It was a wild week in not just the Big Ten, but in college football, as upsets galore took place. Which makes you wonder: how different would it be if those teams that went down in Week 2 had a different quarterback?
It wouldn’t change things in some cases. Casey Thompson hasn’t exactly been the problem for Nebraska, for instance. But, a quality quarterback can make all the difference in most cases.
A few teams with QB battles appear to be settling on their leaders under center. Michigan is starting J.J. McCarthy and Evan Simon is settling in for Rutgers. Drew Allar saw increased playing time for Penn State in a blowout situation, so we included him here, though we’re paring our rankings to those with more significant playing time.
That said, here is how advanced analytics site, PFF, has graded the Big Ten quarterbacks overall.
15
Spencer Petras – Iowa
Photo: Isaiah Hole
PFF Grade: 38.5
Context
Last year, before his injury, Petras was seen as an upper-third QB in the Big Ten. Now he’s dead last, and it isn’t looking good. Iowa has no offense, and Petras is completing a paltry 45.1% of his passes thus far. He’s yet to throw a touchdown pass — the only Big Ten starter to have not done so — and has thrown two interceptions. Iowa needs to figure something out and fast, because the Hawkeyes are in dire need on the offensive side of the ball.
14
Ryan Hilinski – Northwestern
Photo: Isaiah Hole
PFF Grade: 63.4
Context
Hilinski looked much improved in Week 0, and in his second outing, while Northwestern mounted a comeback against Duke, it was too little, too late. He actually leads the Big Ten in yards per game at 374.5 yards, has thrown four touchdowns to one interception and is completing 64.3% of his passes. He looks better than last year — by a country mile — but still needs to…
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