CBS Sports updates Top 10 Quarterback Power Rankings ahead of Week 3

After two full weeks of college football, CBS Sports revisited its ranking of the ten best quarterbacks in the country.

As part of their adjustments this week, CBS made quite the splashy move at the top spot, where a certain former Heisman winner no longer reigns. Overall, it’s a tight list full of 10 true superstar talents at the college level — some who recorded some ridiculous numbers, and others who have simply taken care of business in some big time matchups. The guy at the top? Well, he did both.

So, take a look below at CBS sports list of the 10 best quarterbacks in the country as the college football world turns its attention to Week 3.

1. Quinn Ewers | Texas

What do the current Texas QB and Joe Burrow have in common? They’re the only quarterbacks in the last 54 Alabama home games to go into Tuscaloosa and come away with a win — and Ewers helped the Longhorns become the first team to win in Bryant-Denny this decade.

He tossed for 349 yards and three touchdowns, including one 44-yard rainbow that he dropped right into the hands of star wideout Xavier Worthy to take a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. If Ewers storms through the Big 12 and ultimately ends up as a Heisman finalist or winner, you can bet that throw will be replayed over and over and over again. CBS is already crowning him No. 1 after just two games.

2. Caleb Williams | USC

USC fans may be upset at the perceived slight to the reigning Heisman winner here, and perhaps justifiably. The Trojan offense has played three games, averaging a smidge under 60 points per contest while Williams has 12 total touchdowns and 878 passing yards already. He definitely didn’t play his way out of the top spot.

The author of the CBS article, Tom Fornelli, says Williams is “still the best QB in the country and should be the Heisman favorite,” even though he ranked him second! So, the margin is razor thin between the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in his eyes, with Ewers getting the slight edge thanks to his Herculean performance vs. Alabama.

3. Sam Hartman | Notre Dame

Hartman is currently running second in the country in passing TDs behind Williams with 10 of them through three weeks. The grizzled veteran is thriving in his new home and gives the Fighting Irish a threat under center that they simply didn’t have last fall.

He hasn’t needed to be Superman yet, and had the misfortune of playing through a torrential downpour vs. NC State last weekend — yet, Hartman remained wildly efficient. He’s completed 75% of his passes and thrown for 731 total yards so far in an ND uniform. Tougher challenges await down the road, but for now, Hartman looks the part of the No. 1 transfer QB in the country.

4. Shedeur Sanders | Colorado

There’s one other candidate as the No. 1 transfer QB in the country and that’s Shedeur Sanders, son of the swashbuckling Coach Prime. While Deion Sanders garners most of the credit for the massive turnaround in Boulder, it would not be possible without the dynamite playmaker he has at QB in his own son.

Sanders leads the nation in pass yards per game and is second in total passing yards, ahead of guys like Williams and Hartman who’ve played an extra game. Plus, these aren’t garbage time stats. Sanders pushed the Buffaloes to a pair of incredibly impressive wins over power conference foes with obscene passing numbers and jaw-dropping vertical throws. There’s no sign of him slowing down anytime soon.

5. Michael Penix | Washington

Poor Michael Penix is as electric a player as we have in college football, yet he is the third-ranked Pac-12 quarterback on this list — and it makes sense. Williams won the Heisman and Sanders slightly has the edge in raw numbers, plus has played some stiffer competition.

The Husky can huck it with the best of them, though. Through two games, Penix tossed for 450 yards and five touchdowns against a decent Boise State program, and then surpassed the 400-mark with 409 and three more touchdowns in a blowout win over Tulsa. The best QB play, overall, is on the west coast this season.

6. Jordan Travis | Florida State

Travis doesn’t have the total numbers to match up with several of the passers on this list, and his second performance of the year vs. Southern Miss was mild, considering he passed for just 175 yards while barely completing 50% of his throws. But he earns this spot solely based off his dazzling outing vs. LSU in the season-opener.

Travis pulled off his best Joe Burrow impersonation and hit his talented crop of wideouts — namely, Keon Coleman — for one go ball after another down the sideline. He torched the No. 5 preseason team for 342 yards and scored five total touchdowns to announce Florida State as a national contender right off the bat.

7. Drake Maye | North Carolina

There was a time when Maye was a consensus top-two quarterback in the country — and that time was two weeks ago. But don’t rage yet, North Carolina fans, because Fornelli’s ranking is not a reflection of poor play. Rather, he says “Maye falling five spots isn’t a statement on what I think of him as a player or NFL prospect. I’d still have him at No. 2 behind Caleb Williams.”

However, to start the year, some of these other quarterbacks have simply produced juicier stats. The performance against South Carolina was certainly good enough for the Tar Heels to pickup the win, but he wasn’t dominant in that game or vs. Appalachian State, where UNC needed overtime to win. He’s at just 477 total yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions to start the year.

8. Bo Nix | Oregon

The Pac-12, where transfer quarterbacks go to prosper. In line with Penix at Washington and Sanders with Colorado, Bo Nix has taken off as a passer since migrating from SEC country to the pacific northwest.

He got the job done with ease in Oregon’s opener, helping the Ducks to an 81-7 lambasting of Portland State. But the Week 2 performance was really the impressive one, as Nix went into Lubbock and and threw for 359 yards, two touchdowns and zero picks to lead his team to an electric and hard-fought 38-30 victory over Texas Tech.

9. Tyler Van Dyke | Miami FL

TVD was once an NFL Draft darling whose 2022 season left a lot to be desired — as did the entire Hurricanes squad last fall. But in Week 2 of this season, Van Dyke showed that he’s a much-improved football player leading a much-improved football team.

Last Saturday, The U avenged last year’s loss against Texas A&M with Van Dyke turning in perhaps the best QB performance of the week given the circumstances. Against an A&M defense that was the Aggies’ lone bright spot a year ago — and returned most of its starters — he torched them, finishing with 374 yards and five touchdowns in a statement 48-33 victory.

10. Jalon Daniels | Kansas

The dual-threat Jayhawk won’t often produce a 500-yard game, or even a 400-yard game. But more impressive than gluttonous passing stats has been his ability to win football games as the Kansas starter. He’s 6-4 as a starter since the beginning of last season and is one of the primary reasons KU has hope on the gridiron for the first time since 2008.

Daniels unfortunately has struggled to stay healthy the last couple years an even missed the opener this season. But he returned for Kansas’ marquee non-conference home game vs. Illinois and lit up a defense that finished No. 1 in the country in points allowed per game last season (12.3), finishing with 277 pass yards and two touchdowns in the 34-23 win.

There you have it. Fornelli will certainly ruffle some feathers by moving Caleb Williams off the top spot for a less-established but hotter name in Ewers. However, he makes a good case for the move, and still kept Williams right there at No. 2. But honestly, all 10 players on that list can look like the best QBs in the country if you catch them on the right day. 2023 is quite a loaded year at the quarterback position for the sport.