College Football 2024: Ranking Top 25 Quarterbacks After Week 3

Welcome to Bleacher Report's Top 25 college football quarterback rankings.

These rankings will again be a weekly feature published each Tuesday morning throughout the 2024 season, with the goal of identifying the 25 best QBs in the country each week as the season unfolds.

The only thing that matters here is on-field production in 2024.

That means past performance, future expectations, physical tools and NFL upside have all been removed from the equation.

Each quarterback's individual production and quality of opponent will be considered each week, and players will rise and fall based on where they ranked the previous week, so it will be a fluid process.

If your favorite team's quarterback is not currently on the list, fear not. If a guy is putting up numbers, he will find his way onto the list. On the flip side, a strong first couple of weeks is only going to go so far if a player falls flat in Week 4 and fails to duplicate his early success.

Let the debate begin!

These 25 quarterbacks were also under consideration for a spot in the rankings but ultimately settled for an honorable mention following Week 3 action:

Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Rocco Becht, Iowa State
Emmett Brown, San Jose State
Hank Brown, Auburn
Brady Cook, Missouri
Joe Fagnano, UConn
Tucker Gleason, Toledo
Taylen Green, Arkansas
Seth Henigan, Memphis
Will Howard, Ohio State
KJ Jefferson, UCF
Avery Johnson, Kansas State
Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers
Gio Lopez, South Alabama
Jordan McCloud, Texas State
Fernando Mendoza, California
Chandler Morris, North Texas
Miller Moss, USC
Maalik Murphy, Duke
Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
Kaidon Salter, Liberty
Blake Shapen, Mississippi State
Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati

Injured, Removed from Rankings

Quinn Ewers, Texas
Cam Rising, Utah

25. Arch Manning, Texas

Stats: 14-of-18, 318 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT; 53 rush yards, 2 TD

The Longhorns offense didn't miss a beat when Manning took over for Heisman Trophy contender Quinn Ewers, who was sidelined in the second quarter of Saturday's game against UTSA with an abdominal strain. Manning threw for 223 yards and four touchdowns while adding a 67-yard rushing touchdown. Ewers is questionable for this weekend's game against Louisiana Monroe, which could pave the way for Manning's first collegiate start.

24. Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland

Stats: 74-of-104, 827 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT; 64 rush yards, 2 TD

Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 3,377 yards and 25 touchdowns leading the Maryland offense last year, and now it's Edwards who is putting up strong numbers for the Terrapins. A 3-star recruit back in 2021 who began his college career with a redshirt season at Wake Forest, Edwards had just 76 pass attempts in two seasons playing behind Tagovailoa. He threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Virginia on Saturday.

23. Behren Morton, Texas Tech

Stats: 79-of-119, 974 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT; 1 rush yard, 1 TD

Morton has put up some gaudy numbers so far this year, but the bulk of that production has come in wins over Abilene Christian and North Texas. After throwing two interceptions in a loss to Washington State in Week 2, he rebounded to throw for 273 yards and four touchdowns while outplaying Chandler Morris in Saturday's 66-21 rout.

22. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska

Stats: 59-of-80, 670 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 14 rush yards

Raiola threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's win over Northern Iowa, and the uber-hyped freshman has helped Nebraska get out to a 3-0 start and the No. 22 spot in the latest AP poll. A tough matchup awaits on Friday night against No. 24 Illinois and a Fighting Illini defense that has forced nine turnovers through three games.

21. Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma

Stats: 54-of-86, 484 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT; 159 rush yards, 2 TD

Arnold threw for a modest 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception against a good Tulane team on Saturday, but he made a major impact on the ground with 97 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. The first-year starter dives head first into SEC play with a matchup against No. 7 Tennessee this weekend.

20. Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State

Stats: 75-of-112, 967 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT; 15 rush yards

In his seventh college season, Bowman is off to the best start of his career and doing a much better job taking care of the football after throwing 14 interceptions a year ago. He balled out on the road against Tulsa in Week 3, throwing for 396 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 45-10 blowout to keep the Cowboys undefeated on the year.

19. Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh

Stats: 71-of-105, 939 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT; 96 rush yards

Holstein started his college career as a 4-star recruit at Alabama, but he spent the 2023 season on the sidelines after taking a redshirt. He transferred to Pitt during the offseason and has injected some life into the Panthers program. He has thrown for 300 yards and three touchdowns in every game during a 3-0 start, and he outplayed Garrett Greene in a 38-34 victory over West Virginia on Saturday.

18. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee

Stats: 48-of-67, 698 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT; 102 rush yards, 1 TD

The Volunteers didn't need Iamaleava to do much in a 71-0 shellacking of Kent State. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown before spending part of the second quarter and all of the second half on the sidelines. He has yet to play an entire game while the Volunteers have outscored the opposition by a 191-13 margin during a 3-0 start, so this Saturday will be a big first test against Oklahoma.

17. Drew Allar, Penn State

Stats: 24-of-37, 420 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 51 rush yards, 1 TD

The Nittany Lions had an early bye week on Saturday, so Allar doesn't have the same counting numbers as some of the others on this list who have played an additional game. That said, his uptick in yards per attempt from 6.8 to 11.4 through two games speaks to his large role in the offense this season, and he could quickly emerge as a staple in the Top 10 of these rankings.

16. Tyler Shough, Louisville

Stats: 39-of-57, 581 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT; -4 rush yards

Another early standout on a bye week last weekend, Shough will square off against Haynes King and Georgia Tech in the ACC opener on Saturday. Now playing for his third major conference program after stops at Texas Tech and Oregon, his strong start came against overmatched opponents in Austin Peay and Jacksonville State.

15. Haynes King, Georgia Tech

Stats: 81-of-106, 962 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT; 158 rush yards, 3 TD

King was a staple in these rankings a year ago when he threw for 2,842 yards and 27 touchdowns while adding another 737 yards and 10 scores on the ground, and he is making a similar dual-threat impact this season. The Yellow Jackets ran it up against VMI on Saturday, with King completing 17 of 22 attempts for 275 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-7 victory.

14. Cade Klubnik, Clemson

Stats: 42-of-55, 520 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT; -12 rush yards, 2 TD

Klubnik shot up the rankings last week after a nearly perfect Week 2 performance against Appalachian State when he connected on 24 of 26 pass attempts for 378 yards and five touchdowns. The Tigers were on a bye week this past weekend, but he will be back in action this Saturday against NC State to kick off the ACC slate.

13. Will Rogers, Washington

Stats: 64-of-83, 825 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT; -34 rush yards

Washington lost 24-19 to rival Washington State in the Apple Cup, but Rogers did his part for the Cougars with 314 passing yards, one touchdown and zero turnovers. The Mississippi State transfer has completed 77.1 percent of his passes this year, trailing only Dillon Gabriel (84.0%) and Jaxson Dart (83.0%) among FBS quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts.

12. Thomas Castellanos, Boston College

Stats: 35-of-54, 589 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT; 97 rush yards, 1 TD

After occupying a spot inside the Top 10 in these rankings last week, Castellanos slipped a few spots after throwing a pair of interceptions on the road against Missouri. The Tigers also limited the dual-threat standout to 16 rushing yards and 12 carries, but he still threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns against a top-tier opponent.

11. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

Stats: 85-of-121, 999 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT; -16 rush yards

After an ugly performance in a Week 2 loss to Nebraska, Sanders bounced back to throw for 310 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-9 victory over in-state rival Colorado State. Much of the damage he did in the passing game came with two-way star Travis Hunter on the receiving end, as he reeled in 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

10. Josh Hoover, TCU

Stats: 83-of-119, 1,022 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT; 7 rush yards, 1 TD

Hoover threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-34 loss to UCF where the Horned Frogs led the entire way before the Knights scored the go-ahead touchdown with 36 seconds left on the clock. It was Hoover's third career game with 400 passing yards and also his third career game with four passing touchdowns.

9. Ethan Hampton, Northern Illinois

Stats: 28-of-39, 526 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT; 29 rush yards

Hampton and the upstart NIU Huskies had a bye week to unpack their Week 2 upset win over Notre Dame. The redshirt junior is off to a great start in his first year as a starter after backing up Ricky Lombardi a year ago, and his 94.1 QBR through two games ranks second among qualified FBS quarterbacks.

8. Carson Beck, Georgia

Stats: 56-of-82, 680 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT; 55 rush yards

After throwing for 389 yards and four touchdowns against Kentucky last season, Beck had a much tougher time against the Wildcats defense on Saturday. He finished with 160 yards on 15 of 24 passing and did not find the end zone, but the Bulldogs managed to squeeze out a 13-12 victory on the road to avoid the shocking early upset.

7. Kyle McCord, Syracuse

Stats: 59-of-85, 735 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT; 9 rush yards

McCord vaulted into the Top 10 after throwing for 381 yards and four touchdowns against a ranked Georgia Tech in Week 2. After a bye week this past weekend, he should have a chance to further pad his stats with home games against Stanford and Holy Cross up next on the schedule. Then the Oct. 4 matchup against UNLV could end up being a battle of ranked teams that way things are trending.

6. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

Stats: 81-of-116, 895 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT; -11 rush yards

After lighting up Nicholls State for 302 yards and six touchdowns in Week 2, Nussmeier helped LSU avoid the upset against South Carolina on Saturday. The Tigers trailed 17-0 early and 33-29 early in the fourth quarter, but came back to pull out a 36-33 victory and avoid an early second loss. Nussmeier finished with 285 passing yards and two touchdowns, and he enters Week 4 as the SEC leader in completions (81), attempts (116) and passing touchdowns (10).

Stats: 37-of-70, 712 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT; 314 rush yards, 4 TD

With a 24-19 victory over in-state rival Washington in the Apple Cup, Washington State is off to a 3-0 start and knocking on the door for a spot in the Top 25.

John Mateer entered the season with big shoes to fill after Cam Ward piled up 3,736 passing yards and 33 total touchdowns for the Cougars a year ago, and he has made an early impact with his arm and his legs.

His passing numbers don't jump off the page, but he is also the Cougars leading rusher with 314 rushing yards and 8.1 yards per carry. His rushing yardage is tops among all quarterbacks and ranks 16th in the nation overall.

Stats: 79-of-94, 914 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT; 26 rush yards, 2 TD

Dillon Gabriel has yet to put together a truly gaudy day through the air like we saw throughout the 2023 season at Oklahoma, but he has been extremely efficient, leading the nation with an 84.0 completion rate.

He connected on 20 of 24 pass attempts for 291 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks cruised to a 49-14 victory on the road against in-state rival Oregon State, and he has now completed at least 80 percent of his passes in all three games during a 3-0 start.

This weekend he gets a favorable matchup against a UCLA secondary that was just torched for 307 yards and four touchdowns by Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke in a 42-13 loss on Saturday.

Stats: 35-of-52, 590 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT; 156 rush yards, 6 TD

Jalen Milroe might not be piling up yardage like some of the other guys behind him on this list, but he has been the best player in the country at finding the end zone with 14 total touchdowns through the air and on the ground.

He completed 12 of 17 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns while adding 75 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a hostile road environment against Wisconsin on Saturday, leading the Crimson Tide to a 42-10 victory in a game that had upset potential.

He will never be a traditional pocket passer, but it's hard to argue with the job he has done putting points on the board and protecting the football through Alabama's first three games.

Stats: 73-of-88, 1,172 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT; 54 rush yards, 3 TD

After picking apart a couple overmatched opponents to start the year, Jaxson Dart faced his first real test in Week 3 on the road against a solid Wake Forest team.

He was not quite as dominant as he looked against Furman and Middle Tennessee State, but he still finished with 377 yards and two touchdowns through the air and another 35 yards and one score on the ground, though he did throw his first interception of the year.

This weekend will likely be another lopsided outcome with Georgia Southern coming to Oxford before the SEC schedule begins and Dart has a chance to make a legitimate Heisman Trophy case.

Stats: 65-of-89, 1,035 yards, 11 TD, 1 INT; 46 rush yards, 1 TD

Cam Ward is now the Heisman Trophy favorite, according to the latest odds from DraftKings, after torching Ball State for 346 yards and five touchdown passes in a 62-0 blowout.

The Washington State transfer went to the bench early in the second half, so those gaudy numbers came in an abbreviated effort, but he will still enter Week 4 tied for the FBS lead with 11 passing touchdowns.

The Hurricanes have emerged as the early favorites in the ACC, but before they kick off conference play, they have a road game against South Florida on Saturday.