College football’s quarterback picture has been loaded this season, and ESPN’s latest Power 4 rankings reflect that. Miami’s Darian Mensah sits at No. 1 for Bill Connelly after a blistering start in which he has thrown 14 touchdown passes and just 12 incompletions heading into October.
The SEC, meanwhile, is well represented near the top of the list even if it doesn’t own the No. 1 spot. Connelly placed five SEC quarterbacks inside his top 12: Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss at No.
4, Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor at No. 5, Alabama’s Keelon Russell at No.
7, Georgia’s Gunner Stockton at No. 8 and Florida’s Aaron Philo at No. 12.
Taylor’s leap is the eye-catching storyline. He entered the season ranked No. 48 in Connelly’s preseason evaluation, but the sophomore has surged into the conversation after guiding Mississippi State to a 4-0 start.
“Maybe the most exciting thing about Taylor is that he’s still clearly learning on the job. Against both South Carolina and Missouri… the Bulldogs’ offense fell into a prolonged funk that put them in danger,” Connelly wrote.
“But he was so good the rest of the way that MSU still scored over 30 points and won. He takes a few too many sacks, but a 69% completion rate, 9.1 yards per dropback and a 14-to-2 TD-to-INT rate - combined with selective but devastating running - is pretty ridiculous for a first-year starter.”
Taylor now has a chance to push Mississippi State into a bigger national spotlight if he can help the Bulldogs beat Russell and Alabama this weekend. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 12:00 p.m. E.T. on ABC.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Took A National Stage Loss Fans Wont Easily Ignore
Saturdays SEC showcase on ESPN ended up being a mixed bag for the league, but the loss that stung most for Ole Miss came in the kind of spotlight the Rebels do not get to control very often. Floridas win over Ole Miss was part of a high-profile Week 4 slate that also included Texas taking down Tennessee and LSU knocking off Texas A&M, with all three ABC telecasts drawing strong numbers and Texas-Tennessee delivering ESPN networks highest-rated noon kickoff in a decade.
For Ole Miss, the on-field result came with the added frustration of seeing another conference opponent seize the national conversation. The Rebels were already in the middle of a crowded Week 4 window that produced plenty of attention for the SEC, and now they have to sit with a result that landed in front of a big audience. Week 5 brings another round of league-heavy television inventory, including Alabama at Mississippi State, Tennessee against Auburn, Missouri at Florida, and Clemson hosting Miami in primetime, but Ole Miss will have to wait for its next chance to turn a national stage into something more memorable. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Offense Has One Urgent Fix Coming Out Of The Bye
After a blowout loss to Florida, Ole Miss has spent the bye week doing what every team hopes a midseason pause will allow: taking a hard look at what went wrong and resetting before the next stretch of games. For the Rebels, the biggest concern on offense has been getting out of the gate cleaner and finding better rhythm up front, where the line has been pushed to tighten its cohesion and set a stronger tone early.
Senior right guard Patrick Kutas said the loss should stay with the team as motivation, not something to shrug off once the schedule resumes. For Ole Miss, the challenge now is turning that frustration into sharper starts and steadier execution, because the bye only matters if the problems it exposed lead to real improvement when the Rebels line up again. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Passing Game Faces A Concern Fans Can't Ignore
Traylon Rays latest outing was a sharp contrast to the one that turned heads a week earlier, and it came at a time when Ole Miss was already trying to sort through a sluggish offensive start against Florida. The Rebels had trouble finding a rhythm in the first half, and that showed up in the passing game, where Ray saw his involvement dip compared with his showing against LSU.
Deuce Alexanders surge in that game also changed the look of the receiver rotation, giving Ole Miss a different focal point as the offense searched for answers. Ray said the offensive coordinator tends to lean on whoever is going well in the moment, which is a sensible approach when things are clicking but also a reminder of how quickly the target distribution can shift when the Rebels are fighting for consistency. [Read more 🡒]