Ranking B1G QBs entering Week 10: Drew Allar’s health looms large

Week 9 saw Indiana remain unbeaten without star quarterback Kurtis Rourke, Oregon continue to make things look easy in its new league behind Dillon Gabriel and Dylan Raiola struggle again in a Nebraska loss.

Meanwhile, Drew Allar’s status for Penn State’s clash with Ohio State remains uncertain.

Let’s check in on each B1G QB heading into Week 10:

18. Jack Lausch, Northwestern

The Wildcats really struggled offensively in a 40-14 loss to Iowa. They had just 163 total yards, and their average starting field position was their own 21. After getting into Iowa territory on its opening drive, Northwestern didn’t cross midfield again until midway through the 4th quarter. Lausch recorded less than 100 passing yards for the 3rd time in 5 B1G games. The redshirt sophomore completed 10-of-19 passes for 62 yards with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Northwestern is at Purdue this week.

Last week’s ranking: 14

17. Cade McNamara, Iowa

McNamara is not listed on the depth chart for this week’s game against Wisconsin after leaving Saturday’s win over Northwestern with an undisclosed injury. Brendan Sullivan replaced him and is listed as the starter with redshirt freshman Marco Lainez as the backup. Sullivan had 79 passing yards and 41 rushing yards with a touchdown against the Wildcats, his former team. McNamara had an interception returned for a touchdown shortly before being removed from the game and has 1,017 passing yards with 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions this season.

Last week’s ranking: 17

16. Ryan Browne, Purdue

The Boilermakers were off last weekend and host Northwestern on Saturday. After a strong performance filling in for an injured Hudson Card, Browne struggled his last time out 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.

Last week’s ranking: 15

15. Davis Warren, Michigan

Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore went with Warren as his starter and not Jack Tuttle (who announced Monday he is medically retiring from football) in the rivalry game against Michigan State. Warren started the first 3 games but hadn’t played since Week 3 as Alex Orji and Tuttle took turns under center. Warren played the cleanest game of the season against the Spartans, going 13-of-19 for 123 yards and a touchdown without turning over the football. It was the first game Michigan played without a penalty, turnover or sack allowed. The Wolverines will host top-ranked Oregon this Saturday.

Last week’s ranking: N/R

14. Ethan Garbers, UCLA

The Bruins are coming off a bye and play at Nebraska this week. The last time Garbers was in action he led the Bruins to their best game offensively of the season. He connected on 84% of his passes and became the 2nd quarterback in UCLA history to complete 30-plus passes for an 80.0-plus completion percentage (Dorian Thompson-Robinson in 2021). In a 35-32 win over Rutgers, he set career-highs with 4 touchdowns passes, 383 passing yards and a 49-yard scoring run.

Last week’s ranking: 16

13. Aidan Chiles, Michigan State

The Spartans looked really good offensively early in their loss to Michigan, racking up 130 yards and possessing the football for 13-plus minutes on their first 2 possessions. But Chiles lost a fumble late in the first half that helped give Michigan a 9-7 halftime lead en route to a 24-17 win. Chiles led the Spartans to the Michigan 16 with 2 minutes left, but on 4th-and-5 he threw an incomplete pass in the end zone to seal a Wolverines win. Michigan State hosts Indiana this week.

Last week’s ranking: 13

12. Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers

Kaliakmanis threw for 313 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Christian Dremel, in the team’s 42-20 loss at USC last week. The Scarlet Knights dropped their 4th straight game as the defense has really fallen apart. The Trojans averaged 8.7 yards per play, while the Scarlet Knights did not record a sack and had just 1 tackle for loss. The team’s next game is at home against Minnesota on Nov. 9.

Last week’s ranking: 12

11. Braedyn Locke, Wisconsin

Jaylen Reed’s 19-yard interception return for a touchdown helped Penn State beat Locke and Wisconsin 28-13 last week. On 3rd-and-14 from the 8, Locke’s pass across the middle went directly to the Penn State safety to put the Nittany Lions ahead 14-10 with 6:29 left in the 3rd quarter. Wisconsin had a chance to get past their recent struggles against ranked teams. The Badgers are 2-14 in their past 16 games against Top 25 teams, including an 0-5 mark under coach Luke Fickell.

Last week’s ranking: 11

10. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska

The Cornhuskers stayed with Ohio State, and the Buckeyes needed an interception by cornerback Jordan Hancock with 1:16 left to seal a 21-17 win last Saturday. Nebraska had the ball near midfield on its final possession but was called for a false start and lost yards on consecutive plays before Raiola tried to connect with Isaiah Neyor, and Hancock picked it off. The Huskers obviously played much better than their drubbing against Indiana, but they have now lost 27 consecutive games against Top 25 opponents and 18 straight against ranked opponents on the road.

Last week’s ranking: 9

9. Max Brosmer, Minnesota

Brosmer threw a season-high 4 touchdown passes as the Golden Gophers whipped Maryland 48-23. The Gophers, who have won 3 straight, scored their most points in a conference game since beating the Terrapins 52-10 Oct. 26, 2019. Brosmer was 26-of-33 for 320 yards, and he did not throw an interception or get sacked. His 4 passing touchdowns were the most for a Gophers quarterback since 2019. Minnesota next plays at Illinois Saturday.

Last week’s ranking: 10

8. Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland

While the Terrapins have a potent passing game behind the arm of Edwards Jr., they need more offensive balance. Edwards was 19-of-35 for 201 yards against a very good Minnesota pass defense in a 48-23 loss last week. Backup MJ Morris was 7-of-8 for 122 yards with the game out of reach. Tai Felton, who has a B1G-best 73 receptions, caught 9 passes for 104 yards.

Last week’s ranking: 8

7. Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Altmyer struggled in the team’s loss at Oregon. Except for 1 drive in the second half, he struggled to move the football. He went just 17-of-35 for 161 yards and 2 interceptions, and his timing seemed to be off with his wide receivers. He looked uncomfortable against the strong Ducks defense, though he certainly didn’t get any help from his offensive line, which has been an issue this season. The Fighting Illini host Minnesota this week.

Last week’s ranking: 7

6. Will Rogers, Washington

Turnovers did in Rogers and the Huskies in their 31-17 loss at Indiana. Rogers finished 19-of-26 for 202 yards with a pair of interceptions. The Huskies return home for homecoming against USC this Saturday. Coach Jedd Fisch reiterated Monday Rogers is his quarterback amid calls for true freshman Demond Williams. Rogers is completing 72.3% of his passes for 2,022 yards with 13 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. But he hasn’t looked as sharp in losses over the past 3 weeks.

Last week’s ranking: 4

5. Miller Moss, USC

Moss had 2 scoring passes and a touchdown run, Woody Marks rushed for 3 scores and the Trojans snapped a 3-game losing streak with a win over Rutgers 42-20 last Friday night. USC scored on all 4 offensive possessions in the first half, and Moss was 20-of-28 passing for 308 yards. This looked more like the USC team we expected heading into the year, and it’ll now get set to visit Washington this week.

Last week’s ranking: 6

4. Drew Allar, Penn State

Allar could be a game-time decision for the team’s huge showcase game against Ohio State this week, per coach James Franklin. Allar suffered a left knee injury late in the first half of this past Saturday’s 28-13 win at Wisconsin. Sophomore backup Beau Pribula replaced Allar in the second half and completed 11-of-13 passes with a touchdown. Allar has completed 71.3% of his passes for 1,640 yards and has recorded 15 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. The unbeaten Nittany Lions have lost 7 straight games to the Buckeyes.

Last week’s ranking: 5

3. Will Howard, Ohio State

Howard threw 3 touchdown passes in a 21-17 win over Nebraska last Saturday as the Buckeyes bounced back from their loss to Oregon 2 weeks ago. But they didn’t exactly play a clean game. Ohio State converted just 1-of-10 3rd downs, turned the ball over on downs, missed a field goal and Howard threw an interception. The Buckeyes rushed for just 64 yards and avoided their first home loss in 10 years against an unranked opponent. Howard finished 13-of-16 for 221 yards and will now prepare for a huge test at Penn State this week.

Last week’s ranking: 3

2. Kurtis Rourke, Indiana

Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti said Monday he is “optimistic” Rourke will be back this week for the game at Michigan State after having surgery on his injured right thumb last Monday and missing last weekend’s 31-17 victory over Washington. The Hoosiers moved to 8-0 with the win. If Rourke doesn’t play, Tayven Jackson would make his second straight start. He went 11-of-19 with 124 yards, 1 touchdown and an interception while also running for a score in the win over the Huskies. Indiana could reach 9-0 for the first time ever by beating the Spartans and earning the Old Brass Spittoon.

Last week’s ranking: 2

1. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Gabriel had 3 touchdown passes and ran for another in No. 1 Oregon’s 38-9 rout of Illinois to remain undefeated. He finished 18-of-26 for 291 yards as the Ducks tallied 527 yards of total offense. In the win, Gabriel surpassed Timmy Chang (17,072) on the NCAA’s career passing yards list and now has 17,236. Case Keenum holds the record with 19,217.

Last week’s ranking: 1