Jalen Hurts vs. Jarrett Stidham: Revisiting the debate just in time for the Iron Bowl
It’s Iron Bowl week, and with that comes plenty of comparisons between the two teams from the great state of Alabama.
Those comparisons certainly include the quarterbacks.
In April, we compared Jalen Hurts and Jarrett Stidham to see which quarterback would have a better season in 2017.
Not to spoil anything, but we ultimately went with who we considered the “sure thing” at the time, which was of course Hurts.
At that point, it was nothing more than a guessing game, but we now have 11 games of the 2017 season to examine, so an more accurate judgement should be easier to come by.
So, who has emerged as the better quarterback this season?
The argument for Stidham
The one-year anniversary of Stidham’s commitment to Auburn is Dec. 10.
When he decided to take his talents to The Plains, there were a lot of people — myself included — who believed he could be the key to getting Auburn over the hump this season.
That still remains to be seen — the Tigers still sit in second place in the West (just like the were in 2016) — but Stidham’s impact on Auburn’s offense has been evident.
In 11 games, the former transfer from Baylor has thrown for 2,445 yards and 16 touchdowns while adding another 102 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground. He leads the SEC in completion percentage (67.8 percent) and is tied for second (behind Missouri’s Drew Lock) in yards per attempt (9.2).
The element of Stidham’s game that has made the biggest difference for Auburn’s offense is his ability to push the ball downfield consistently — something that last year’s starter Sean White couldn’t do.
Among SEC QBs, Stidham is second to Drew Lock in completions of 30-plus yards (22), 40-plus yards (17) and 50-plus yards (10). All three totals already have drastically exceeded Auburn’s production last year (17, 8 and 2, respectively).
Here’s Jarrett Stidham’s passing chart entering the Iron Bowl. Very steady numbers at all levels pic.twitter.com/u4c1DKqJUN
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) November 20, 2017
As you can see, Stidham’s presence has been a major boost to the passing game.
Last season, 61.6 percent of Auburn’s offensive yardage came on the ground (3,527 of 5,730), which was the by far the most lopsided in the SEC.
This season has seen more balanced. The rushing game is responsible for 51.3 percent of the production. The passing game increase has to do with the coaching staff’s trust in Stidham.
The argument for Hurts
Alabama has won 96 percent (24 of 25) of its games with Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback — including all 11 this season.
Quarterback wins won’t be much of a deciding factor in this debate, but it’s still an impressive stat — and definitely not one that should be ignored.
Stidham’s passing numbers are better across the board, except he’s thrown three more interceptions than Hurts (1).
Hurts has thrown for 1,828 yards and 14 touchdowns while racking up another 686 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Both rushing statistics are good for second in the SEC among quarterbacks — trailing only Nick Fitzgerald from Mississippi State (968 yards, 14 touchdowns).
With Hurts, it isn’t only about what he does; it’s about what he doesn’t do — which is commit turnovers.
Jalen Hurts has committed just one turnover this season (an INT vs Arkansas). Hurts is only P5 QB to make at least five starts and commit one or fewer turnovers this season.
— Brandon Zimmerman (@BZSEC) November 11, 2017
Considering that he’s accounted for 2,514 yards of offense and 22 touchdowns, only coughing the ball up once is remarkable.
Then there’s the timing. Hurts makes plays when it matters most.
He’s been particularly impressive on third down this season. He’s run for 11 first downs (compared to just 3 for Stidham) in that situation.
He’s better in tight games, too.
It’s a smaller sample size because the Tide often are ahead, but Hurts has completed 33 of 48 passes (69 percent) for 569 yards and 4 TDs when the Tide are tied or behind. That’s more than 28 percent of his TD production and 31 percent of his yards.
His rushing average also is better in those situations. Tied or trailing, he’s rushed 37 times for 215 yards (5.8 yards per carry), compared with 82 rushes for 471 yards (5.7) when the Tide are ahead.
That security and timing from such a pivotal part of the offense has given Alabama the ability to dominate defenses — the Tide’s 41.4 points per game leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the country.
The nod
Like it was predicted back in April, it’s extremely hard to pick which quarterback has been better in 2017.
Both have strong run games and dominant defenses to lean on in tough situations, so it’s not like anyone could make the argument that one has to deal with more pressure than the other.
The addition of Stidham has clearly been the difference in helping the Tigers’ offense go from No. 42 in the country last season to No. 17 this season, but how many of Auburn’s games have been put on his shoulders?
The Tigers have beaten every opponent they’ve played by at least two scores except for two — which both resulted in losses.
In those two losses (granted, both were on the road), Stidham only completed 44-percent of his passes for a total of 244 yards and one touchdown.
Hurts, on the other hand, has made plays with the game on the line.
Alabama hasn’t lost this season, but there have been two opponents (Texas A&M and Mississippi State) who held the Tide to a single-digit victory.
In those two games (both road games as well), Hurts completed 57.5-percent of his passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, and contributed another 96 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Hurts’ final drive against Mississippi State will also act as the closing argument regarding this debate.
With the game tied at 24, the Alabama quarterback went 3 for 4 for 72 yards — including a 26-yard game-winning touchdown — with only 1:09 remaining.
That proven clutch-factor is just enough to tip things in favor of Hurts.
