After a wild weekend of games, college football's contenders and pretenders have become clearer. What hasn't cleared up? How to stack the quarterbacks atop the 2022 NFL draft.
As I wrote last week when I updated my Big Board and position rankings, this has really been a tough quarterback class to evaluate. Each of the top guys have shown flaws. Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler and North Carolina's Sam Howell have been extremely inconsistent. Liberty's Malik Willis is lighting up defenses, but he's not playing elite opponents every week. Ole Miss and Matt Corral just got overwhelmed at Alabama. And Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder has struggled with up-and-down accuracy.
Still, there were things I liked from all five of my top-ranked quarterbacks this weekend. Let's get into those specifics, starting with Willis, who has emerged as the new favorite to be QB1, and ending with Ridder, whose Bearcats won at Notre Dame. I also picked a prospect who is rising after Saturday's games -- hint: it's a playmaker who really helped Ridder -- plus an under-the-radar prospect to keep an eye on throughout the rest of the season:
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Draft riser | Under-the-radar prospect
1. Malik Willis, Liberty
Week 5 outcome: 36-12 win over UAB
Stat line: 13-of-19, 287 yards (68.4%), 1 TD, 0 INTs; 15 rushes, 144 yards, 2 TDs
What impressed me most on Saturday: Willis taking over the game in the second half. This was actually a 3-3 game at halftime, with Willis and the Flames looking out of sync. But then Willis lit up the Blazers. In the third and fourth quarters, he went 6-of-9 passing for 191 yards and a touchdown and added six carries for 55 yards and two more scores. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers. He dominated and didn't even play the last couple of series.
The Auburn transfer now has 17 total touchdowns (11 passing) and zero interceptions for the season. He moved up to No. 1 in Total QBR. Willis stays away from mistakes and has progressed as a passer. He's playing like the clear QB1 of his draft class, with a matchup at Ole Miss and second-ranked signal-caller Matt Corral looming on Nov. 6.
2. Matt Corral, Ole Miss
Week 5 outcome: 42-21 loss to Alabama
Stat line: 21-of-29, 213 yards (72.4%), 1 TD, 0 INTs; 10 rushes, 3 yards, 1 TD
What impressed me most on Saturday: Corral didn't give up. I know, this isn't exactly what fans want as the most impressive thing from a potential first-round pick, but it was clear after the first series that the Ole Miss offense was overmatched against the Crimson Tide defense. Corral didn't stand a chance. He was pressured on 11 of his dropbacks, completing four passes for a total of 21 yards. Yikes. Two of those 11 dropbacks resulted in sacks, too. It's incredibly hard to judge quarterbacks when they are so clearly outclassed by another team, but Corral didn't turn the ball over and didn't back down.
Like Willis, Corral hasn't thrown an interception this season. He has avoided the disaster games that hurt him in 2020. He can spin the ball, with excellent velocity and accuracy. Let's see how he bounces back at home this weekend against an Arkansas team that was just shut out by Georgia.
3. Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma
Week 5 outcome: 37-31 win over Kansas State
Stat line: 22-of-25, 243 yards (88%), 2 TDs, 1 INT; 8 rushes, 24 yards
What impressed me most on Saturday: Rattler's off-platform throws. If you look just at his numbers, you wouldn't know that he was under pressure often by the feisty K-State defense. On eight total pressures, Rattler was sacked twice, but he went 6-of-6 for 112 yards and a touchdown on the others. Coach Lincoln Riley also did a great job getting his quarterback on the move. Rattler finally was able to get into a rhythm, slicing up the Wildcats' defense and showing off his elite arm strength and the ability to throw from several arm slots. He also did a great job keeping his eyes downfield, scanning the field while on the move.
This was by far the best Rattler has looked this season, and he did it in his first real road game with a packed stadium full of fans. He dropped to the bottom of my top 25 Big Board, but he could rise if he can string together more consistent performances and finish the season strongly. Next up? The Red River Rivalry against Texas in Dallas on Saturday.
4. Sam Howell, North Carolina
Week 5 outcome: 38-7 win over Duke
Stat line: 18-of-32, 321 yards (56.3%), 3 TDs, 0 INTs; 13 rushes, 29 yards
What impressed me most on Saturday: How Howell got the ball to his best playmaker. Like Rattler, Howell has had an up-and-down start to the season. He lost his four best targets to the NFL -- RBs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, WRs Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome -- and also is playing behind a shaky offensive line. That's why it has been fun to see the breakout of Josh Downs, who had eight catches for 168 yards and a touchdown (on 13 targets) against the Blue Devils. Howell is completing just 62.1% of his passes for the season, but when targeting Downs, he's 40-of-55 (72.7%) for 620 yards, six touchdowns and two picks.
It's difficult to take away too much from this game -- the Tar Heels were 19.5-point home favorites -- but it was great to see the Howell-to-Downs connection continue. With five more sacks on Saturday, though, Howell has now taken 22 in five games, the most in the country. If his offensive line doesn't improve, it will be tough to showcase his talent the rest of the season.
5. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
Week 5 outcome: 24-13 win over Notre Dame
Stat line: 19-of-32, 297 yards (59.4%), 2 TDs, 0 INTs; 10 rushes, 26 yards, 1 TD
What impressed me most on Saturday: The touch on Ridder's deep throws. He is a very inconsistent thrower, running hot and cold from series to series. In the first half, he completed only 10 of his 21 passes while averaging 5.9 yards per attempt. In the second half, however, he was an efficient 9-of-11 passing for 174 yards. That's an average of 15.8 yards per attempt. For the game, he was 6-of-9 for 201 yards and a TD on throws 15-plus yards downfield, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Those deep throws are where the 6-foot-4 Ridder flashes first-round ability, putting zip on the ball and finding his receivers. We know he can extend plays with his legs, but he has to get more consistently accurate at all levels if he wants to move up and be in the Round 1 discussion in April.
Prospect on the rise after Week 5
Nakobe Dean, ILB, Georgia
Dean is the leader of this unbelievable Georgia defense, which smothered Arkansas in a 37-0 blowout. The Bulldogs are allowing an FBS-best 3.3 yards per play, 110 passing yards per game and 10.2 first downs per game. They are elite. Dean, the third-ranked inside linebacker in my updated position rankings, hadn't popped on tape as a pass-rusher before this season, but he already has 3.5 sacks, including 1.5 on Saturday. But it's really because he's a great blitzer who can get off blocks and blow up plays. His other two sacks came in the Week 1 win over Clemson. Dean is a sure tackler with stellar instincts to recognize the play and speed to find the ball.
Under-the-radar prospect you should know
Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati
I mentioned Desmond Ridder's downfield accuracy in the win over Notre Dame, and Pierce caught three of those deep throws (on four targets) for 111 yards. The 6-foot-3 Pierce doesn't get a lot of publicity, but he has been terrific so far this season, leading the Bearcats with 15 catches for 294 yards and a touchdown. He's a big-play threat waiting to happen on every play. He had 10 plays of 20-plus yards as a sophomore in 2019 (though he did have a few drops). For his career, he has 69 catches while averaging 15.7 yards per catch. Pierce uses his body well to shield defenders and has tremendous hand-eye coordination. He knows how to sell his routes and is a hands catcher once the ball gets to him. I could see him being a third- or fourth-round steal in April's draft.