The Big Ten quarterback race is tightening, and Week 4 brings two matchups that could shuffle it again: Oregon’s Dante Moore at USC’s Jayden Maiava, and Illinois’ Katin Houser at Ohio State’s Julian Sayin.
For now, Indiana’s Josh Hoover sits at No. 1 after another efficient outing. He threw for 273 yards in a 38-0 win over Western Kentucky, keeping his spot at the top with three games of clean, productive football. Hoover now has 649 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions this season.
Sayin is climbing fast behind him. The Ohio State quarterback completed 82% of his passes one week after a career-low 53% at Texas, and he punctuated the performance with a 49-yard Hail Mary to Brandon Inniss on the final play of the first half. He also spread 10 completions among four receivers not named Jeremiah Smith.
Houser is headed into that same spotlight after a big day of his own. He threw for a season-high 305 yards, and both of his touchdown passes went to Collin Dixon less than five minutes apart.
Dixon now leads all major college receivers with seven touchdown catches. Houser slides three spots because Sayin, Underwood and Williams moved ahead of him, and his next chance comes against Sayin’s Buckeyes.
Dante Moore also delivered points in bunches, tossing four touchdown passes as Oregon jumped out to a 49-0 halftime lead. Dylan Raiola played the second half, and the Ducks were without receiver Jeremiah McClellan and tight end Jamari Johnson.
Oregon put up 84 points, its most in the modern era, but Moore stays at No. 7 because Portland State has lost seven straight games. Lighting up the scoreboard against a clearly inferior team earns no points.
Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. is back inside the top eight after a sharp start in a 373-yard performance. He threw all four of his touchdown passes in the first half, matching his career high for a full game, and he had only one touchdown pass through his first two games.
“Going into this game, it was all about starting fast,” Williams said. The Huskies quarterback has 890 passing yards and five touchdowns this season.
Michigan’s Bryce Underwood also moved up after a season-high 223 passing yards. The Wolverines added more run-pass options and dropback throws to his package, and 17 of his 19 completions went to Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan, who each caught a touchdown. But Underwood also lost a fumble, and Michigan has six turnovers through three games.
Iowa State’s Rocco Becht remains dangerous even with a slight dip in the rankings. He needed just 11 completions to pile up 212 yards, and one of his two touchdown passes covered 70 yards to Koby Howard.
The win was his 29th as a starter, the most in the FBS. Becht drops one spot but still owns nine touchdown passes and no interceptions this season.
USC’s Jayden Maiava is another quarterback to watch closely in Week 4. He worked without freshman receiver Trent Mosley, who sat out with a knee injury, so he spread the ball to nine different targets.
His touchdown passes went for 52 yards to Corey Simms and 2 yards to running back Riley Wormley. Through four games, the Honolulu native has 1,173 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception.
Maryland’s Malik Washington falls out of the top eight after a loss that stung more than the score suggests. He completed 30 of 43 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns, but the Terrapins lost 35-26 to Virginia Tech at home.
The defeat snapped Maryland’s 20-game nonconference winning streak, the longest in the country. Maryland also missed two 2-point tries in the fourth quarter that would have pulled it within one score.
Two other quarterbacks are worth noting after productive weekends. Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea completed 15 of 21 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown and added another score on the ground in a 34-7 win over North Dakota. UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns, his first touchdown passes of the season, in a 52-38 win over Purdue, and he ran for 55 yards.
In Other News...
Indianas Big Ten Opener Just Got A Huge Eligibility Twist
The lead-up to Indianas Big Ten opener picked up an unexpected off-field wrinkle this week, as a Monroe Circuit Court judge granted a preliminary injunction that keeps three Hoosier athletes eligible for competition. IU football players Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley are among the athletes covered, along with IU basketball forward Sam Alexis, after the temporary restraining order in the broader lawsuit against the NCAA expired and left them waiting on the next court ruling.
For Indiana football, the timing matters most because the injunction allows Daley and Wyatt to play in the upcoming conference game. The case involves 97 athletes, so the decision reaches beyond Bloomington, but the immediate effect is on a Hoosiers team that suddenly has two more available pieces as it gets ready for league play. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas Frontcourt Picture Just Changed As NCAA Faces New Fight
A Monroe County Circuit Court ruling this week has added another layer to the college basketball offseason, and Indiana is right in the middle of it. Judge Kara Krothe granted a preliminary injunction to nearly 90 athletes in the state, opening the door to a fifth year of eligibility and putting several familiar names back in the conversation for another season.
For Indiana, the ripple effects could matter in a frontcourt that is still taking shape as roster decisions continue to evolve around the sport. The ruling reaches beyond one program and could alter the late-summer landscape across the country, though the NCAA is expected to fight it on appeal and keep the issue tied up a while longer. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Receivers Delivered In The Win But One Bigger Concern Remains
Indiana football got the kind of result it needed at Memorial Stadium, rolling past Western Kentucky 38-0 while shaking off a sluggish first half with a much sharper finish. The offense leaned on quarterback Josh Hoover, who completed 18 of 24 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns, and the overall performance review showed a team that settled in as the afternoon went on. For a group that has been looking for steadiness, the second-half response offered a useful reminder that the pieces can fit when the tempo and execution are both there.
The receivers were part of that story, delivering enough to help Indiana turn a tight, uneven start into a comfortable win. Even so, the broader grading of the quarterbacks, backs, line play and defensive front pointed to one larger issue that still lingers beneath the scoreboard. Indiana showed it can overwhelm an opponent once it finds a rhythm, but the more important question is whether it can avoid the kind of early stretch that leaves bigger concerns hanging around for another week. [Read more 🡒]