The college football passing race got a little busier in Week 3, but the name sitting at the top of the board didn’t change. Braden Atkinson is still the standard right now, and the Oregon State transfer is putting together the kind of start that turns heads fast.
Atkinson has thrown for 1,120 yards, 8 touchdowns and just 1 interception through three games, which puts him ahead of the entire FBS field in passing yardage. That latest surge came in Oregon State’s 52-17 win over Montana, when he went 22 of 30 for 333 yards, 5 touchdowns and no picks, plus a rushing score. Even that was his lowest yardage total of the season after he posted 376 against Houston and 413 against Texas Tech.
Oregon State is only 1-2, but the schedule hasn’t exactly been soft. The Beavers stayed competitive in losses to ranked Big 12 contenders Houston, 33-20, and Texas Tech, 35-24, before finally getting into the win column against Montana, a strong FCS team. Atkinson’s rise has already drawn comparisons to Drew Mestemaker’s breakout for North Texas last year, when the former walk-on came out of nowhere to lead the FBS in passing.
Right behind Atkinson, several quarterbacks are piling up huge numbers of their own.
Ryan Browne has been one of the most surprising breakouts in the sport so far. After a rough 2024 season as Purdue’s starter, when he threw for 2,153 yards, 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, the redshirt-junior has opened this year with 1,024 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and only 1 interception.
His completion rate has jumped from 58.9% to 73.3%. Purdue is still 1-2, with its lone win coming over FCS-level Indiana State, but the offense has shown plenty of life.
The Boilermakers pushed Wake Forest to double-overtime and put up points in a 52-38 loss at UCLA, where Browne threw for a career-high 378 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Kevin Jennings is keeping SMU in the mix as well, even after a rough outing in a 41-31 loss at Louisville. He has 989 passing yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions through three games.
That came after a season-low 222 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 picks over the weekend. The Mustangs are 2-1 and need Jennings to stay sharp if they want to hang around the ACC title race.
He has already stacked up big seasons in this role, with 3,245 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2024, then 3,641 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season.
Landyn Locke is making his own push at Sam Houston. The redshirt-sophomore has thrown for 973 yards, 9 touchdowns and 1 interception, and he’s topped 316 passing yards in every game for the 1-2 Bearkats. Sam Houston picked up its first win last weekend, rolling past FCS-level Nicholls 59-0, with Locke going 322 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Tayven Jackson has found a home at North Texas after stops at Tennessee, Indiana and UCF. Now at his fourth school in five years, he’s thrown for 917 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for the 1-2 Mean Green.
A lot of that production came in last weekend’s 49-35 shootout loss to Texas State, when he put up 492 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. His previous career high was 299 yards in 2023 for Indiana against Louisville.
JJ Kohl is putting up numbers for FIU, even if the results have been uneven. The quarterback, now at his third school in three seasons after earlier stops at Iowa State and Appalachian State, has thrown for 930 yards, 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. FIU is 1-2, and Kohl’s roughest game came last week in a 16-10 loss at FAU, when he threw three picks.
The top of the list also includes some quarterbacks who are starting to separate themselves from the pack.
Trinidad Chambliss keeps showing why he’s a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender. Ole Miss’ star threw for 363 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception and added the go-ahead rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 32-24 win over then-No.
7 LSU and his former head coach Lane Kiffin. Through three games, Chambliss has 924 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, plus 2 rushing scores, for the No.
4 Rebels, who are 2-1. Ole Miss now heads to Florida for a major SEC matchup in The Swamp.
Jaden Craig is another name near the top, though his early season has been a mixed bag. The Harvard transfer has 903 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and 1 interception in his first season running TCU’s offense.
He was held to 175 yards and no touchdowns in a season-opening loss to North Carolina, but he’s padded the totals in two games against lower-level competition, including 391 yards and 4 touchdowns against FCS-level Grambling and 337 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception against Arkansas State. TCU is 2-1 and opens Big 12 play this week at UCF.
Malik Washington has also been efficient for Maryland. The sophomore, who was one of the country’s more productive true freshman quarterbacks last season, has thrown for 892 yards, 6 touchdowns and no interceptions so far while raising his completion percentage from 57.7% to 71.6%. Maryland is 2-1 after losing its Big Ten opener 35-26 to Virginia Tech, but Washington was sharp in that game, throwing for a season-high 359 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Demond Williams Jr. rounded out the biggest jump in Week 3. After managing just 1 touchdown through his first two games, he got rolling in Washington’s 48-16 win over Eastern Washington.
Williams completed 27 of 33 passes for 373 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception, pushing his season line to 890 passing yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception, plus 150 rushing yards and a score. Washington is 3-0 and opens Big Ten play at home against Minnesota on Saturday.
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