MARLER: Week 6 SEC Quarterback Rankings

By Chris Marler

We are back with another week of games, resumès, and most importantly for Week 6, receipts. We have completed a month of the college football season, and though we are just getting into the meat of conference play, we have enough of a sample size to see a few things clearly.

One of the things that seems the clearest of all is that a lot of y’all owe me, and more importantly Jalen Milroe, a big apology. But, we’ll get to that later. Right now, let’s get into this week’s SEC Quarterback Rankings and see where everyone shakes out after September.

1. Jalen Milroe, Alabama (Last Week: 3)

Jalen Milroe went into last week’s game against Georgia with an undefeated record against SEC opponents, 14 total touchdowns in three games, and the most returning Heisman Trophy votes in the country. He still couldn’t get any respect from rival fanbases.

This “glorified running back” put up 491 total yards and four touchdowns completing nearly 82 percent of his passes against a Kirby Smart defense. He joins Joe Burrow as the only quarterback to beat Kirby Smart twice in their careers as a starter. On the season, Milroe has 18 total touchdowns through four games which is more than half of his season total a year ago.

2. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU (Last Week: 2)

Nussmeier has been so good all season, but it feels like it’s flown under the radar for some reason. He’s currently first in the country in completions (139), fourth in passing yards (1,656), and third in passing touchdowns (15). He’s also fourth in the conference and Top 10 nationally in QBR at 85.2.

3. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss (Last Week: 1)

Jaxson Dart is still the second highest graded quarterback in the country according to PFF, but last week’s loss to Kentucky was a big black eye over his current resumé. The box score didn’t look too bad for Dart, but coming into the Kentucky game the Rebs averaged 55 points and over 600 yards of offense per game. Mark Stoops’s squad held them to just over 350 yards of offense, 17 total points and a horrid 1-for-10 on third down.

4. Quinn & Arch, Texas (Last Week: 5)

Arch got his “a** ripped” according to Steve Sarkisian. That was after putting up over 350 yards, three touchdowns and completing 84 percent of his passes. The Longhorns will hopefully get starter Quinn Ewers back before the Oklahoma game in two weeks, but they made light work out of their first ever conference opponent in Mississippi State.

5. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee (Last Week: 6)

Nico moving up during a bye week is indicative of two things, Carson Beck’s performance in Tuscaloosa and 2024 feeling more and more like ‘98 for the Vols.

6. Carson Beck, Georgia (Last Week: 4)

Full disclosure, I thought this was going to be the game that vaulted Carson Beck into the top spot of these weekly rankings. Beck was solid all year, and one of the best parts of his game was his composure in big games. He came into Saturday’s game with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 14-to-1 in games against ranked opponents.

However, at least for thirty minutes on Saturday, he was an absolute travesty. Beck had four total turnovers against Alabama in what was his biggest game of the season. That marks five total turnovers against Alabama in two meetings. Worse than that, he’s now 0-2 against the Tide.

7. Brady Cook, Missouri (Last Week: 7)

This week we finally get to see what Brady Cook and company are made of as the Tigers are a road underdog in College Station. Expect big things from Cook and the offense coming off a bye week.

8. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M (Last Week: 10)

Marcel Reed is not going to blow anyone away. He’s absolutely going to make some young mistakes, as well. he did lead a come from behind win away from home by creating three touchdowns

9. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt (Last Week: 9)

Husky Johnny Manziel will have a chance to do the impossible this Saturday and beat Alabama. At the very least, Pavia should catch Alabama in a good spot. The defense might be in a little bit of letdown mode following the win against Georgia.

10. Taylen Green, Arkansas (Last Week: 8)

Ball security has been an issue with Green all season, and it feels like it’s something I’ve brought up almost every week in these rankings. It’s also something he’s seemingly been able to overcome each week. Not this week. He had three turnovers against the Aggies and fumbled another time. His teammates bailed him out on that one. That recipe won’t win one score games in this conference.

11. LaNoris Sellers & Robby Ashford, South Carolina (Last Week: 11)
12. Brock Vandagriff, Kentucky (Last Week: 14)
13. Billy Napier’s Only Hope, Florida (Last Week: 13)
14. Payton Thorne/Hugh Freeze’s Scapegoat, Auburn (Last Week: 16)
15. Not Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma (Last Week: 12)
16. Mississippi State Kid, Mississippi State (Last Week: 15)