football of his career while filling in for the injured Sam Leavitt. Last week: unranked
20. Demond Williams, Washington
It’s been an up and down sophomore season for Williams, but he’s heading into this week’s game at UCLA on a good note after completing 16 of 19 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Purdue. He surpassed 2,500 yards passing and 500 yards rushing in the victory. Last week: 37
21. Jake Retzlaff, Tulane
Last week: 6
22. Behren Morton, Texas Tech
Last week: 25
23. Chandler Morris, Virginia
Last week: unranked (injury)
24. Darian Mensah, Duke
Last week: 23
25. John Mateer, Oklahoma
Last week: 35
26. CJ Bailey, NC State
Last week: 11
27. Sawyer Robertson, Baylor
Last week: 20
28. Arch Manning, Texas
Last week: 18
29. Kevin Jennings, SMU
Last week: 29
30. Jalon Daniels, Kansas
Last week: 30
31. Anthony Colandrea, UNLV
Last week: 27
32. Conner Weigman, Houston
Last week: 31
33. Micah Alejado, Hawaii
Last week: 33
34. Joey Aguilar, Tennessee
Last week: 26
35. Colton Joseph, Old Dominion
Last week: 39
36. Carson Beck, Miami
Last week: 44
37. Cutter Boley, Kentucky
Last week: 36
38. Katin Houser, East Carolina
Last week: 42
39. Mason Heintschel, Pitt
Last week: 8
40. Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati
Last week: 28
41. Bryson Barnes, Utah State
Last week: 40
42. Avery Johnson, Kansas State
Last week: 32
43. Devon Dampier, Utah
Last week: 34
44. Blake Horvath, Navy
Last week: 41
45. Braylon Braxton, Southern Miss
Last week: 45
46. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Cal
Last week: 46
47. Rodney Tisdale Jr., Western Kentucky
Last week: unranked
48. Cade Klubnik, Clemson
Last week: 48
49. Evan Simon, Temple
Last week: 49
50. Owen McCown, UTSA
Last week: unranked
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