Max Olson ranks the Big XII QBs after the three non-con games.
Oklahoma
The caveat is most of that damage occurred against Arkansas State and Tulsa. He played his “worst” game against SMU, the Sooners’ toughest opponent thus far, completing 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) for just 176 yards but also four touchdowns. Gabriel and Oklahoma will face much stiffer tests, including the Red River Shootout on Oct. 7, but if he can stay healthy and maintain anywhere near this level of production, the Sooners will be in the hunt for a Big 12 title and possibly a Playoff spot.
Kansas
Jalon Daniels has looked stellar again, but as was the case last season, health remains the biggest concern. He missed the opener while recovering from injury and was briefly banged up in Saturday’s win against Nevada. But on the field, he’s sparkled, completing 75 percent of his 56 pass attempts for 10.3 yards per attempt and a QBR that ranks second in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally. The other good news for the 3-0 Jayhawks is that Jason Bean has proven to be a solid backup, though Kansas would prefer to keep Daniels in there.
Cincinnati
The biggest surprise among conference quarterbacks has been Emory Jones. The Florida and Arizona State transfer has looked far more impressive and dynamic than he did during the Sun Devils’ dumpster fire last season, helping Cincinnati to a 2-1 start. He’s second in the Big 12 in yards per attempt among qualified passers, third in completion percentage, fifth in QBR (37th nationally) and third in expected points added. Jones is tied with Gabriel for a league-best 61.5 percent on passes traveling 20-plus yards in the air, and he has also been an effective runner with three touchdowns on the ground and a 101-yard effort in the loss to Miami (Ohio).
To be fair, his passing numbers are buoyed by a ridiculous game against Eastern Kentucky in the opener, when Jones completed 83 percent of his throws for 345 yards and five touchdowns. His completion percentage has dropped as his interceptions have ticked up, but it’s still been better play than many expected out of him in his sixth season.
UCF
The Knights are in a similar situation to Kansas. John Rhys Plumlee was playing well but got bit by the injury bug again, as he’s recovering from a leg injury that will keep him out “a few weeks,” Gus Malzahn said. He’s completed 70.4 percent of his 54 throws for 10.2 yards per attempt, and his QBR is third among Big 12 QBs (26th nationally). He also has 163 rushing yards at 8.6 yards per carry. Backup Timmy McClain played well in his place against Villanova but has to face a much better — and angry — Kansas State squad this weekend.
Kansas State
The Wildcats fell victim to Missouri and the Thiccer Kicker on Saturday, but Will Howard continues to play pretty well. K-State’s skill positions help with that, despite Deuce Vaughn being off to the NFL, but Howard has improved his accuracy and decision-making from a season ago when he played in seven of the last eight games in relief of an injured Adrian Martinez. Among QBs with at least 60 pass attempts this season, Howard ranks third in the Big 12 in yards per attempt, fourth in completion percentage and sixth in QBR (39th nationally).
Texas
Quinn Ewers and Texas vaulted into the top five after beating Alabama.
No quarterback in the conference has a more impressive single-game performance than Quinn Ewers in Texas’s road win at Alabama. He completed 24-of-38 attempts (63.2 percent) for 349 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, leading the Longhorns to a signature win on a big stage and embodying the years of hype that’s been showered upon him. Then he appeared to take a slightly disappointing step backward against Wyoming on Saturday, completing 11-of-21 for 131 yards and two touchdowns while re-displaying some of the inconsistencies that hindered him last season.
He ranks third in the conference in QBR (30th in the country), fifth in yards per attempt and eight in completion percentage at 60.7, including just 3-for-14 on throws traveling 20-plus yards in the air. He’s also benefited from a good scheme and fantastic group of receivers, with a league-best 65.4 percent of his passing yards coming after the catch, according to TruMedia. Ewers does deserve credit for zero interceptions in his last 195 pass attempts, dating back to last season.
Talent has never been a question, and he showed against Alabama what it looks like when he harnesses it into production. If he and the Longhorns are going to live up to their full potential this season, Ewers needs to remain consistent. And if he does? Texas probably wins the Big 12 — and maybe more.
GO DEEPE
Quinn Ewers shows he's the QB Texas needs to deliver on big expectations
TCU
An injured Chandler Morris was swallowed by the shadow of Max Duggan last season, but Morris has re-emerged pretty well in 2023. He did have to knock off some rust in the Week 1 loss to Colorado when he threw a pair of interceptions, but he’s second in the Big 12 in completion percentage behind Gabriel, sixth in yards per attempt and seventh in QBR. All of that while slinging it 36.3 times per game, second-most in the Big 12 and 12th in the country. He’s been an effective runner as well, which is a big reason why he’s top-15 in the country in expected points added among QBs.
BYU
Another journeyman quarterback on his third program, Kedon Slovis has shined in some moments and struggled in others. He ranks seventh in the league in completion percentage, seventh in yards per attempt and ninth in QBR (56th nationally). His 61.1 percent completion rate is a tick better than last year at Pitt, but still nowhere near the 72 percent he achieved as a freshman at USC in 2019. He has cut down the interceptions though, throwing only one through the first three games, and his current interception rate of 1.1 percent would be the best of his career, according to TruMedia.
Big 12 QBs in 2023
Dillon Gabriel
Oklahoma
82.5
11.3
11/1
92.5
Quinn Ewers
Texas
60.7
8.3
8/0
76
Will Howard
Kansas State
66
8.4
8/3
71.1
Chandler Morris
TCU
67.9
7.9
6/3
70.9
Emory Jones
Cincinnati
66.3
8.9
7/3
72.9
Tyler Shough
Texas Tech
61.9
7.1
7/4
58.8
Kedon Slovis
BYU
61.1
7.3
6/1
60.8
Rocco Becht
Iowa State
61.7
6.8
4/3
53.6
Jalon Daniels
Kansas
75
10.3
2/1
79.2
John Rhys Plumlee
UCF
70.4
10.2
3/4
77.7
Donovan Smith
Houston
56.8
6.5
4/3
47.9
Sawyer Robertson
Baylor
45.2
7.2
1/3
34.5
Garrett Greene
West Virginia
55.3
8.6
4/0
58.6
Alan Bowman
Oklahoma State
57.7
4.5
0/1
20.4
West Virginia
Starter Garrett Greene went down early in Saturday’s win over Pitt with an ankle injury that could sideline him again this weekend. He had been fairly pedestrian the first two weeks, running well against Penn State but struggling with inaccuracy, including an off-target rate of 19.1 percent. All four of his touchdown passes came against Duquesne. Backup redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol didn’t light it up by any means against the Panthers, but he managed the game and took care of the ball, completing six of nine for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Texas Tech
It’s been a tumultuous start to the season for Tyler Shough. When he’s able to stand in the pocket and read the defense, he’s been really solid. But his problem has been trying to do too much, whether holding onto the ball too long or attempting to thread the needle on an unnecessarily difficult pass. Tech has allowed 10 sacks, second most in the conference, and Shough’s sack rate of 7.9 percent is second-worst in the conference, according to TruMedia. His four interceptions are tied for most in the Big 12 and match his total from last season across seven games. (Though the same goes for his seven touchdowns.)
He’s fifth in the Big 12 in completion percentage, ninth in yards per attempt and ninth in QBR (58th nationally). But even with an experienced backup in Behren Morton behind him, head coach Joey McGuire has adamantly stuck by him.
“Tyler Shough is our starter,” McGuire said after Shough struggled in a blowout win over Tarleton State. “That’s not an issue or a question.”
Iowa State
After the Cyclones lost Hunter Dekkers to the gambling scandal, redshirt freshman Rocco Becht has gotten off to a challenging start for the Cyclones, yet one that’s more encouraging on deeper review. Some of his advanced metrics are more promising than his raw stats, the latter of which are anchored by a rough performance in the Week 2 loss to Iowa. He looked much better in the road loss to Ohio on Saturday — despite reportedly playing through a bout of food poisoning — with one interception coming when a receiver fell down and another on a deflected ball. He’s not getting a ton of help from the rest of his offense, either, including a dreadful rushing attack. It will be interesting to see how he stacks up as the season continues, but right now, he’s far from the biggest issue for Iowa State.
Baylor
Starter Blake Shapen looked sharp in the Bears’ upset loss to Texas State, completing 21-of-31 for 303 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. But he left the game early with an MCL injury and has yet to return. He’s expected to miss Saturday’s matchup with Texas as well. Transfer and redshirt sophomore Sawyer Robertson has labored in relief, completing just 45.2 percent of his passes with one touchdown and three interceptions. He has a league-worst off-target rate of 22.6 percent, according to TruMedia.
Houston
The Coogs handed the keys to Texas Tech transfer Donovan Smith, and the junior is still figuring things out. Not for lack of opportunities: Smith’s 37 attempts per game rank 10th in college football. But he’s also 10th in the Big 12 in completion percentage, 11th in yards per attempt and 12th in QBR (86th nationally), and he has a league-worst sack rate of 9 percent, according to TruMedia. Smith is still green in terms of experience, so the jury’s out — for now.
Oklahoma State
Woof. If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks, as the old adage goes. Unfortunately, the Pokes have three. Alan Bowman, Gunnar Gundy and Garret Rangel have all split time, with Bowman leading the way at 52 pass attempts. The trio has combined to complete 59.1 percent of their passes for a league-worst 5.3 yards per attempt. Three total completions of 25-plus yards is also tied for the worst in the conference with Iowa Stat
What did you think of this story? It looks to me Will Howard is still ranked highly by those that know. So quit be crybabies that MU beat us by a freak SEC record breaking field goal, Howard is fine.
