Ranking B1G QBs entering Week 11: Can Kurtis Rourke catch Dillon Gabriel?
Week 10 saw the return of Indiana star quarterback Kurtis Rourke, Dillon Gabriel continue to impress in his Heisman Trophy campaign, and Dylan Raiola get injured in another Nebraska loss.
Meanwhile, Drew Allar returned for Penn State but was unable to lead the Nittany Lions past Ohio State.
Let’s check in on each B1G QB heading into Week 11:
18. Jack Lausch, Northwestern
Lausch connected with a wide open Joseph Himon II for a 22-yard touchdown in overtime to give Northwestern a 26-20 road win at Purdue. The Wildcats snapped their 2-game losing streak behind Lausch, who finished 23-of-35 passing for a career-high 250 yards and the game-clinching touchdown. The offense finished with 424 yards, its most against an FBS opponent all season. The Wildcats rotated backup Ryan Hilinski into the game, but coach David Braun did so because of his belief that Hilinski gave them better deep-passing ability. The ‘Cats have a bye week before hosting Ohio State at Wrigley Field Nov. 16.
Last week’s ranking: 18
17. Brendan Sullivan, Iowa
The Northwestern transfer rushed for a touchdown and threw for another in Iowa’s easy 42-10 win over Wisconsin. Sullivan received a lot of help from star rusher Kaleb Johnson, who ran for 135 yards and 3 touchdowns. In total, Iowa rushed for 329 yards. Sullivan made his first start after taking over for an injured Cade McNamara (concussion protocol) and completed 7-of-10 passes for 93 yards while rushing for 58 more. This was the largest win for Iowa in the rivalry since 1996, and it’ll travel to UCLA this week for a Friday night tilt.
Last week’s ranking: N/R
16. Aidan Chiles, Michigan State
The Oregon State transfer completed 16-of-24 passes for 193 yards and 2 interceptions in a 47-10 loss at Indiana. Chiles was knocked out of the game in the third quarter when he was hit while throwing the ball away. Turnovers once again held back the offense, as Chiles threw his 11th interception of the season. Sparty has more turnovers (18) than offensive touchdowns (17). MSU is off this week before visiting Illinois a week from Saturday.
Last week’s ranking: 13
15. Davis Warren, Michigan
In a 38-17 loss to Oregon, Warren was 12-of-21 for 165 yards with a career-high 2 touchdowns. Colston Loveland had 7 catches for a career-high 112 yards, but the Wolverines just didn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up with the Ducks. The same may be the case this week when Michigan travels to Indiana, though this was the second straight game in which Warren did not turn the ball over.
Last week’s ranking: 15
14. Hudson Card, Purdue
Card returned to the starting lineup after missing a couple of games. Ryan Browne returned to his backup role, though interim offensive coordinator Jason Simmons will still have a package for Browne. Card completed 21-of-37 passes in a 26-20 overtime loss to Northwestern. His 267 passing yards were his most since throwing for 273 against Indiana State in the opener. Card is completing 61.7% of his throws over 6 starts. He missed the losses to Illinois and Oregon.
Last week’s ranking: N/R
13. Braedyn Locke, Wisconsin
In a 42-10 loss at Iowa this past Saturday night, the Badgers opened the game with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that led to a field goal but had just 67 yards on its next 6 possessions. Locke was 15-of-29 for just 137 yards. Wisconsin has an off week coming up before playing Oregon.
Last week’s ranking: 11
12. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
Raiola is expected to be back for the Cornhuskers’ next game at USC after he left last week’s game against UCLA with a back issue. The Huskers have a bye this weekend, so their next game isn’t until Nov. 16. Raiola has 10 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions on the season. But after a nice start to his collegiate career, he has just 1 touchdown and 6 picks in his past 4 games. He’s completed 64.7% of his passes and has 1,921 passing yards on the year.
Last week’s ranking: 10
11. Ethan Garbers, UCLA
Garbers threw for 2 touchdowns as the visiting Bruins took down Nebraska 27-20. UCLA has won consecutive games for the first time under first-year coach DeShaun Foster following a 1-5 start. Garbers completed 17-of-25 passes for 219 yards and had a 57-yard run that set up a field goal. The offense did eventually slow down enough for the Cornhuskers to rally, but it went for naught as the Bruins held on.
Last week’s ranking: 14
10. Miller Moss, USC
Moss lost his starting job after he and the Trojans continued to struggle in a road loss to Washington. Down 20-7 at the half, USC rallied and Moss helped pull the Trojans ahead 21-20 with a 9-yard scoring pass. But another interception did in the Trojans, who suffered their 5th loss of the year. Moss threw for 293 yards and 2 scores in the loss, but he threw 3 interceptions and now has 9 for the season. On Tuesday, ESPN reported the Trojans will turn to UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava the next time they are in action. The Trojans have a bye this weekend before hosting Nebraska on Nov. 16. In his past 5 games, Moss has tossed 7 interceptions, though he hasn’t exactly worked behind a stout offensive line.
Moss is 4th in the B1G with 18 TD passes, so his status as QB2 is very much TBA — as is his ranking.
Last week’s ranking: 5
9. Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers
Kaliakmanis and the Scarlet Knights are coming off a bye. The last time we saw Greg Schiano’s team it lost at USC 42-20, which was the team’s 4th straight loss. Kaliakmanis threw for 313 passing yards, but the defense again wilted. Now Rutgers has to face a Minnesota squad that is playing very good football and has one of the best pass defenses in the country.
Last week’s ranking: 12
8. Max Brosmer, Minnesota
Brosmer’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Geers helped rally the Golden Gophers to a 25-17 victory at Illinois. It was Minnesota’s 4th consecutive win. Brosmer completed 22-of-37 passes for 213 yards and a score, while Darius Taylor had 9 catches for 58 yards and Elijah Spencer had 6 grabs for 67 yards. Minnesota hasn’t lost since being defeated by Michigan on Sept. 28, and it’ll look to continue its hot stretch at Rutgers this week.
Last week’s ranking: 9
7. Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland
The Terrapins are coming off a bye, but the last time we saw them, they finished with 323 passing yards against a very good Minnesota pass defense in a 48-23 loss. Edwards was 19-of-35 for 201 yards in 3 quarters before giving way to MJ Morris, who was 7-of-8 for 122 yards with the game out of reach. Tai Felton caught 9 passes for 104 yards. The Terps take to the road to play top-ranked Oregon this week.
Last week’s ranking: 8
6. Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Bret Bielema lost to Minnesota for the first time in his career, dropping to 10-1 after the Fighting Illini fell 25-17 at home. Altmyer went 20-of-33 for 226 yards and a touchdown for Illinois, but he lost 2 fumbles. The Fighting Illini’s final drive ended deep in Minnesota territory when Altmyer lost a fumble on a strip sack. Altmyer has thrown 16 TD passes and just 3 interceptions this season, achieving one of the best ratios in the conference.
Kurt Kittner’s school record (27 in 2001) is probably out of reach, but only 4 Illinois QBs have thrown 20 or more TD passes in a season during the 2000s — and none since Nathan Scheelhaase tossed 21 in 2013.
Last week’s ranking: 7
5. Will Rogers, Washington
Rogers helped the Huskies take down former Pac-12 rival USC 26-21. He threw for 262 yards to help U-Dub extend its winning streak to 19 games in a row at home. The Huskies bounced back nicely from a 31-17 loss to Indiana and moved a win closer to bowl eligibility, which was huge with games remaining on the road against Penn State and Oregon.
Last week’s ranking: 6
4. Drew Allar, Penn State
The Nittany Lions likely saw their B1G title hopes end with their home loss to Ohio State. While Allar was able to play despite being injured the previous week — he threw for 146 yards and ran for 31 more against the Buckeyes — coordinator Andy Kotelnicki witnessed several drives stall in Ohio State territory. PSU drove to the OSU 3-yard line midway through the 4th quarter, but Allar (playing on a bum left knee) threw an incomplete pass to tight end Khalil Dinkins. The Buckeyes then milked the clock to ensure the win. PSU hosts Washington on Saturday.
Last week’s ranking: 4
3. Will Howard, Ohio State
The senior transfer from Kansas State, who grew up in Pennsylvania a huge Penn State fan, helped the Buckeyes beat the program that didn’t offer him a scholarship. While he did throw a pick-6 on Ohio State’s 3rd play and later fumbled at the goal line, he overcame those mistakes and threw 2 touchdown passes while completing 16-of-24 passes and rushing for 24 yards, including a 7-yard run on 3rd down that sealed the 20-13 win.
Howard is tied for the league lead with 19 TD passes. Kyle McCord threw 24 last season.
Last week’s ranking: 3
2. Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
The dream season for Rourke and the Hoosiers continued last weekend as he returned from a right thumb injury to throw for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns, including 2 to Elijah Sarratt, in a 47-10 victory over Michigan State. IU is 9-0 for the first time in school history — with a real chance to win 10 games for the first time in program history. Rourke played with a splint over his thumb nail with a glove to cover it, and he showed no ill effects in another strong performance. The Hoosiers will now host defending champion Michigan, and it’s hard to imagine the Wolverines being able to hang with this offense, which ranks 2nd in the country in scoring (46.6 points per game).
Last week’s ranking: 2
1. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
After knocking off Ohio State a few weeks back, the top-ranked Ducks defeated another conference stalwart in Michigan last weekend. Gabriel threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in the 38-17 win. Oregon had 304 yards of offense in the first half and led 28-10 at halftime. Gabriel finished 22-of-34 for 294 yards. But No. 1 receiver and punt returner Tez Johnson has what appears to be a shoulder injury, and that’s a tough blow despite the Ducks’ depth.
Gabriel shares the B1G lead with 19 TD passes, leads in yardage (2,665) and completion percentage (74.8), and is No. 2 in yards per attempt (9.3).
Last week’s ranking: 1