Quarterback play is giving the 2026 season a real jolt through four weeks, and the numbers back it up. Fourteen FBS passers are already sitting above a 180 passer efficiency rating, a jump from 10 at this point last season. With CollegeFootballData.com adding more passing metrics, the picture is sharper than ever, and the top of the board is starting to separate.
The biggest mover this week is Darian Mensah, who climbs back to No. 1 after carving up Central Michigan. He needed just 27 attempts to throw for 338 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout, the kind of stat line that barely leaves a wrinkle.
The challenge gets much tougher now, though: Miami goes to Clemson, where the Tigers should be overmatched, but it’s still the toughest road test Mensah has seen so far. That game should tell us plenty about what his next two months may look like.
Trinidad Chambliss slips to No. 2 after Ole Miss was beaten badly in Gainesville. The loss wasn’t on him alone, and there were definitely a few plays he’d want back, but the overall body of work still stands out. Chambliss is sitting at 8% CPOE and remains one of the country’s most dangerous rushing quarterbacks, which he backed up again with two more rushing touchdowns against Florida.
Julian Sayin holds at No. 3 after Ohio State’s offense blew past Illinois in a way that was so thorough it prompted Bret Bielema to part with his defensive coordinator just four games into the season. Sayin was efficient and explosive, averaging more than 10 yards per attempt while throwing four touchdowns, all of them to Jeremiah Smith.
Smith may be the centerpiece, but Devin McCuin, Brandon Inniss and Nate Roberts are also putting up strong efficiency numbers, just on far fewer targets. If pressure doesn’t get home, Sayin is going to beat you.
CJ Carr keeps rising, moving all the way up to No. 4 after a rough Week 1 against Wisconsin gave way to a much sharper stretch. He’s now firmly among the national leaders in CPOE, EPA-per-dropback and passing success rate, and he’s also started attacking downfield more often.
His ADOT against Purdue was north of 12 yards. Next comes North Carolina, whose defense has been mostly competent so far this season compared to what the Tar Heels were in 2025.
Kamario Taylor stays put at No. 5 after guiding Mississippi State to an impressive comeback win at Mizzou. Even with the victory, this was his worst game of the season by EPA-per-play, and he’s taken seven sacks over the last two weeks.
He’s still elite, but the tape is starting to stack up, and that matters. Alabama coming to Starkville is a major test.
Keelon Russell makes his debut at No. 6, and the rise is impossible to miss. In just a few games as a starter, he’s already producing like one of the sport’s best quarterbacks.
He’ll enter Week 5 ranked fifth nationally in EPA-per-dropback, and everyone ahead of him has multiple seasons under center. The deep ball is the real warning sign for opponents: against P4 teams this year, Russell has a deep-ball CPOE above 28%, and no other quarterback with at least 80 dropbacks is over 20% on deep passes.
Gunner Stockton rounds out the top seven after sliding from No. 4.
His outing against Oklahoma was solid enough, but not enough to keep him in the same spot. Georgia didn’t ask him to do much, with John Mateer effectively gifting the Bulldogs free points, but Stockton’s overall resume has dipped a bit compared with the quarterbacks around him.
He’s hanging onto the edge of the list heading into Week 5.
Just outside the seven, Josh Hoover was the first name off the board. He’s still top-five nationally in EPA-per-dropback, but much of that production has come against weaker opposition. Indiana’s win over Northwestern in Week 4 was more about the run game than Hoover.
Aiden Chiles is another quarterback worth watching in the Big Ten. Northwestern nearly pulled off the upset against Indiana on Friday night, and Chiles continues to flash when he gets a clean pocket. Among P4 qualifiers, he ranks eighth nationally in EPA per dropback.
Jayden Maiava falls out of the top seven for the first time this season after USC’s disappointing loss to Oregon. He remains the front man for a talented, very young offense, but the group around him is crowded now. Maiava wasn’t the main issue against Oregon, though he didn’t help matters either, posting a -4.5% CPOE and falling well short of his usual EPA-per-dropback level.
Aaron Philo also deserves mention after Florida’s win over Ole Miss, even if the running backs grabbed most of the attention with 100-yard games. Philo hasn’t gotten enough credit for how well he’s played.
Jon Sumrall and Buster Faulkner took a swing in Year 1 with a quarterback who was completely unproven, and so far that bet looks smart. Philo has posted above-average EPA and success rate numbers in all four games this season.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Will Recognize The Recruiting Path Behind Mississippi States New QB
Kamario Taylors path to Mississippi State looks familiar to anyone who watched Dak Prescotts rise in Starkville. Both quarterbacks arrived without the kind of national buzz that usually follows a SEC starter-in-waiting, and both ended up finding their way to Mississippi State after college recruiting took them on a route that was not exactly linear. For a program that has long valued development as much as pure pedigree, the comparison makes sense before Taylor has even had much time to settle in.
Prescott turned that under-the-radar arrival into a breakout 2014 season and eventually a career that carried him all the way to the NFL. Taylor is still at the point where the story is being written, but his emergence as the starting quarterback invites the same kind of conversation Mississippi State fans know well, especially when a familiar recruiting trail seems to be leading toward another opportunity to prove doubters wrong. [Read more 🡒]
Kamario Taylors Basketball Backstory Shows Why Mississippi State Fans Are So Intrigued
Before he ever became a quarterback prospect, Kamario Taylor was the kind of high school athlete who seemed to do a little bit of everything. He played football, basketball, baseball and track before eventually narrowing his focus to football, and that all-around background helps explain why Mississippi State fans have been so intrigued by him since he arrived in Starkville.
Jeff Lebby first crossed paths with Taylor on a basketball court, then nudged him toward football as the sport where his future belonged. Taylors basketball resume at the college level has been brief, with limited action in the 2021-22 season and no game appearances since, but the backstory still adds another layer to a player Bulldogs supporters are eager to watch develop. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Will Notice What Saban Is Saying Before Alabama
Nick Saban knows exactly what Alabama is walking into when it heads to Starkville, and he made clear this week that Mississippi State is never the kind of stop a team can treat lightly. He pointed to the cowbells, the setting and the challenge of playing in that environment, while also giving the Bulldogs credit for how theyve been competing with Kamario Taylor at quarterback.
Georgia fans listening closely will notice the bigger picture in Sabans comments, because Alabamas trip to Mississippi State comes before a much larger showdown on the calendar. For the Bulldogs, it is another sign that opponents are taking the current team seriously, and for everyone else it is a reminder that Starkville can still turn a routine week into a difficult one. [Read more 🡒]