The Top 10 quarterbacks based on QBR Ratings after Week 1

The 2024 college football campaign is underway and while we've seen a few quarterbacks underperform, we've also seen very strong outings from pass throwers that lit up the stat sheet last weekend. The top performers from Week 1 (based on QBR) are listed after an eventful opening to the season.

The quarterbacks on the list led their respective teams to victory and had prolific performances along the way. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe topped the list after having led the Crimson Tide to a 63-0 victory over Western Kentucky. Milroe contributed 200 yards through the air and threw for 3 touchdowns.

The Alabama pass thrower only tossed the ball nine times in the game and only misfired twice. Milroe and the Tide will remain home to take on South Florida this weekend.

After Milroe, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and Northern Illinois pass thrower Ethan Hampton fill the number two and three spots, respectively. Allar led the Nittany Lions to a road victory over West Virginia and tossed for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns.

As of now, new Nittany Lions offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has the offense looking better compared to last season. Hampton threw for 328 yards and 5 touchdowns against Western Illinois. Can Hampton duplicate that performance when the Huskies visit a Notre Dame team that has a stout defense on Saturday?

In the fourth spot sits Ole Miss dual-threat quarterback Jaxson Dart. Dart threw for a wild 418 passing yards and 5 touchdowns within just the first half against Furman. The former USC quarterback and the Rebels aim to build off of its first 11-win season in 2023 and strive for its first national title since 1962.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Auburn's Payton Thorne fill out the fifth and sixth spots on the rankings. Ward led the Hurricanes to a monumental 41-17 victory over in-state rival Florida Gators over the weekend. Ward garnered 385 yards through the air and tossed for 3 touchdowns. Ward also averaged 11 yards per pass attempt in the blowout.

Thorne on the other hand threw for 322 yards and added 4 touchdowns in a win against Alabama A&M. The former Michigan State quarterback was solid, but it remains to be seen if this level of play is sustainable when the Tigers play better competition.

The seventh and eighth spots are occupied by Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby and Utah gun-slinger Cam Rising. Sorsby, who played for Indiana for two seasons, made a strong debut by having tossed for 383 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win against Towson. The Bearcats will welcome a Pittsburgh squad that soundly defeated Kent State and held it to only 38 rush yards and 212 yards of total offense.

Rising, who missed all of last season due to a torn ACL, didn't miss a beat in the season opener. The 25-year-old tossed for 5 touchdowns along with 254 passing yards against Southern Utah. Rising and the Utes are favored to win the Big-12 in large part because of its strong defense and veteran quarterback play. The Utes will welcome the 2021 Big-12 Champion Baylor Bears at home in week 2.

The final two spots are reserved for Georgia's Carson Beck and Arkansas's Taylen Green. Beck is in his second campaign as a starter for the Bulldogs after having narrowly missed the College Football Playoff last season.

Beck completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and tossed for 278 yards along with 2 touchdowns in a 34-3 win over Clemson. Beck, who led the SEC in total passing yards in 2023, continues to be one of the premier pass throwers in the country. Can Beck lead the Bulldogs to its third title in a four-year span?

Green, who transferred from Boise State, accumulated 229 passing yards and 2 touchdowns while he completed 69.6 percent of his passes in a win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff. The 21-year-old will need to have an identical performance like this, as Arkansas travels to Stillwater to take on #16 Oklahoma State in week 2.

The ten quarterbacks on this list had promising performances in week 1 of the season. The only question is, can they each sustain this level of play as the season continues?

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