Ranking Big Ten quarterbacks by PFF passing grade through Week 6
Another week, another new No. 1 in PFF’s quarterback passing grades.
Each week, we compile where each Big Ten quarterback stands in terms of PFF’s cumulative season passing grades, and though the season started with Michigan football’s Cade McNamara in the lead, it was ceded after a while to Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa. However, the latter has become mistake-prone in recent weeks, and he was leap-frogged by another emerging quarterback in the conference.
We saw big weeks from Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Michigan State’s Payton Thorne. Would one of them start to cement themselves as the conference’s best? With that in mind, here are the updated rankings.
Graham Mertz - Wisconsin
Photo: Isaiah Hole
PFF Grade: 51.2
Context
Mertz certainly upped his game now that he wasn’t playing a top-flight team. His season grade went up by more than 10 points after having faced Illinois, but his stats still looked, well, not good. Granted, they won’t need to when you run for nearly 400 yards, as the Badgers did. He went just 10-for-19 for 100 yards and yet another interception, but he still played better than he has. Baby steps, it seems.
Ryan Hilinski - Northwestern
Photo: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
PFF Grade: 53.9
Context
Hilinski and Northwestern were idle this past week. He continues in the No. 13 spot in the PFF ratings.
Noah Vedral - Rutgers
Photo: Isaiah Hole
PFF Grade: 55.2
Context
The Vedral backslide continues as Rutgers lost its third-straight game. He was 15-for-30 for 208 yards against Michigan State, really getting away from the incredibly efficient play in the first three games that got him a high ranking from PFF.
Brandon Peters - Illinois
Photo: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
PFF Grade: 56.5
Context
Artur Sitkowski played the bulk of the game against Wisconsin after Peters was ruled out medically. Still, Peters has regressed every year, and hasn’t lived anywhere close to expectations.
Tanner Morgan - Minnesota
Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
PFF Grade: 65.4
Context
Speaking of not living up to expectations, Morgan was the second-highest graded passer in the conference in 2019, behind only Justin Fields. He was idle this week, but hasn’t looked the same without his cadre of first-round wideouts.
Michael Penix Jr. - Indiana
Photo: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
PFF Grade: 67.8
Context
Penix was also idle this week and has also greatly underperformed compared to expectations. Like Morgan in 2019, he was behind only Justin Fields in PFF’s passer grades in 2020, only to fall into the bottom half of the conference in 2021.
Adrian Martinez - Nebraska
Photo: Isaiah Hole
PFF Grade: 72.2
Context
Martinez continues to be electric and he made some big plays for Nebraska against Michigan. Where he’s at is partially a reflection of where some of the other passers are around him, but also because he’s prone to at least a couple of big, costly mistakes per game.
Cade McNamara - Michigan
Photo: Isaiah Hole
PFF Grade: 72.6
Context
Once the multi-week, top-rated PFF passer in the Big Ten, now that Michigan is asking McNamara to pass more, he’s fallen down to No. 7. He’s still playing good football, but almost certainly got dinged by his first-ever career interception at Nebraska. His score dropped almost 13 full points this week.
Sean Clifford - Penn State
Photo: HawkCentral via Imagn Content Library
PFF Grade: 74.3
Context
Clifford didn’t make it all the way through the Iowa game, but he was a big reason why the Nittany Lions put up an early lead on the Hawkeyes. His score dropped almost five full points, but up against one of the nation’s top defenses.
Aidan O'Connell - Purdue
(Nikos Frazier/Journal & Courier via AP)
PFF Grade: 74.8
Context
O’Connell has been an upgrade at quarterback over Jack Plummer in many ways, but is still underwater when it comes to his touchdown-to-interception ratio. Purdue was idle this past week.
Spencer Petras - Iowa
Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras (7) gets set under center Tyler Linderbaum (65) and offensive lineman Kyler Schott (64) lines up during a NCAA non-conference football game against Kent State, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
PFF Grade: 83.9
Context
While Petras’ box score doesn’t jump off the page vs. Penn State — 17-for-31 for 195 yards and two touchdowns — against one of the nation’s best defenses, he got the job done and secured a win over the No. 4 Nittany Lions. He’s shown he can pass the ball, even though he’s mostly asked to manage the game.
Payton Thorne - Michigan State
Photo: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
PFF Grade: 84.2
Context
When you have a game like Thorne had against Rutgers, your score is going to rise dramatically. He threw for an astounding 340 yards and three touchdowns, connecting early and often with Jalen Nailor. He’s one of the biggest risers in the country, let alone the conference, having added 11 points to his PFF score in just one week.
Taulia Tagovailoa - Maryland
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
PFF Grade: 85.5
Context
The No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks according to PFF last week battled each other this week, and No. 1 quickly became No. 2. Tagovailoa fell off his perch, having thrown two more interceptions (along with two touchdowns) against Ohio State. He lost 4.5 points from his score a week ago, but the quarterback who was behind him also rose significantly.
C.J. Stroud - Ohio State
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
PFF Grade: 91.3
Context
When you pass for 72%, 406 yards, and five touchdowns, you’re bound to see some upward movement in the eyes of the advanced stats. Stroud is no longer looking like a redshirt freshman, though he’s bolstered by the best wide receiving corps in the country. Still, it’s currently no wonder who the best quarterback in the conference is.
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