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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Phil Harrison

Big Ten quarterbacks ranked by Total QBR after Week 3: THE new leader at the top.

We are three full weeks into the college football regular season, and we continue to get more data points with Big Ten quarterbacks to see who is doing the best at their position, including Ohio State football’s new starter under center, Kyle McCord.

The metric we like to use more than any other is ESPN’s Total QBR rating. We find it to be a better indicator of performance because it takes into account many aspects others don’t, including the level of competition.

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So what is Total QBR exactly? According to ESPN, Adjusted Total Quarterback Rating “values the quarterback on all play types on a 0-100 scale adjusted for the strength of opposing defenses faced.”

OK, we’re game.

So where are McCord and Big Ten signal-callers J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, Drew Allar of Penn State and Cade McNamara of Iowa following Week 3 of the college football season? McCarthy led the way through the first two weeks, but now we have a new leader. Who could it be?

Here’s how things stack up after another week of the still new college and Big Ten football season.

14
Ben Bryant, Northwestern

Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 25.2
Total Before Last Week | 27.2
Ranking Last Week | 14 (⇔ no change)

13
Cade McNamara, Iowa

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 30.4
Total Before Last Week | 35.9
Ranking Last Week | 10 ( three spots)

12
Jeff Sims, Nebraska

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 33.4
Total Before Last Week | 35.9
Ranking Last Week | 13 ( one spot)

11
Tanner Mordecai, Wisconsin

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 39.0
Total Before Last Week | 37.3
Ranking Last Week | 12 ( one spot)

10
Noah Kim, Michigan State

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 44.2
Total Before Last Week | 59.4
Ranking Last Week | 8 ( two spots)

9
Athan Kaliakmanis, Minnesota

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 49.2
Total Before Last Week | 55.7
Ranking Last Week | 9 (⇔ no change)

8
Hudson Card, Purdue

USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 53.6
Total Before Last Week | 60.6
Ranking Last Week | 7 ( one spot)

7
Tayven Jackson, Indiana

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 55.5
Total Before Last Week | N/A
Ranking Last Week | N/A

6
Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 56.6
Total Before Last Week | 66.2
Ranking Last Week | 5 ( one spot)

5
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 66.4
Total Before Last Week | 64.1
Ranking Last Week | 6 ( one spot)

4
Gavin Wimsatt, Rutgers

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 77.4
Total Before Last Week | 75.1
Ranking Last Week | 4 (⇔ no change)

3
Drew Allar, Penn State

Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 78.1
Total Before Last Week | 83.5
Ranking Last Week | 3 (⇔ no change)

2
J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 85.7
Total Before Last Week | 95.3
Ranking Last Week | 1 ( one spot)

1
Kyle McCord, Ohio State

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Numbers

Total QBR | 87.2
Total Before Last Week | 84.5
Ranking Last Week | 2 ( one spot)

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

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