Hello one and all! Welcome back to yet another Draft "Expert" blog post! Obviously, as you can probably tell by the title, will be going over our quarterback prospect rankings for the 2025 NFL Draft based off of how they did during week 10!
I know I said this last time, but it's sad that we just finished week 10 of the college football season. Sure the first College Football Playoff rankings were released and sure games start to mean more but man, it just sucks that it's almost over.
That being said let's just enjoy the time we have left on this season! It's sucks that it's almost ending but hey, that could mean the best is still ahead, right? Ah who really knows?
Regardless, I do hope you enjoy our week 10 quarterback prospect rankings! Please don't hate them too much as there isn't much change from last week because five of the top 10 had bye weeks, which is pretty crazy if you ask me.
So, without any further delay, I Logan Blackman, the self proclaimed Draft "Expert" am proud to present to you our week 10 quarterback prospect rankings! Enjoy!
Podcast Links
Pictured: Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss; Cam Ward, Miami (FL); Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
1. Cam Ward, Miami (FL)
Wk 10 - 25/41 400 yds 5 touchdowns 1 interceptions/3 carries 1 yd 0 touchdowns v Duke (53-31 W)
Season - 216/322 3,146 yds 29 touchdowns 6 interceptions/45 carries 187 yds 3 touchdowns
Another week another big statistical performance from Miami quarterback Cam Ward. After throwing for just over 200-yards and registering no passing touchdowns in Miami's win against Florida State a week ago, Ward was back to putting up crazy numbers this past week against Duke. Against the conferences top passing defense, Ward threw for 400-yards (the third time he's done that up to this point in the season) while also registering a joint season high five passing touchdowns in the 53-31 home victory (he also threw a pretty bad interception, but more on that in a little bit). This is what we usually expect from Ward from a statistical stand point. The same really could be said for Miami, as despite winning the game by 22-points, there were moments throughout the game where things looked a little testy, finding themselves down 28-17 after Duke's first drive of the second half. As explosive as Miami is they have been a little suspect at times up to this point in the season. In there wins against Virginia Tech, Cal, and even USF, the Hurricanes have found themselves in not so fun positions, even being down 35-10 against Cal midway through the third quarter. If you were to nit pick Miami's season up until this point it would be that we haven't really seen them play a full game, as again there's been moments where the cracks have shown. Regardless of how you feel about Miami as a team one thing is for sure that Cam Ward is one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football, a fact that was displayed on Miami's very first drive of the game as he'd hit Xavier Restrepo from 34-yards out for their first score of the game.
One of the things I love most about Ward is how calm he is when the play starts to break down. That being said, though the escapability on this play was impressive, Ward was very lucky not to come away with an interception as the ball could've been picked off Duke defender before landing in the grateful arms of Xavier Restrepo. But as the old saying goes, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, both of which were on display on this touchdown throw by Ward. Prior to the touchdown Ward would hit Isaiah Horton for 22-yards on third and 10 across the middle, scanning the field and going through his progression nicely before firing the ball for the first down. Miami wouldn't have the same success on their second drive of the game as they'd be forced to punt the ball away after just six plays. That being said Miami would be set up with solid field position after a Maalik Murphy interception on Duke's first play of their following drive. After a couple 10+ yard carries by Mark Fletcher Jr. Ward would hit Isaiah Horton on a well executed RPO for 21-yards to get the Hurricanes down to the Duke three yard line.
Just a simple read for Ward as the Duke linebacker crashed down and opened up a hole in the secondary for Ward to hit Horton in the gap for a nice gain. Nice job by Ward as well for putting the ball more on Horton's body rather than lead him up field, as the ball placement allowed Horton to get his head up before the safety came in to make a play. Two plays later Ward would connect with Cam McCormick for a four yard touchdown to double Miami's advantage to 14 with just over five minutes to go in the first quarter. Miami would go three and out on their next two drives, with Ward going 1-5 on the said drives. Duke would then tie the game up at 14 before Miami would put together a nice 12-play drive to retake the lead at 17-14 with just under five minutes to go in the second quarter. Though they came away with three I'm sure the offense felt they should've come away with a touchdown, especially when they had the ball at the Duke six before going backwards on back-to-back plays thanks to a fumble and a Cam Ward sack. Still, points are points, right? Miami would be forced to punt after going three and out again on their following drive, and at the point of their first drive of the second half they'd find themselves down 28-17 with Duke scoring on four of their last five drives. That being said the Hurricanes would find the end zone on their first drive of the second half with Ward hitting Xavier Restrepo for 20-yards on a well executed RPO play and Jacolby George on the slant for eight on third and five before throwing a very well placed back shoulder ball to George (again) for a 17-yard gain.
If you know me you know how I much I love seeing a well executed back shoulder throw. It's just poetry in motion as both the quarterback and the wide receiver have to be on the same page in order for the play to come off. On this one everything was in sync, as Ward put this ball in a place where only his receiver could get it, and George made an excellent play on the ball in order to come down with it. Again, just poetry in motion. A play later Ward would hook up with Xavier Restrepo from three yards out to get Miami back to within three (following the two point conversion). Miami would find the end zone again following another Murphy interception, though this time it'd be Elija Lofton punching it in from from two yards out for the score. Before then though we'd see some more Cam Ward magic, as he'd hit Isaiah Horton on a play that looked dead for a seven yard gain on second and three.
Not only does Ward do a great job at extending the play, but Horton does a very nice job as well at getting open once he saw his quarterback was being brought down in the backfield (great catch by Horton as well). Just another example of Ward not panicking when the pocket collapsed around him before getting a catchable ball out for the first down. Like I mentioned before, a few plays later Lofton would punch it in to give Miami the lead later on in the third quarter. Ward and co. would make quick work of these their next time out as they'd only need two plays to find the end zone again, with Ward hitting Jacolby George in stride for a 49-yard touchdown.
Very simple pitch and catch between Ward and George on this play, just lofting it over the defenders to hit George in stride for the easy 49-yard score. Though that was nice, easy, and smooth, Ward would make a mess of things on Miami's next drive. Following a Duke punt and a 20-yard hook-up with Sam Brown Jr., Ward would roll out the right on third and five and try to force a pass back to the middle of the field. Much like the Cal game a few weeks ago, Ward's pass would be intercepted.
Like I said, mess. Look, I understand he's trying to make a play on third and five as a sack would all but end the drive, but still you cannot do this. Rolling out to his right and throwing back towards the middle is one thing, but what makes it worse is that he let this ball go when he was at the Miami 43-yard line, the original line of scrimmage was at the Duke 41. Not to mention there were two Duke defenders on him when he let the ball go. Just overall, the more you analyze this play the worse it kind of gets, the optics just aren't great. Though the interception was bad, Ward would only need two plays to make up for it on Miami's next offensive possession, connecting with Xavier Restrepo for a 66-yard touchdown.
First off, congratulations to Restrepo as this 66-yard touchdown reception would make him Miami's all time leading receiver, passing Santana Moss in the process. Besides that, this was just a very nice play for Miami as Ward hit Restrepo quickly after pulling it from the running back, placing it right on his body to allow him time to get his head up and make a play after the catch. Again, though the interception from Ward was brutal, he made up for it in quick fashion with this 66-yard score. Following another Maalik Murphy interception, Miami would be gifted the ball at the Duke 30-yard line. Mark Fletcher Jr. would punch it in from a yard out three plays later, set up by a 26-yard connection between Ward and Sam Brown Jr. to get them down to the one yard line. Duke would turn it over again their next time out and it looked like the Hurricanes would continue to stack touchdowns, especially after Ward hit Riley Williams down the near sideline for a 29-yard gain on third and nine.
With pressure in his face, Ward does an excellent job once again at just staying calm and throwing a nice catchable ball to his tight end down the field. A perfectly thrown ball by Ward that helped set Miami up at the Duke five yard line. Unfortunately Ward would get sacked from behind on the very next play, fumbling the ball away in the process and giving Duke the ball back after their own fumble. That being said Duke wouldn't do much with the ball after recovering the Ward fumble, punting the ball away after six plays. All Miami would need to do next is kneel it out and come away with a 53-31 home victory. Though it was a little more stressful at times than most out there expected, Ward and co. were still able to capitalize on a few Duke turnovers, pulling away after being down 11 to kick off the second half. This week Miami travels to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who are fresh off of a bye but have lost their past two games by double digits. That being said, Georgia Tech does rank in the top five in scoring, passing, and rushing defense, ranking third in total defense behind Miami and Cal. Though the Hurricanes are -11-point favorites, given the Yellow Jackets decently stout defense, I wouldn't be too surprised if the Hurricanes struggled to a certain extent in this one, though I do think they'll ultimately be able to pull it out in the end.
Preseason - 8
Wk 1 - 5
Wk 2 - 5
Wk 3 - 4
Wk 4 - 4
Wk 5 - 2
Wk 6 - 1
Wk 7 - 1
Wk 8 - 1
Wk 9 - 1
Wk 10 - 1
Wk 11 - @ Georgia Tech
2. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Wk 10 - BYE
Season - 220/300 2,591 yds 21 touchdowns 6 interceptions/61 carries -18 yds 3 touchdowns
Preseason - 2
Wk 1 - 1
Wk 2 - 2
Wk 3 - 1
Wk 4 - 1
Wk 5 - 1
Wk 6 - 1
Wk 7 - 2
Wk 8 - 2
Wk 9 - 2
Wk 10 - 2
Wk 11 - @ Texas Tech
3. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Wk 10 - BYE
Season - 137/203 1,937 yds 13 touchdowns 6 interceptions/102 carries 380 yds 12 touchdowns
Preseason - 6
Wk 1 - 6
Wk 2 - 6
Wk 3 - 6
Wk 4 - 6
Wk 5 - 3
Wk 6 - 3
Wk 7 - 4
Wk 8 - 3
Wk 9 - 3
Wk 10 - 3
Wk 11 - @ no.15 LSU
4. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
Wk 10 - BYE
Season - 208/333 2,627 yds 20 touchdowns 9 interceptions/13 carries 13 yds 3 touchdowns
Preseason - 10
Wk 1 - 9
Wk 2 - 8
Wk 3 - 8
Wk 4 - 8
Wk 5 - 7
Wk 6 - 7
Wk 7 - 6
Wk 8 - 4
Wk 9 - 4
Wk 10 - 4
Wk 11 - v no.11 Alabama
5. Quinn Ewers, Texas (+1)
Wk 10 - BYE
Season - 130/188 1,389 yds 14 touchdowns 6 interceptions/21 carries -50 yds 1 touchdown
Preseason - 5
Wk 1 - 4
Wk 2 - 3
Wk 3 - 3
Wk 4 - 3
Wk 5 - 5
Wk 6 - 5
Wk 7 - 5
Wk 8 - 6
Wk 9 - 6
Wk 10 - 5
Wk 11 - v Florida
6. Carson Beck, Georgia (-1)
Wk 10 - 25/40 309 yds 2 touchdowns 3 interceptions/3 carries -6 yds 0 touchdowns v Florida (34-20 W)
Season - 190/290 2,302 yds 17 touchdowns 11 interceptions/30 carries 59 yds 0 touchdowns
This hasn't necessarily been the best few weeks for Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. Despite this being his second 300+ yard passing performance in the last three weeks, this is also the second straight game where Beck registered three interceptions, giving him a whopping 11 on the season. Like within the last month alone, Beck has registered five touchdowns (two in this game) and eight interceptions. I don't care what anyone says, that is far from ideal for seemingly one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 Draft. All that being said, I'm sure he's perfectly fine with everything as winning takes priority over statistics but c'mon, this has been a really rough stretch for Beck who finished this game against Florida with 309-yards passing with two touchdowns and again, three interceptions as Georgia came out 34-20 victors in Beck's home city of Jacksonville. Though they ended up winning by 14-points the game didn't necessarily start off the best for the Bulldogs, as they found themselves down 13-6 going into halftime, with Beck throwing two of his three interceptions before the break on back-to-back drives. I'll get to those here in a little bit, but for now I'll talk about Georgia's first scoring drive, with Beck orchestrating a nice 83-yard 13-play drive to open up the scoring with a field goal. On the drive Beck would hit Arian Smith in the middle of the field for 25-yards and swing it out to Dominic Lovett in the flat who would pick up 10 on third and nine before hitting Dillon Bell on a slant between two Florida defenders on second and nine to pick up 18-yards and get the Bulldogs into the red zone for the first time in the game.
Nice quick throw in a tight window for Beck, putting it right on Bell's body before the inside defender could get there which led to him picking up 18-yards and a first down. With Florida lining up in zone, Beck knows he has to get this ball out quick as Bell's route will carry him right into the path of the nickel. That's what the motion is for, to show what kind of defense Florida was running. With no one following the back, Beck knows to get this ball out quick otherwise it could be intercepted. Good overall play from Beck which again helped set up Georgia's first points of the game. Georgia's next couple drives would not be as fruitful as this is where two of Beck's three interceptions come into play, with the first one coming right after he hit London Humphreys for an 18-yard gain to get to the Florida side of the 50.
I've said this a few times with other quarterbacks, but Beck just got baited into making this throw, as the Florida defender acted like he was going to cover the flat before dropping back into cover and making the rather easy interception. Just an example of getting caught by surprise, and I'm sure the pressure from the Florida front didn't help anything either. Overall just not a good decision from Beck, something that could be said on Georgia's next drive as well as he'd throw his second interception of the game.
If you wanted to be nice, maybe you could cut Beck some slack on his first interception, maybe. This one though is just a brutal decision from him as it is a really tight window with two different Florida defenders in the area to potentially come away with the ball. Like, the chances of this ball being picked off were as close to 100% as you could get as again, if Aaron Gates doesn't get it, Grayson Howard would. To make matters worse, much like the last interception, Florida's offense would come away with points. This time only three though to give the Gators a 10-3 lead midway through the second quarter. Things wouldn't get that much better for the Georgia offense as they'd be forced to punt the ball away on their next two drives, going three and out on the drive following Beck's second interception. Though they'd ultimately come away with a field goal on their next possession, Beck would nearly throw his third interception of the game, on a pass that maybe should've been picked off across the middle.
This pass went from being picked off, to a fantastic catch by Arian Smith, before ultimately falling to the ground for an incomplete pass. Again, just not a good decision at all from Beck who could've easily just checked it down to Lawson Luckie who was standing about four or five yards away from the first down marker. Even if he wouldn't have not gotten the first down, it still would've been a better decision than trying to force the ball to Smith across the middle. Thankfully for Beck and co., the Bulldogs were still able to come away with points thanks to a 53-yard field goal attempt by Peyton Woodring to bring them back to within four. That being said Georgia would ultimately go into the locker room down 13-6. On their first drive of the second half, following a Florida punt, Beck would register his third interception of the game.
Throwing an interception is bad enough, but laying on the ground after getting hit watching the ball wobble through the air knowing it's going to get picked off makes it so much worse. Like, the Florida defender could've fielded this like a punt if he really wanted to as the ball essentially just shot straight up in the air after Howard laid the hit on Beck. Just an unfortunate play but like they say about touchdowns always counting the same, the same can be said for interceptions, with Beck registering his third of the game less than two minutes into the second half. Georgia would register their first touchdown of the game their next time out, with Beck connecting with Dominic Lovett for 17-yards on a well thrown ball across the middle before hitting Dillon Bell on a slant that could've also been intercepted, but ultimately would get the Bulldogs down to the Gator two yard line.
Again, maybe should've been picked off. Not only was the initial pass behind Bell but the ball shot up into the air after the defender got his hand to it allowing it to be caught by nearly everyone in the vicinity. Thankfully for Beck and the rest of the Georgia offense Bell was able t corral the pass and get them down to the Florida two. One play later Nate Frazier would take it into the end zone for six, giving the Bulldogs their first touchdown of the game, tying it up at 13-midway through the third quarter. Following a flubbed field goal attempt by Florida, Beck would pick up his first passing touchdown of the game, hitting Cash Jones out of the backfield for a 22-yard score to give Georgia their first lead since their second drive of the game. After a couple three and outs Beck would pick up his second passing touchdown of the game, which was ultimately set up by a 34-yard hook-up with Arian Smith on third and seven and a 21-yard connection with Lawson Luckie to get Georgia all the way down to the Florida 17.
On the 34-yard play to Smith, Beck did a very nice job at making an adjustment pre-snap before calmly delivering a pass to Smith, who made a defender miss while picking up more yards after the catch. This is what you want to see from your quarterback on third and seven. It may not have been the prettiest pass or be one of the top highlights of the game, but it's still a good play and it helped Georgia pick up a critical first down. A few plays later Beck would Dominic Lovett on a screen to the far side of the field who would take it in from 10-yards out to give the Bulldogs the lead later on in the fourth quarter. Georgia would score one more time following a Florida interception, only needing two plays to punch it in to ultimately give them a 34-20 victory in Jacksonville. It may not have been the prettiest win, but a win is a win, right? As for Beck, I'm sure he's going to say all the right things in the media about how winning is the only statistic that matters to him but still, this was far from his best performance and he continues to show flaws in his game the deeper we go into the season. Six interceptions to only two touchdowns in his last two games is far from ideal and I'm hoping he improves this weekend on the road against an Ole Miss team that ranks towards the bottom of the conference when it comes to defending the pass. A lot of people are starting to change their tone on Beck, let's see if he can silence them this weekend.
Preseason - 1
Wk 1 - 2
Wk 2 - 1
Wk 3 - 2
Wk 4 - 2
Wk 5 - 4
Wk 6 - 4
Wk 7 - 3
Wk 8 - 5
Wk 9 - 5
Wk 10 - 6
Wk 11 - @ no.16 Ole Miss
7. Drew Allar, Penn State
Wk 10 - 12/20 146 yds 0 touchdowns 1 interception/10 carries 31 yds 0 touchdowns v no.4 Ohio State (20-13 L)
Season - 129/184 1,786 yds 12 touchdowns 5 interceptions/44 carries 160 yds 3 touchdowns
In a game ruined by the FOX Big Noon Kickoff, then third ranked Penn State played host to the then fourth ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in one of the more highly anticipated games of the year. In a game that should've been played under the lights with the Beaver Stadium crowd taking part in a white out, we instead had to turn our televisions on a little earlier than expected thanks to the aforementioned Big Noon Kickoff. I don't know about you, but I'm really starting to hate that as there is absolutely no reason this game should be played at noon (or 11 for us on CT). Like I mentioned before, this game is always one of the more highly anticipated games of the year as both Penn State and Ohio State are usually two of the higher ranked teams in college football. Like, undefeated Penn State going on the road against a 5-3 Wisconsin team is a night game but a top four match-up isn't? Again, this game was ruined by the Big Noon Kickoff. I guess regardless of what time the game kicked off, a lot of people going into this game were concerned about whether or not quarterback Drew Allar was going to suit up as he was coming off a knee injury that kept him out the entire second half against Wisconsin, a game that saw him go 14/18 with 148-yards and a touchdown. Despite him only playing a half, he still put forth an excellent showing against on of the best pass defense in the conference. This week though things wouldn't come as easy, as Allar would complete just 12 of 20 passes for 146-yards with no touchdowns and one interception. So essentially Allar did less in a full game against Ohio State than he did in a half against Wisconsin, not necessarily the most ideal situation to be in if you asked me. That being said early on it didn't seem like that's how the game would go as Penn State looked to have the upper hand on Ohio State, especially on their opening drive going 61-yards in 14-plays to set up a 29-yard field goal attempt. On their opening drive Allar would pick up two first downs on the ground, seemingly letting everyone know that his knee was good to go. He would also hit Nick Singleton on a short pass on the far sideline on second and seven, picking up 19-yards and getting them down to the Ohio State 12-yard line.
The initial throw from Allar may have not travelled more than a yard down the field, but I really like how he was able to step up in the pocket and avoid the pressure before dumping it off to his running back who would pick up a nice gain after the catch. Not only that but with Allar running the ball effectively earlier in the drive it sucked the linebacker down to him, freeing up Singleton even more to the far side of the field. Again, nothing too flashy, but it was a good play from Allar and Singleton to help the Nittany Lions get further into Buckeye territory. Like I said before though, the drive would ultimately stall out and Penn State would have to settle for three. That being said it wouldn't take long for them to register their first touchdown as Penn State's Zion Tracy picked off Will Howard at the 31 and returned it the opposite direction for a pick six, giving them a 10-0 lead early on in the ballgame. Unfortunately Ohio State would respond on their next possession, with Penn State then punting it away on their next three drives (going three and out on two of them) before Allar would help drive them all the way down to the Ohio State three yard line, with his pass to Harrison Wallace III going to 21-yards to get them into scoring position.
Very effortless throw by Allar but what a grab by Wallace, bringing it in with one hand around the defender to pick up the 21-yard gain. Just a solid play all around for Penn State. That being said despite the great field position they wouldn't be able to punch it into the end zone, as Allar would be picked off on the very next play, ending what could've been a big momentum shift just before halftime.
A play that could've been a touchdown that was initially ruled as an incompletion ultimately wound up being an interception. Just a rough sequence of events for Allar and the Penn State offense as again, a touchdown here with 11-seconds left could've really swung momentum back in their favor. But alas, they'd have to go into the locker room down 14-10, with the Buckeyes making a 46-yard field goal to extend their lead to 17-10 after their first drive of the second half. Penn State would respond in kind on their opening drive as well, with Allar connecting with Harrison Wallace III for 24-yards across the middle to get the Nittany Lions to the Buckeye side of the 50.
Like I brought up before, really good job by Allar at stepping up in the pocket once it started to collapse, alluding the blitz and delivering a very nice ball on the move to Wallace for the big gain and first down. These are the types of throws you want to see from your quarterback. Not fazed by the blitz and throwing accurate balls down the field in the face of pressure. Though that throw was nice the drive would ultimately stall out, with Penn State settling for a 44-yard field goal by Ryan Barker to make it 17-13 with just over five minutes to go in the third. Allar would connect with Singleton out of the backfield for a 13-yard gain on the opening play of Penn State's next drive, but following back-to-back sacks on second and third down the Nittany Lions would be forced to punt the ball away once again. With Ohio State converting on a 39-yard field goal, Penn State knew they needed to come away with a touchdown on their next drive and it looked like that might happen, especially after Allar hit tight end Tyler Warren down the near sideline for a 31-yard gain.
Very nice throw from Allar but what a catch and what effort shown by Warren to bring that ball in for the nice gain. Much like I always talk about with Cam Ward and Xavier Restrepo, Tyler Warren is very much Drew Allar's safety net, and it's easy to see why as Warren made no ifs, ands, or buts about this one as he ripped it away from the defender for the big time catch down the sideline. Like, Warren would pick up 33-more yards on the ground a few plays later to get Penn State all the way down to the Ohio State three yard line. Much like the last time they found themselves inside the Ohio State five yard line, Penn State would fail to punch it into the end zone, getting stuffed three times trying to run it up the middle before Allar's pass on fourth down fell incomplete. Ohio State would put together an excellent five minute drive to ultimately see the game out, coming away 20-13 road victors against the third ranked Nittany Lions. This one stings for Penn State, especially since they failed to score either time they were inside the Ohio State five yard line. That's inexcusable in general, even more so in a game like this. As for quarterback Drew Allar I don't think he played bad, but I also don't think he played great either. The interception was unfortunate and he made some solid throws but ultimately it wasn't enough to see out a victory for Penn State. This week the Nittany Lions host the Washington Huskies who are fresh off of a 26-21 victory against the USC Trojans, their first win since the first weekend of October. Despite their struggles as of late, the Huskies do boast the top ranked pass defense in the Big Ten, so I'm really intrigued to see how Allar does against them this Saturday.
Preseason - 4
Wk 1 - 3
Wk 2 - 4
Wk 3 - 5
Wk 4 - 5
Wk 5 - 6
Wk 6 - 6
Wk 7 - 7
Wk 8 - 7
Wk 9 - 7
Wk 10 - 7
Wk 11 - v Washington
8. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Wk 10 - 25/31 515 yds 6 touchdowns 0 interceptions/10 carries 47 yds 0 touchdowns v Arkansas (63-31 W)
Season - 198/276 3,210 yds 21 touchdowns 3 interceptions/77 carries 254 yds 3 touchdowns
It took a little longer than expected, but Jaxson Dart put forth a fantastic performance against the Arkansas Razorbacks last Saturday, throwing for 515-yards with a whopping six touchdowns and no interceptions. Not to mention he also totaled 47-yards on the ground as well in their 63-31 road victory. This was the type of performance many of us have been expecting from Dart these past couple weeks. Throughout the past four weeks, Dart totaled just three passing touchdowns, failing to register one in Ole Miss' 27-3 win against South Carolina back at the beginning of October. Along with the lack of touchdowns, Dart only threw for more than 300-yards one time (last week against Oklahoma) while completing less than 60% of his passes twice (57.1% against LSU and 51.9% against South Carolina). For how talented he is, and high powered Ole Miss' offense in general is, it has been pretty surprising to see his numbers start to decrease. With that being said, on Halloween night Dart was spotted out on the town, leading people to believe he'd either shit the bed against Arkansas or have a 'Johnny Manziel' type performance. Given the numbers I went over earlier, it's clear Dart had a 'Manziel' type performance. I'm not going to lie, I did not see this type of game coming. Sure I thought Ole Miss would come out on top, but Arkansas had proved to be a tough out up to this point in the season, beating the then fourth ranked Tennessee Volunteers back in early October. They're by no means a bad football team, though Ole Miss definitely tried to prove the opposite was true in this one. That being said things wouldn't start off so smoothly for Dart and the offense. As though they were able to put together a 14-play drive to get them down to the Arkansas one (with Dart making some solid throws and picking up a first with his legs on third and three) they'd fail to punch it in on the final hurdle, ultimately turning it over on downs. Though the offense would fail to score, the defense would come up with a strip sack in the end zone, recovering it to give the Rebels their first lead of the ballgame. Ole Miss would put together another nice long drive their next time out, this time finding the end zone after driving 75-yards in 11-plays, with Dart hitting a wide open Dae'Quan Wright from four yards out for his first passing touchdown of the game. The offense wouldn't need much time to find the end zone their next time out, as Dart would hit Jordan Watkins down the far sideline for a 62-yard touchdown on their first play of the drive, putting them up 21-3 early on in the second quarter.
I've said this before, but throwing from the near hash to the far sideline is far from easy, don't let these quarterbacks fool you. But still, this is a fantastic throw from Dart. Saw his receiver was on an island to the far side and placed the ball perfectly for Watkins to come down with it despite there being a defender matching him stride for stride. Again, just a very well placed ball from Dart which helped Ole Miss further extend their advantage early in the second quarter. Ole Miss wouldn't keep onto the ball for much longer their next time out as Dart and Watkins hooked up again, this time for 66-yards on just the second play of the drive.
With an Arkansas defender right in his face Dart does an excellent job at driving this ball down the field to Watkins for the massive 66-yard score. Again, just a very well placed ball that led Watkins up the field, who was past his initial defender. I like that Dart held on to the ball just long enough for his receiver to create separation, despite there being a massive defensive lineman coming after him. They all count the same, but this was still a very nice touchdown between Dart and Watkins, who would connect a few more times throughout the course of this game. Though Ole Miss would be forced to punt the ball away after six plays on their next drive (a drive that saw Dart connect with Dae'Quan Wright on a well thrown slant route for 17-yards on third and three) they would find the end zone on their final drive of the first half with the usual suspects hooking up from three yards out on a well thrown fade ball to give the Rebels a 35-10 halftime advantage. Dart and Watkins would connect earlier in the drive too, picking up 27-yards on second and 12 to get them down to the Arkansas 20-yard line. Dart and the offense would come out swinging on their opening drive of the second half which was kicked off with Dart hitting Cayden Lee for a 34-yard gain to get them to the Razorback side of the 50.
This may not be the most jaw dropping throw of all time, but it's again a very well placed ball as Dart would lob it over the outstretched arm of the Arkansas defender, placing it right in the waiting arms of Lee for the big gain. Dart would flash the athleticism on third and eight a few plays later, picking up an impressive 31-yards to get them all the way down to the Arkansas five yard line.
I love how Dart, after seeing nothing open downfield with the pocket collapsing around him, is able to pick up a calm cool 31-yards with his legs, his longest run up to this point in the season. I know it's small, but I also like that he was aware enough to switch hands with the ball, transitioning it from his right to his left once he got further down the field. I'm sure all of his middle school coaches loved seeing that, very smart from him there. A couple plays later Dart would hit a wide open Watkins in the end zone for another touchdown, making the score 42-10 with 12-minutes still to play in the quarter. Dart would connect with Cayden Lee for 58-yards on Ole Miss' next drive, with that play helping set up a one yard run by JJ Pegues to further add to the Rebels ever growing advantage. Would you believe me if I told you Ole Miss would find the end zone on their next drive? Well, they did, with Dart hitting a wide ass open Watkins for another 62-yard touchdown, making that their fifth touchdown between them on the day.
As easy as you'd like as all Dart really needed to do on this play was not miss Watkins, which of course he didn't. Just an effortless throw from Dart, off his back foot, to hit his open receiver for the score, which would ultimately be his final contribution from the game as Ole Miss would come out 63-31 road victors. Like I mentioned before, this was the type of game we've been waiting to see from Dart and the Ole Miss offense for some time. Sure they were winning games but we haven't really seen the 'video game numbers' that we're used to seeing from the Ole Miss offense since September. Unless you're an Arkansas fan this was a really fun game to watch and it put Dart somewhat back in the Heisman Trophy conversation. This week though I don't really expect to see the same type of output, as Dart and the Rebels take on the third ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Though they might not be the same Georgia defense from years past, they're still Georgia and they will cause problems, like we saw when they took on Texas a couple weeks ago. All that being said, maybe Dart and co. surprise the Bulldogs and come away with an impressive home victory. Remember, anything is possible in college football.
Preseason - 9
Wk 1 - 7
Wk 2 - 7
Wk 3 - 7
Wk 4 - 7
Wk 5 - 8
Wk 6 - 8
Wk 7 - 8
Wk 8 - 8
Wk 9 - 8
Wk 10 - 8
Wk 11 - v no.3 Georgia
9. Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
Wk 10 - 19/29 263 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/1 carry 0 yds 0 touchdowns @ Michigan State (47-10 W)
Season - 154/210 2,204 yds 19 touchdowns 3 interceptions/25 carries 45 yds 2 touchdowns
This may be weird to say, but to some people I talked to this weekend believed that Indiana's road match-up against Michigan State could serve as a potential trap game for the Hoosiers. Despite them being undefeated and getting their starting quarterback back after missing last week's game with a thumb injury, some believed that Michigan State could pull of an impressive upset against an Indiana team that could potentially be looking ahead to their match-ups against Michigan and Ohio State. Not to say Michigan is a much better team than Michigan State (despite them winning last week), I just think that most people would agree that Michigan should be seen as a little tougher task than Michigan State, right? Or am I crazy? Regardless Spartan Stadium can be one of the tougher places to play in the Big Ten, though Indiana has now won the last three outings in said 'tougher' stadium. Now, Michigan State does have some very young/talented players that could cause some problems for some of the better teams in college football, but I think the main cause for some people to think there could've been a possible upset is that they may not 100% believe how good the Indiana Hoosiers are. I'm here to tell you, they're a damn good football team, coming out with a resounding 47-10 victory despite being down 10 at the end of the first quarter, leading to Head Coach Curt Cignetti taking to Twitter and stating that, 'I guess we know how we'll respond when behind!!.' The whole college football world knows that now but again, things didn't start off the smoothest for the Hoosiers early, as they would be forced to punt on each of their first two drives, going three and out each time. Down 10-0, Indiana would come out for a third time and finally find the end zone, with quarterback Kurtis Rourke registering his first of four touchdowns with a 17-yard hook-up with Zach Horton who was wide open in the middle of the defense. Indiana would go three and out on their next possession following an Aidan Chiles interception, but would come out swinging again on their next drive with Rourke connecting with Ke'Shawn Williams for a 38-yard gain on their first play from scrimmage.
Good read, quick release, and a big gain, all you could really ask for on the opening play of a drive. With the linebacker crashing down, Rourke knows he has to get the ball out quick with Williams making a really nice hands catch away from his body, again picking up 38-yards in the process. A few plays later Ty Son Lawton would punch it in from a yard out, giving Indiana their first lead of the game midway through the second quarter. Indiana would come back on the field following yet another Chiles interception only this time they would make the Spartans pay, with Rourke finding Elijah Sarratt in the end zone from four yards out to further extend their advantage in the second quarter.
Nice job by Rourke at extending the play and waiting for someone to get open before tossing the ball into the end zone. It must be said, though the play Rourke made was impressive, I love that Sarratt came all the way across from the left side of the field before cutting back inside once he saw his quarterback was in need of someone to throw to. Just a very nice play by both quarterback and wide receiver and it helped further extend the Hoosiers lead as halftime approached. After going three and out on their final possession of the half, Indiana took the field in the second following a Michigan State safety. On said drive, Rourke would fit it in to Omar Cooper Jr. for a 21-yard gain on third and 14 before hitting Elijah Sarratt for a 35-yard gain up the far sideline.
Nice job at catching the Spartans off guard by Rourke and another well thrown ball to hit Sarratt for the 35-yard gain. If you wanted to nitpick maybe you could say Rourke should've led his receiver down the field more rather than throw it back shoulder but again, that's being nitpicky. I like the throw and placement which helped set up an easy 18-yard touchdown pass from Rourke to Myles Price to give them a 30-10 lead with just over 11 and a half minutes to go in the third quarter. Completely busted coverage allowed Price to get open after the fake, giving Rourke an easy throw for his third touchdown pass of the game. Indiana would have to settle for three following Michigan State turning it over on downs, with Rourke helping set it up by hitting Price in the middle of the field for an 18-yard gain on third and seven.
With pressure in his face, Rourke does an excellent job at staying calm and delivering a strike to Price down the middle of the field for a nice gain and a first down. Between two Michigan State defenders no less. This is the type of throw we've come to expect from Rourke, and he delivered when it mattered most on third and seven. Rourke would also hit Ke'Shawn Williams in the flat for a first down on second and three, but ultimately Indiana would have to settle for three as the drive would stall out at the Michigan State 11-yard line. After a bad snap on a punt Indiana was set up nicely at the Spartan 21, and it would only take two plays for them to find the end zone as Omar Cooper Jr. would take it in 16-yards for the score. Michigan State would actually be able to get off a punt after going three and out, though Indiana would still have the ball in plus territory at the Michigan State 37-yard line. After a few runs and a defensive pass interference call on third and 10, Rourke would hit Elijah Sarratt from 11-yards out to give them a 47-10 lead with just under 11-minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Just a simple fade route to the end zone that Rourke hits with ease to put the final nail in the coffin for what has a been an absolute ass kicking by the Indiana Hoosiers, coming away with a 47-10 road victory. What I love about Indiana under Curt Cignetti is that there's no off switch. If you don't want them to run up the score, stop them, or at least try. The offense led by Kurtis Rourke is firing on all cylinders, and I'm sure they were glad to have him back under center this weekend, especially after he threw for 263-yards and four touchdowns for the second time this season (threw four against UCLA too). All in all this was just a good old fashioned beat down, and I'm intrigued to see how they carry it into their match-up against Michigan back in Bloomington. The Wolverines may not be at the National Championship winning best, but it'd be stupid to completely over look them in this one. That being said I do believe that Indiana has enough to come through with another victory, setting up an insane match-up against Ohio State in the Horseshoe on November 23rd.
Preseason - N/R
Wk 1 - N/R
Wk 2 - N/R
Wk 3 - N/R
Wk 4 - N/R
Wk 5 - H/M
Wk 6 - H/M
Wk 7 - N/R (bye week)
Wk 8 - 9
Wk 9 - 9
Wk 10 - 9
Wk 11 - v Michigan
10. Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
Wk 10 - BYE
Season - 131/198 1,360 yds 8 touchdowns 3 interceptions/85 carries 539 yds 11 touchdowns
Preseason - 7
Wk 1 - 8
Wk 2 - H/M
Wk 3 - H/M
Wk 4 - 10
Wk 5 - 10
Wk 6 - 10
Wk 7 - 10
Wk 8 - H/M
Wk 9 - 10
Wk 10 - 10
Wk 11 - v Florida State
Others
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Wk 10 - 22/34 294 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/3 carries 23 yds 1 touchdown @ Michigan (38-17 W)
Season - 214/286 2,665 yds 19 touchdowns 5 interceptions/39 carries 120 yds 6 touchdowns
Will Howard, Ohio State
Wk 10 - 16/24 182 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/12 carries 24 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.3 Penn State (20-13 W)
Season - 150/205 1,977 yds 19 touchdowns 5 interceptions/53 carries 115 yds 5 touchdowns
Cade Klubnik, Clemson
Wk 10 - 33/56 228 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/12 carries 43 yds 0 touchdowns v Louisville (33-21 L)
Season - 179/275 2,064 yds 21 touchdowns 3 interceptions/53 carries 270 yds 4 touchdowns
Kyle McCord, Syracuse
Wk 10 - 24/35 280 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/7 carries -4 yds 0 touchdowns v Virginia Tech (38-31 W)
Season - 244/381 2,761 yds 21 touchdowns 12 interceptions/40 carries -48 yds 2 touchdowns
Miller Moss, USC
Wk 10 - 30/50 293 yds 2 touchdowns 3 interceptions/1 carry 5 yds 0 touchdowns @ Washington (26-21 L)
Season - 233/362 2,555 yds 18 touchdowns 9 interceptions/21 carries -18 yds 2 touchdowns
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