We’re nearly halfway through the 2026 college football season.
Increased quarterback efficiency continues to be a big part of this season’s story as 25 qualified passers are currently averaging at least 9 yards per attempt. The 2025 campaign finished with 9 quarterbacks reaching that threshold.
Below you’ll find my updated college football quarterback rankings for Week 6.
Note: I’ll be leaning heavily on available advanced statistics, which recently got better thanks to CollegeFootballData.com’s addition of new passing metrics. A few helpful definitions to know:
- CPOE (Completion Percentage Over Expected) — actual completion % minus expected completion %, where “expected” is what an average FBS QB would complete given each throw’s depth, direction, down, distance, and field position.
- Dead-end play rate — share of all QB plays (pass attempts + sacks + rushes) that gain 4 yards or fewer without converting a first down or scoring. Measures how wasteful a QB is on a down-to-down basis.
- (Rush) success rate — share of QB rush attempts that gain 50% of the yards-to-go on 1st down, 70% on 2nd, or 100% on 3rd/4th (TDs always count). Sacks and kneel-downs are excluded.
- ADOT (Average Depth of Target) — average air yards per attempt: how far downfield past the line of scrimmage the average throw is aimed, counting incompletions and INTs at their intended target depth. Measures aggressiveness and intent, but not whether the pass was completed.
- Deep-throw rate — share of attempts targeted 15+ yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
College QB rankings
Let’s dive in:
1. Darian Mensah, Miami (Last week: 1)
Darian Mensah is still putting up outrageous numbers. Nearly halfway through the season, he has a passer efficiency rating north of 212. Not only does that lead the nation, but it would set the single-season all-time record if he maintains that level over the rest of the campaign. The advanced stats are eye-opening — 18% CPOE and a sub-30% dead-end play rate. Mensah and the Canes stay on schedule better than any other offense in the country. He also has an excellent deep ball (26% deep CPOE) despite an ADOT of 6.6 yards.
2. Keelon Russell, Alabama (Last week: 6)
Keelon Russell is the biggest breakout star of the 2026 season. Almost every other top quarterback on this list entered the year with significant starting experience, but Russell has outplayed just about all of them. Against P4 opponents, he has a 16% CPOE (which leads all qualifiers) and an ADOT of nearly 11 yards. The only blemish on his profile is a sack rate of 7.7%, but I would expect that to improve over time as he gets more reps.
3. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (Last week: 3)
Perhaps Julian Sayin’s numbers are inflated by Jeremiah Smith, but he’s still having a very impressive season. He’s not as mobile as Russell, but otherwise his statistical profile is pretty similar — elite CPOE, good ADOT, great deep-throw rate and a below-average sack rate. I would like to see Sayin have a good Plan B in case a great defense can limit Smith in the postseason, but it’s hard to argue with the results so far. And for what it’s worth, Ohio State’s other top receivers are putting up efficient numbers on a per-target basis, but the volume is relatively low because Smith has earned a whopping 61 targets so far in 2026. We’ll see how Sayin responds when Smith eventually runs into a talented defense with a great game plan.
4. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (Last week: 2)
Trinidad Chambliss is the one quarterback on this list who keeps making the top 7 because he passes the eye test to such a substantial degree. I’m also giving him credit for September wins over Louisville (though that victory has aged poorly) and LSU. Statistically, Chambliss’s profile is headlined by an 8% CPOE but nothing else has been close to elite. His ADOT and deep-throw rates are average. His rushing success rate is solid at 58%. Still, there’s probably not another college QB I’d rather have for a 2-minute drill in the 4th quarter.
5. CJ Carr, Notre Dame (Last week: 4)
Notre Dame struggled a bit with North Carolina this past week, but the offense was still humming. CJ Carr threw for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns while adding a 5th score on the ground. Carr has a 9% CPOE and has been a solid passer downfield despite not having a strong WR unit. One thing I really like about Carr’s profile — he avoids sacks better than any other elite quarterback (1.8% sack rate). He also doesn’t turn the ball over. Carr is just a steady force for the Fighting Irish. The only question left to answer at this level is whether he can complete passes downfield against great college defenses. Notre Dame’s schedule will produce 2 opportunities to learn that answer in the next month — against BYU on Oct. 17 and against Miami on Nov. 7.
6. Austin Simmons, Mizzou (Last week: Not Ranked)
Austin Simmons makes his first appearance of the year on this list after Mizzou thrashed Florida in Week 5. Simmons has massive arm talent and has clearly rebounded from his ill-fated stint as Ole Miss’s starter in 2025. Simmons has a 10% CPOE with an ADOT north of 11 yards. Like Carr, Simmons takes very few sacks and virtually never turns the ball over. When you have the type of arm strength Simmons has, that’s pretty much all you need to be an elite QB.
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7. Gunner Stockton, Georgia (Last week: 7)
Gunner Stockton had one of his best games of the season last week, throwing for 295 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Vanderbilt. Stockton continues to be the most under-appreciated elite quarterback nationally, though that could change this week if he leads Georgia to an upset win over Alabama. Entering this week, he has an 11% CPOE that ranks 7th among P4 qualifiers.
On the radar
In no particular order:
Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State: Taylor drops off the list this week after a rough outing against Alabama in Week 5. He was banged up, but the outing was by far the worst of the season. He posted negative CPOE and EPA-per-dropback numbers for the first time in 2026. Sack rate continues to be his glaring weakness — it’s up to 8% for the season.
Josh Hoover, Indiana: The only reason Hoover isn’t already in the top 7 is because Indiana’s strength-of-schedule is comical. He’s No. 2 nationally in EPA-per-dropback behind Mensah. IU has Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan the next 3 weeks, so we’re about to learn a lot more soon.
Devon Dampier, Utah: Dampier has been quietly really good this season for a Utah team that’s loudly asserting itself as the team to beat in the Big 12. He has an 8% CPOE with an ADOT near 10 yards. He’s also a threat on the ground with a 57% rushing success rate on 30 attempts. Like many others on this list, he also keeps sacks and turnovers to a minimum.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
