A exclusive group of quarterbacks are beginning to separate themselves from the rest their counterparts in the Power Four.
Arch Manning, CJ Carr, Trinidad Chambliss and handful of others have positioned themselves as the early favorites for All-America accolades and the Heisman Trophy.
On the other hand, the first few weeks of the 2026 season have not gone as perfectly for quarterbacks such as Oregon’s Donte Moore, Alabama’s Keelon Russell and Michigan’s Bryce Underwood.
With conference play just around the corner, USA TODAY Sports takes early stock of every Power Four quarterback by separating them into tiers ranging from the Heisman favorites to those already in danger of losing their starting spot:
Tier 1: Heisman Trophy leaders
CJ Carr, Notre Dame
After two blowout wins, Carr has seven completions
of 25 or more yards, six touchdowns without an interception and is completing 81.3% of his attempts in the second half.
Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi
Chambliss picked up where he left off in 2025 with 336 passing yards, 60 rushing yards and four scores to beat Louisville in the season opener.
Devon Dampier, Utah
Utah’s offense has dominated against Idaho and Arkansas thanks to Dampier’s 10.4 yards per pass attempt and 81 yards rushing on 4.8 yards per carry.
Josh Hoover, Indiana
The newest Indiana transfer quarterback has eight touchdowns on just 27 attempts. Playing North Texas and Howard helps, but Hoover has been on point.
Jayden Maiava, USC
Maiava is averaging 298.7 yards per game and is hitting on 80.7% of his attempts after breezing through non-conference play.
Arch Manning, Texas
Manning delivered his Heisman moment with a memorable fourth quarter in last week’s comeback against Ohio State.
Darian Mensah, Miami
The former Duke transfer has twice as many touchdowns, eight, as incompletions after wins against Stanford and Florida A&M.
Julian Sayin, Ohio State
It’s hard to pin too much blame on the Buckeyes’ loss to Texas on Sayin’s shoulders. He’ll still be a Heisman factor, though he’ll be coming from behind with Manning in the lead.
Gunner Stockton, Georgia
The Bowl Subdivision leader in efficiency (284.5) could be poised for a breakthrough year, though the Bulldogs have only played Tennessee State and Western Kentucky.
Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State
With his rocket arm and athleticism, Taylor looks like he might be one of the year’s breakout stars and even the best quarterback in the SEC.
Tier 2: All-conference production
Bear Bachmeier, BYU
Bachmeier had 254 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in last week’s conference opener against Arizona.
Rocco Becht, Penn State
The Iowa State transfer has shown his experience with seven touchdowns and no picks in the Nittany Lions’ perfect start.
Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska
The offense has been mostly humming against two MAC teams, with Colandrea showing why his style of play could be the spark Nebraska has been missing.
Ethan Grunkmeyer, Virginia Tech
Grunkmeyer has taken well to the starting job with the Hokies but much harder tests are coming, beginning with Maryland this weekend.
Michael Hawkins Jr., West Virginia
Hawkins is the team’s leading rusher with 199 yards and three touchdowns on 7.7 yards per carry as the Mountaineers have scored 83 points in two wins.
Kevin Jennings, SMU
Jennings led SMU to a win against Florida State but was a little too careless in doing so, putting an early dent in his Heisman candidacy.
Lincoln Kienholz, Louisville
Kienholz went the distance with Chambliss in the opener and has made the most of his starting opportunity after failing to crack the lineup at Ohio State.
Julian Lewis, Colorado
His week-to-week growth, seen in his 366-yard game last weekend against Weber State, has the Buffaloes thinking big with Big 12 play around the corner.
Aaron Philo, Florida
Philo has been off and running against two overmatched teams, with 517 yards, five touchdowns and 12.3 yards per attempt against Florida Atlantic and Campbell.
Beau Pribula, Virginia
His physical approach looks to fit perfectly in Virginia’s preferred style of play, based on Pribula’s 155 passing yards and 110 yards on the ground against North Carolina State to open the season.
Austin Simmons, Missouri
After losing his job at Mississippi, Simmons has grabbed another starting opportunity in the SEC with seven scores and no interceptions through two games — and a rivalry win against Kansas as well.
Malik Washington, Marland
Seeing that Washington’s growth may determine Maryland’s season and Mike Locksley’s future, his 347 yards and two touchdowns on 82.9% passing against Connecticut is a big positive.
Tier 3: Getting the job done
Cutter Boley, Arizona State
Boley’s been OK, but a pair of pick-sixes cost Arizona State any shot at the upset against Texas A&M.
Hank Brown, Iowa
For the time being, Brown’s play has moved him ahead of preseason co-starter Jeremy Hecklinski and into the starting lineup.
Ryan Browne, Purdue
Browne has averaged 9.1 yards per throw, hasn’t tossed a pick and nearly led Purdue to an upset of Wake Forest.
Aidan Chiles, Northwestern
Chiles was solid in the season opener but harder times are coming in the Wildcats' upcoming three-game run against Colorado, Indiana and Penn State.
Billy Edwards Jr., North Carolina
The well-traveled transfer has been just what UNC needed in Bill Belichick’s second year: deliberate, steady and mostly error-free.
Walker Eget, Duke
Duke’s off to a great start with wins against Tulane and Illinois, though there are still questions about the Blue Devils’ ceiling with Eget under center.
Brandon Faizon, Tennessee
He’s going to need time to fully develop but the positive signs are there for the true freshman through two games, giving Josh Heupel the opportunity to widen the playbook in the coming weeks.
Noah Fifita, Arizona
Fifita was outplayed by Bachmeier last weekend but remains one of the most dependable passers in the Power Four.
JC French, Cincinnati
French has run for 104 yards on 6.1 yards per carry and completed 81.6% of his throws against Boston College and Western Carolina.
Will Hammond, Texas Tech
Hammond has been fine but not much better than that through two games, possibly because of a knee injury that cost him most of the offseason.
Mason Heintschel, Pittsburgh
The sophomore tied a school record with seven touchdowns in the opener against Miami (Ohio) but was bogged down by bad conditions last weekend against Central Florida.
Kaitin Houser, Illinois
Houser has shown off his polish and pocket presence after transferring from East Carolina, though the Illini stumbled against Duke.
Avery Johnson, Kansas State
While he continues to be a bit of a mixed bag, you can see why Johnson might finally flourish under new coach Collin Klein.
Sam Leavitt, LSU
And speaking of mixed bags: Leavitt has been a dual-threat battering ram for LSU’s explosive offense but has thrown four interceptions, including three against Louisiana Tech.
Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
Lopez seems more comfortable and willing to lean on his legs for the Demon Deacons after a miserable 2025 at North Carolina.
Alessio Milivojevic, Michigan State
You can see the sophomore’s potential in the Spartans’ scheme but patience will be the key to Milivojevic’s development.
Jaylen Raynor, Iowa State
Raynor must continue to take care of the football and become an active runner to overcome Iowa State’s limited margin for error.
Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
You can’t argue with the Aggies’ 78-point margin of victory through two games even if Reed is clearly capable of doing more than he’s shown so far.
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
Sellers will have a chance to rocket up this list in a must-see matchup this weekend against Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State.
Davis Warren, Stanford
The former Michigan transfer hasn’t thrown an interception in 75 attempts after tossing nine in 209 throws for the Wolverines in 2024.
Conner Weigman, Houston
Weigman continues to fend off five-star true freshman Keisean Henderson, who has two touchdowns in eight attempts and a 54-yard touchdown run.
Tier 4: Underperforming
Steve Angelli, Syracuse
His three interceptions really cost the Orange in a 21-18 loss to California.
CJ Bailey, North Carolina State
Bailey was horrible in the opener against Virginia, though he rebounded with a get-right night against Richmond this past Friday.
Alonza Barnett III, UCF
The former James Madison transfer was struggling out of the gate under Scott Frost and is now out indefinitely with a significant hamstring injury.
Byrum Brown, Auburn
Brown and the Auburn offense haven’t quite clicked, though the Tigers were able to overcome his three interceptions in a win against Baylor to get started.
Jaden Craig, TCU
Craig was ineffective against UNC in Week 0 but had four scores against Grambling, showing the potential for rapid growth in Sonny Dykes’ scheme.
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
UCLA is 2-0 under Bob Chesney but the passing game has to get better, and fast: Iamaleava has two picks and no scores through these two games, offsetting his impact as a runner.
Colton Joseph, Wisconsin
Joseph has not thrown the ball well against Notre Dame and Western Illinois nor has he been an effective runner after going for 1,007 yards on the ground in 2025 for Old Dominion.
DJ Lagway, Baylor
Lagway went 27 of 54 for 333 yards with a score and an interception against Auburn, though he might've been slowed by an ankle injury that went on to sideline him this past weekend.
Drake Lindsey, Minnesota
Lindsey averaged just 5.8 yards per throw across 48 attempts and was wildly outplayed in Minnesota’s humbling 38-13 loss at home to Mississippi State.
Isaiah Marshall, Kansas
Marshall has been inconsistent and too prone to costly mistakes, as with his turnovers on back-to-back drives to turn a 14-14 game against Missouri into a 38-21 loss.
Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
While he deserves credit for leading OSU to a huge upset against Oregon, Mestemaker has struggled in the transition to the Power Four with four picks in 92 attempts; he had nine interceptions in 463 passes last season for North Texas.
Kenny Minchey, Kentucky
The former Notre Dame transfer’s lack of experience was on full display with just 146 yards on 4.7 yards per attempt in a 45-17 blowout loss to Alabama.
Donte Moore, Oregon
Even if Moore has five touchdowns without a pick and has averaged 8.6 yards per throw, a preseason Heisman contender and potential NFL franchise cornerstone should be doing more to elevate his offense and team.
Keelon Russell, Alabama
Russell has shown himself to be a work in progress as a passer and in need of more seasoning while protecting the ball, though his blend of athleticism and running ability makes him one of the most intriguing young starters in the Power Four.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, California
It’s been an uneven and frustrating start: Sagapolutele was harassed into a pair of picks in the loss to UCLA but outplayed Angelli in the win against Syracuse.
Demond Williams Jr., Washington
More has been expected out of Williams and the entire UW offense, which has managed just 40 points in closer-than-expected wins against Washington State and Utah State.
Tier 5: Possible quarterback change
Blaze Berlowitz, Vanderbilt
Berlowitz won the job coming out of preseason camp and started the first two games but has been replaced by true freshman Jared Curtis beginning on Saturday against North Carolina State.
Ashton Daniels, Florida State
Over the course of three FBS stops, Daniels has shown himself to be an average starter who struggles to lift the play of his supporting cast.
KJ Jackson, Arkansas
There’s already a controversy brewing in Ryan Silverfield’s first year after Jackson completed 14 of 34 attempts in a humiliating loss to Utah.
Dylan Lonergan, Rutgers
Lonergan had four turnovers in a loss to Massachusetts and then missed a loss to Boston College with an injury, leaving his return in doubt with Southern California up next.
John Mateer, Oklahoma
There is no great option behind him, but Mateer has shown no development and is making the sort of crucial mistakes that will cost Oklahoma a shot at returning to the College Football Playoff.
Mason McKenzie, Boston College
With three interceptions through two games, McKenzie has to clean things up if the Eagles want to climb out of the basement of the ACC.
Alberto Mendoza, Georgia Tech
The younger brother of last year’s Heisman winner is off to a rough start amid Georgia Tech’s rough start, with just one touchdown in two games and the nation’s 92nd-ranked efficiency rating.
Bryce Underwood, Michigan
Last weekend’s win against Oklahoma cooled the conversation around Underwood but he’ll need to play at a higher level to ensure the starting role through Big Ten play.
Christopher Vizzina, Clemson
Vizzina has already been benched in favor of freshman Tait Reynolds. It turns out that not bringing in a transfer quarterback was a bad decision by Dabo Swinney.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who are the best quarterbacks in college football? Our ranking tiers after Week 2
