Week 2 B1G QB Rankings: First-time starters not bothered by the spotlight on opening weekend

The first week of the college football season is in the books. You know what that means? A lot of fans think one of two things: their quarterback deserves to be in the Heisman Trophy race or he needs to be benched immediately.

It’s the nature of the beast. When you’re at the game’s most important position, you’re going to receive most of the fame. And most of the criticism, too.

Ranking quarterbacks on a one-game sample size can be a little disingenuous, because it’s the only time we’ve seen them play all year. They say the biggest difference in college football is the leap from Week 1 to Week 2, and that can certainly be true for quarterbacks, too.

So, which B1G quarterbacks showed up in Week 1? Who still has some questions to answer and who had the disappointing outings? Here’s the updated B1G QB rankings after one week of action.

14. Hunter Johnson, Northwestern

vs. #24 Stanford: 6-of-17 — 55 yards — 0 TD — 2 INT

I guess the old “let’s keep our quarterback a secret” thing didn’t work for Pat Fitzgerald. The first performance for the former five-star quarterback was anything but…well, five stars. After missing a year of football, nobody expected Johnson to throw for 500 yards and seven touchdowns, but nobody expected such a poor outing, either. It’s actually fortunate that Northwestern gets an off week.

Last week: No. 7

13. McLane Carter, Rutgers

vs. UMass: 21-of-31 –340 yards — 2 TD –3 INT

Just watching the kid play, you could tell Carter was a Big 12 quarterback. He had a big arm and wasn’t afraid to throw it anywhere on the field. Most of the night, he actually looked pretty good, but decision-making at times was pretty poor. Carter was better than anticipated, but he still needs to play within himself and not force too many passes moving forward

Last week: No. 14

12. Tanner Morgan, Minnesota

vs. South Dakota State: 13-of-18 — 176 yards — 1 TD — 1 INT

For Minnesota to be a contender, it’s going to need Morgan to be a little bit more productive. And while his numbers weren’t bad, they certainly could’ve been better. Place some blame here on the offensive line, too. Morgan was scrambling for a good portion of the night and didn’t get a lot of time to throw the football. That could be a major issue when the Gophers see the better defensive lines in the B1G.

Last week: No. 10

11. Adrian Martinez, Wisconsin

vs. South Alabama –13-of-22 — 178 yards — 0 TD — 1 INT

The issue with a one-game sample size is that sometimes it skews the rankings. Do I think Martinez is the 11th-best quarterback in the B1G? No. But he sure played like it against South Alabama. Martinez was nowhere near that Heisman-caliber quarterback we thought we’d see, and he wasn’t nearly as effective with his legs. Like Morgan and Minnesota, place some blame on the offensive line, but this was a kid we expected to perform much better.

Last week: No. 2

10. Michael Penix, Indiana

vs. Ball State — 24-of-40 — 326 yards — 1 TD — 2 INT

Penix put up some big numbers in his first game as the starter, but he’s still got some improving to do. It’s a new offense and he’s coming back from a serious injury. In the long run, Penix should be just fine for the Hoosiers. He just needs to work on his consistency a little more. He showed off his wheels against Ball State as well, rushing for 67 yards on seven carries. That’s going to be a benefit for Kalen DeBoer and company.

Last week: No. 11

9. Jack Coan, Wisconsin

vs. USF — 19-of-26 — 199 yards — 2 TD — 0 INT

I know Coan missed some throws against USF that could’ve made the game even more lopsided in Wisconsin’s favor, but if he gets into a rhythm, this Badgers team is going to be scary good. With a strong receiving corps and Jonathan Taylor now a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield, Coan has a lot of options to work with. That’s a really nice benefit for a first-year starter. He just needs to be able to stretch the field a little better.

Last week: No. 13

8. Brian Lewerke, Michigan State

vs. Tulsa –21-of-37 — 192 yards — 1 TD — 0 INT

The good news is that Lewerke looks better than he did a year ago and was even running like he did in his sophomore season. The bad news is that he still wasn’t really all that impressive. Lewerke did enough to get Michigan State the win and, at times, he was throwing the ball really well. He’s going to have to do that on a more consistent basis, though.

Last week: No. 5

7. Elijah Sindelar, Purdue

vs. Nevada — 34-of-52 –423 yards — 4 TD — 2 INT

For two-and-a-half quarters, Sindelar looked like one of the top three quarterbacks in the B1G. Unfortunately, college football games are four quarters. One thing that seems to be the Achilles heel for Sindelar is his confidence when things take a turn. When the game started getting tight in the end, he was more inconsistent and his decision-making got bad. Really bad. The arm strength and talent is there, but Sindelar’s mentality could make or break the Boilers.

Last week: No. 6

6. Brandon Peters, Illinois

vs. Akron — 14-of-23 — 163 yards — 3 TD — 0 INT

Hey everyone, Illinois has itself a quarterback. A pretty good one, too. Not only did Peters throw the ball pretty well in his first start in Champaign, he also showed off his wheels a little bit, racking up 34 yards on the ground which included a 20-yard touchdown run. Pummeling opponents isn’t something the Illini have done often, but with Peters under center, they had no trouble with Akron. That’s a good sign for the rest of the non-conference slate.

Last week: No. 8

5. Josh Jackson, Maryland

vs. Howard — 15-of-24 –245 yards — 4 TD — 0 INT

Guess that transfer from Virginia Tech paid off, huh? Jackson has been overlooked as a potential game-changer for Maryland — and that includes me. In the opener, though, he showed just how explosive the Terrapins’ offense can be when there’s someone under center who can get the ball to the receivers. His outstanding afternoon came against Howard, so we’ll see what he can do next week when Maryland hosts a pretty good Syracuse team.

Last week: No. 9

4. Sean Clifford, Penn State

vs. Idaho — 14-of-23 — 280 yards — 2 TD — 0 INT

I had to clean my glasses off to make sure I wasn’t watching Trace McSorley at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Not only did Clifford get the ball to his receivers well throughout the game, he showed off his mobility and speed as a potential runner. So, I guess Penn State doesn’t really have to tweak its offense, after all. Clifford promised his teammates there wouldn’t be a decline in the quarterback position during the offseason. It’s one game, and it was against Idaho, but goodness, he seems to be a man of his word.

Last week: No. 12

3. Shea Patterson, Michigan

vs. Middle Tennessee — 17-of-29 — 203 — 3 TD — 0 INT

Not the best performance from Michigan’s senior quarterback, but not the worst, either. I didn’t get the sense that the “handcuffs were off” with Josh Gattis’ new offense, but when you incorporate a new system, it can take some time to translate to the field against an actual opponent. Patterson was still pretty accurate and ended the day with three touchdown passes, but he was still pretty much the same guy we saw a year ago. We’ll see if that changes moving forward.

Last week: No. 1

2. Nate Stanley, Iowa

vs. Miami (OH) — 21-of-30 — 252 yards — 3 TD — 0 INT

Good Nate Stanley showed up in Iowa’s opener, albeit he was a little late to the party. Iowa’s offense started clicking in the second half, and Stanley threw some really nice balls in those final two quarters. He was able to put the ball in spots where only his receiver had a chance to catch it, which is important when the Hawkeyes start playing better defenses. Stanley was 11-of-14 in the second half with two touchdown passes. That’s the QB Iowa needs to be under center every Saturday.

Last week: No. 2

1. Justin Fields, Ohio State

vs. FAU — 18-of-25 — 234 yards — 4 TD — 0 INT

I know, I know, kneejerk reaction, right? But you know what? When you account for a rushing touchdown and three passing scores on the first four possessions as a starter, you deserve to be at the top of the list. Plus, when you consider how many passes Ohio State’s receivers dropped, Fields could’ve had an even better day. We all were in wait-and-see mode with Fields, but he proved he’s the real deal, at least against FAU. We’ll see what happens against a much better Cincinnati defense, but there’s no denying Fields looked like the best quarterback in the B1G in Week 1.

Last week: No. 4