Ranking B1G QBs entering Week 9: Ethan Garbers enjoys a career day

Week 8 saw Kurtis Rourke continue to help Indiana remain one of the darlings of the 2024 college football season, though he was knocked out of the team’s blowout win over Nebraska and will miss this week’s showdown with Washington while ESPN’s College GameDay is in town.

Meanwhile, several top B1G quarterbacks enjoyed bye weeks, while UCLA’s Ethan Garbers had a career day to help the Bruins win their first game in their new league.

Let’s check in on each B1G QB heading into Week 9:

18. Jack Tuttle, Michigan

The Wolverines likely won’t have a chance to defend their national title because a competent passing attack just hasn’t been there all season. Tuttle, who is the team’s third starting quarterback this fall, was 20-of-32 for 208 yards in a loss at Illinois. Kalel Mullings has been great on the ground, and Colston Loveland once again had a nice game, but the explosiveness just isn’t there as Michigan is off to its worst start since 2014 (not including the COVID season) after having made the College Football Playoff 3 straight years. The Wolverines host Michigan State on Saturday.

Last week’s ranking: 18

17. Cade McNamara, Iowa

McNamara struggled (11-of-23, 150 yards) as the Hawkeyes dropped a 32-20 road tilt to Michigan State. He threw a touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee, but he also threw an interception that doomed the Hawkeyes. Iowa continues to have problems through the air, so we’ll see if Brendan Sullivan gets the nod this week.

Last week’s ranking: 15

16. Ethan Garbers, UCLA

Garbers went off and helped deliver the Bruins their first win in the B1G. He set career-highs with 4 touchdowns passes, 383 passing yards and a 49-yard scoring run to help snap a 5-game losing streak with a 35-32 win over Rutgers.

The 4 TD passes Saturday equaled his season total to that point. He completed 32-of-38 passes and had scoring passes of 5 yards to Logan Loya, 22 to TJ Harden, 67 to Keegan Jones and 9 to Jalen Berger. The Bruins will now enjoy a bye before returning to action at Nebraska on Nov. 2.

Last week’s ranking: 17

15. Ryan Browne, Purdue

After a breakout performance filling in for an injured Hudson Card, Browne struggled in a blowout loss to Oregon. He was just 9-of-19 for 93 yards and an interception with 48 rushing yards in his second career start as Purdue lost its 6th straight — 3rd by at least 35 points. The Boilermakers next play Nov. 2 when they host Northwestern.

Last week’s ranking: 13

14. Jack Lausch, Northwestern

Lausch also was on the struggle bus in a 23-3 loss to Wisconsin. He went just 9-of-24 with 82 yards. There were opportunities on offense, but the unit could not consistently sustain drives in the 5th and final game this year at its temporary lakefront stadium. The Wildcats visit Iowa this week.

Last week’s ranking: 12

13. Aidan Chiles, Michigan State

The Oregon State transfer threw for 256 yards and a touchdown to lead Michigan State to a 32-20 home victory over Iowa last Saturday night. He completed 22-of-30 passes and also ran for 51 yards to help the Spartans snap a 3-game losing streak. Sparty was coming off a bye and put together its most complete performance of the season. MSU travels to Michigan on Saturday.

Last week’s ranking: 16

12. Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers

Kaliakmanis had one of his best games of the season in the team’s loss to UCLA. He scored on an early 1-yard sneak and connected on 18-of-30 passes for 287 yards. But the Scarlet Knights’ defense could not contain UCLA. The defense has given up 77 points in the past 2 games, as it has exhibited poor tackling and has been hit with the injury bug. Rutgers next plays at USC Friday night.

Last week’s ranking: 14

11. Braedyn Locke, Wisconsin

The Badgers beat Northwestern as Locke threw for a touchdown and ran for another in the 23-3 victory. He was helped by Tawee Walker’s 126 rushing yards. Locke threw for 160 yards, completing 14-of-24 passes with an interception in his 4th start. Next up: a huge test against visiting Penn State on Saturday night.

Last week’s ranking: 11

10. Max Brosmer, Minnesota

Brosmer and the Golden Gophers were off this past week, but when we last saw him he had his best performance of the season as he helped them rally for a 21-17 victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl. With no timeouts remaining, Brosmer drove the Gophers 61 yards in 7 plays for the game-winning score. They are relying on the short passing game, so we’ll see if they will start opening things up on the deep ball. Minnesota hosts Maryland this weekend.

Last week’s ranking: 10

9. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska

Indiana destroyed the Cornhuskers 56-7 and roughed up Raiola along the way. The true freshman completed 28-of-44 passes for 234 yards with 3 interceptions and a lost fumble. The Huskers were coming off a bye yet they still suffered their most lopsided loss since Ohio State beat them 62-3 in 2016. The offense failed to score on 3 red-zone drives, so it was a very difficult weekend for Matt Rhule’s squad. Things don’t get any easier as Nebraska visits Ohio State on Saturday.

Last week’s ranking: 8

8. Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland

The Terrapins overcame some sloppiness to beat USC and grab their first conference win of the season. Edwards Jr. was 39-for-50 for a career-high 373 yards with TD passes to Octavian Smith Jr. and Tai Felton. Kaden Prather added a career-best 9 catches and 111 yards. Edwards now has 13 TD passes against 4 interceptions this season. Coach Mike Locksley praised the leadership skills of Edwards Jr. after the win. The Terps will now prepare to visit Minnesota this Saturday.

Last week’s ranking: 9

7. Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Altmyer threw for a touchdown and ran for another, leading the Fighting Illini to a 21-7 victory over Michigan this past weekend. Illinois beat Michigan for the first time since 2009 after having lost six straight to the Wolverines. He was just 9-of-18 passing for 80 yards, but he also ran for 48 yards on 10 carries.

Altmyer shares the B1G lead with 15 TD passes and still has thrown just 1 interception — also the fewest among B1G starters.

Could he be higher on this list? Certainly, but it would help if Illinois put more of the load on Altmyer. He’s just 10th in the B1G in passing yards per game.

Illinois now faces its stiffest test of the season as it will visit Oregon on Saturday, and it’ll have to go the rest of the way without leading rusher Kaden Feagin, who had surgery on his injured hip and is out for the season.

Last week’s ranking: 6

6. Miller Moss, USC

It was another frustrating week for Moss and the Trojans, who had a 28-14 lead before collapsing. Moss threw an interception in the third quarter and the Trojans ultimately fell 29-28 at Maryland to extend their skid to 3 in a row. USC has lost its 4 games by a combined 14 points — all after being ahead in the second half. Moss was 34-of-50 for 336 yards with scoring passes to Ja’Kobi Lane, Kyron Hudson and Duce Robinson. He’s tied for 4th in the B1G with 14 TD passes — just 1 behind the leaders. USC hosts Rutgers on Friday night.

Last week’s ranking: 7

5. Drew Allar, Penn State

Allar and the Nittany Lions were off and are preparing for a test at Wisconsin. We last saw Allar deliver several times in clutch moments to help the Nittany Lions rally from a 14-point deficit and beat USC 33-30 in overtime. He did throw 3 interceptions, but Allar also passed for a career-high 391 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is 2nd in the B1G in yards-per-attempt (10.2)

Last week’s ranking: 2

4. Will Rogers, Washington

Rogers and the Huskies were off and are now preparing for a very difficult test at Indiana on Saturday. The last time we saw Rogers he had 2 turnovers and was harassed throughout the game by Iowa’s defense, but he still ranks among the B1G’s leaders in TD passes (13, 6th) and passing yards (1,820, 5th).

Last week’s ranking: 5

3. Will Howard, Ohio State

Howard and the Buckeyes enjoyed a bye and host Nebraska this week. The last time we saw the Kansas State transfer, he came up short in his duel with Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in a thrilling 32-31 loss. But Howard’s 14-3 TD/INT ratio is among the best in the B1G.

Last week’s ranking: 4

2. Kurtis Rourke, Indiana

A little bit of the shine was taken off of IU’s 56-7 destruction of Nebraska last week as Rourke injured his right (throwing) hand and was on the sideline in street clothes in the second half. Tayven Jackson replaced him for the rest of the win. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Rourke underwent surgery Monday, and there is optimism he could be back for the team’s game at Michigan State Nov. 2. He will, however, miss this week’s game against Washington when College GameDay rolls into town. Before being knocked out against the Cornhuskers, Rourke completed 17-of-21 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Rourke is tied for the B1G lead with 15 TD passes this season and is 2nd nationally in completion percentage (74.6).

Last week’s ranking: 3

1. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Gabriel certainly didn’t do anything to thwart his Heisman Trophy chances. He threw for 2 scores as Oregon delivered its first road shutout since 1992 with a 35-0 rout over Purdue last weekend. He was 21 of 25 for 290 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. Next up for the Ducks is a home tilt with Illinois this Saturday. He shares the B1G lead with 15 TD passes and is 2nd in passing yards (2,080). He leads the country in completion percentage at 77.0.

Last week’s ranking: 1