11 best college football QBs entering 2026 season
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The 2026 college football season is shaping up as a quarterback showcase, with proven stars returning and a few NFL-caliber talents pushing for a final bump to their draft stock.
Of course, analysts and fans thought the same thing in 2025.
This time last year, quarterbacks Arch Manning of Texas, Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Garrett Nussmeier of LSU, Drew Allar of Penn State and DJ Lagway of Florida were expected to light up scoreboards and lead their teams to the College Football Playoff. They didn’t.
MORE: 4 College Football dark horse teams to watch for the 2026 CFP season
And who didn’t get mentioned much entering the 2025 season? Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who won the national title and Heisman Trophy, and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, who finished second in the Heisman voting.
So let’s try this again. Below are college football quarterback rankings for 2026.
MORE: 3 college football programs primed to be next dynasty
This list is about the upcoming campaign, not résumés. It weighs what these quarterbacks have already put on tape and what their situations look like heading into this fall: coaching stability, supporting cast and realistic paths to the playoff.
1. Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns
Arch Manning goes into 2026 with more pressure than anyone on this list, and he is also the most equipped to handle it. Texas enters with playoff expectations after a near-miss in 2025 and a quarterback who has lived in the spotlight since middle school. The Longhorns are being talked about as a national title contender, and Manning is the reason they are taken seriously in that conversation.
Manning rebounded from a slow start to pass for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2025. He added 399 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
He has the arm talent to attack every level of the field, a natural feel for creating in the pocket and enough athleticism to punish defenses that lose track of him. The bigger selling point is how quickly he processes and gets the ball out, which is vital in an SEC that still sends edge rushers to the first round on a yearly basis. If Texas handles its early-season home game against the Ohio State Buckeyes and the SEC opener against the Tennessee Volunteers, Manning will sit atop every Heisman conversation by October.
2. Dante Moore, Oregon Ducks
When NFL draft evaluators start circling a quarterback this early, you pay attention. Dante Moore has already pushed his way near the top of 2027 draft boards thanks to a blend of unique arm strength and pocket presence.
Moore passed for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2025, leading the Ducks to the CFP semifinals.
Moore wins from the pocket. He is accurate in the short and intermediate game, manages pressure well and has shown he can make progression reads instead of locking onto his first option. On an Oregon team that still tends to play in high-scoring affairs, that kind of steadiness is priceless. If Oregon can keep him upright and give him a little more help at receiver, he has a path to being the first quarterback taken next spring and a late-emerging Heisman dark horse in 2026.
3. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss Rebels
Trinidad Chambliss is being discussed as one of the top quarterbacks in the country after leading the Rebels to a surprise College Football Playoff semifinal berth in 2025.
The senior went to court to earn one more season in Oxford. He earned the starting job after transferring from Division II Ferris State. Chambliss collected the SEC’s Newcomer of the Year award by throwing for 3,937 yards, 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He rushed for 527 yards and another eight scores.
Chambliss will attempt to improve on those numbers despite the departures of head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to LSU.
4. Julian Sayin, Ohio State Buckeyes
Sophomore Julian Sayin is entering 2026 as Ohio State’s clear offensive centerpiece. He has shown he can handle big stages and physical defenses, which is necessary in a league that now stretches from coast to coast.
In his first year as the starter, Sayin completed 77 percent of his passes for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist. The Buckeyes rolled through the regular season, ranked No. 1 for most of it, before stumbling against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship Game and their first CFP game against the Miami Hurricanes.
Sayin will be throwing to the nation’s top receiver in Jeremiah Smith and a top recruit in Chris Henry Jr.
5. CJ Carr, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
CJ Carr led Notre Dame to 10 consecutive victories to end the season after a couple of close losses to CFP teams to start the campaign.
The Fighting Irish just missed a CFP berth of their own, but Carr was solid in his first season as the full-time starter. He threw for 2,741 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Carr should have more opportunity in the passing game in 2026 after Notre Dame lost running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to the NFL.
6. Darian Mensah, Miami Hurricanes
Darian Mensah joins Miami after single seasons with the Tulane Green Wave and Duke Blue Devils. He replaces Carson Beck, who led the Hurricanes to the CFP title game, where they fell to Indiana.
Mensah carried the Blue Devils to the ACC championship, passing for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six picks.
Miami will encourage Mensah to get the ball to receiver Malachi Toney, who broke out as a freshman.
Mensah will get to face his former team on Nov. 14, when the Hurricanes host the Blue Devils. Mensah is fortunate the game isn’t in Durham. Duke fans remain salty about Mensah announcing he would stay with the Blue Devils before reversing course and heading for South Beach.
7. John Mateer, Oklahoma Sooners
John Mateer arrived in Norman before the 2025 season as a touted transfer from the Washington State Cougars. His numbers dipped in his first season with the Sooners, but there was a reason.
Mateer broke his thumb in Week 4 against the Auburn Tigers. He underwent surgery and returned just three weeks later to face the Texas Longhorns. Mateer’s productivity fell off, and he later said the injury forced him to change the way he threw the football. Still, Oklahoma made the CFP before dropping a heartbreaker against Alabama.
He finished the season completing 62.2 percent of his passes for 2,885 yards with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Mateer managed 436 yards rushing and eight touchdowns.
Oklahoma upgraded its receiving corps, attracting Texas WR Parker Livingstone, in the hopes of helping Mateer thrive.
8. Jayden Maiava, USC Trojans
Out west, there is almost always a quarterback with the kind of prototype build and arm talent that gets scouts talking. USC Trojans signal-caller Jayden Maiava is that quarterback for 2026.
Maiava enjoyed a big first season as the starter for head coach Lincoln Riley in 2025. He completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,711 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The question for Maiava is consistency. The flashes are obvious on deep posts and sideline comebacks, but this season will be about stacking entire games of efficient football.
The Trojans also must find replacements for top receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, who now are on NFL teams.
9. Sam Leavitt, LSU Tigers
Sam Leavitt hopes LSU head coach Lane Kiffin will do for him what he did for Chambliss at Ole Miss.
After leading Arizona State to a surprise Big 12 title and CFP berth in 2024, Leavitt was limited to just seven games for the Sun Devils in 2025. A Lisfranc injury cut his season short.
But Kiffin sees Leavitt as a veteran leader who can hit the ground running with a team full of weapons, including transfer receivers Jayce Brown (Kansas State) and Eugene Wilson III (Florida). Top transfer Jordan Seaton (Colorado) takes over at left tackle.
10. Gunner Stockton, Georgia Bulldogs
Gunner Stockton finally got his chance to be the full-time starter in 2025. He proved he belongs, leading Georgia to an SEC championship and a berth in the CFP.
Now, he will try to take the next step and return the Bulldogs to national title contention.
Stockton completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 2,894 yards with 24 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 2025. He also rushed for 462 yards and 10 scores.
11. Josh Hoover, Indiana Hoosiers
Josh Hoover joins the national champions with hopes of following in Mendoza’s footsteps for head coach Curt Cignetti.
Hoover transferred to Indiana after two big years with the TCU Horned Frogs. He passed for 3,949 yards with 27 touchdowns in 2024 and 3,472 with 29 touchdowns in 2025. In fact, Hoover is the FBS active leader in passing yards with 9,629.
The Hoosiers lost a lot of talent to the NFL, but Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh and returnee Charlie Becker form a solid receiving corps for Hoover.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos