Big Ten dominates 2026 preseason college football QB rankings

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The Big Ten has won the last three college football national championships. It should not come as a surprise that with several Big Ten football teams in the mix for the 2026 College Football Playoff, the conference has several quarterbacks who are expected to be among the nation's best this fall. CBS Sports produced a top-10 list of the best quarterbacks in the country. Several are from the Big Ten, as College Sports Wire noted:

"Last year's champions, the Indiana Hoosiers, were led by Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and likely No. 1 pick in this year's NFL draft. If things are going to stick with the Big Ten again this year, they have the quarterbacks to do it. In CBS Sports' ranking of all 68 power conference quarterbacks, the Big Ten owns the first two slots and four of the top 10 spots. Coming in at No. 1 is Oregon's Dante Moore, followed by Ohio State signal caller Julian Sayin at No. 2.

"Sitting in the bronze medal position, with a lot of hype and anticipation, is Texas quarterback Arch Manning. The rest of the top five is rounded out by Trinidad Chambliss, who is returning to Ole Miss, at No. 4, and Darian Mensah, Miami's new quarterback, at No. 5.

"Notre Dame makes an appearance with C.J. Carr at No. 6, with two SEC quarterbacks, Gunner Stockton and Sam Leavitt, coming in at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively. The Big Ten rounds out the top ten with USC's Jayden Maiava at No. 9 and Indiana's newest toy from the transfer portal, Josh Hoover, coming in at No. 10."

USC fans will surely question Dante Moore of Oregon being No. 1 after his shaky moments in big games last season. They will also question Jayden Maiava being eight spots behind Moore in the rankings. The Trojans have more to prove than Oregon does, though — no one can dispute that. It's up to USC to prove it is ready to take the next step and return to being a true college football powerhouse in the Big Ten.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Big Ten football quarterbacks dominate preseason college rankings

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