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.
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