Intro

Before we jump into some numbers and analysis, the obvious caveats apply. It's only three weeks in; sample sizes are low, and 2020 is still having a lingering effect on some teams that will eventually wear off.

With that said, I wanted to take a look at how Big Ten QB's have been fairing so far. While it looks like there aren't any starting QB's that profile as a 1st/2nd round NFL draft type, there are several playing at a high level, and not necessarily the ones we expected preseason.

Big Ten QB Stats through Week 3

Note - Cade's QBR isn't provided since he doesn't have enough attempts per game. He is at 10.0 YPA. 

YPA - Yard per attempt

QBR - ESPN's Adjusted Total Quarterback Rating, an efficiency-based stat that takes into account both run and pass plays by the QB

PAA - Number of points contributed by a quarterback, a cumulative performance stat

Since we're not playing them until a potential title game, let's say that Tanner Morgan looks like himself, Jack Plummer looks solid if unspectacular in the Brohm offense, Sitkowski/Peters are butt, and Spencer Petras is horribly boring but marginally efficient for Iowa. So far, I'd tier the remaining QB's on the schedule as such:

Tier 1 - Legit Good QBs

Adrian Martinez really picked it up against Oklahoma, especially considering the O-Line and skill position talent around him. He is still highly combustible and prone to periods of terrible turnovers, but the raw talent is evident.

Don't let these MSU blinders of this site fool you - Payton Thorne has been impressive so far. He looks to be in the vein of a Connor Cook - knows where to go with the ball, solid arm, reasonably good on the ground, winner. 

Maryland versus Illinois was a garbage game on Friday, but Tulia Tagovailoa has had a solid season overall. He has perhaps the two best WR in the Big Ten outside of Columbus to work with, and is putting up some gaudy yardage totals.

Tier 2 - OSU and PSU QBs

This is one were context matters. By stats alone, CJ Stroud appears to be on par with the top of the league. However, it was hard to watch the Tulsa game without thinking that Stroud's time at the helm may already be ticking away. He missed multiple throws with WRs open by 5+ yards, exited pockets unnecessarily, and generally looked way less comfortable than he ought to with three of the fastest wideouts in the country and four NFL left tackles providing him pass protection.

As we know, either he or one of his 5* backups will fart around all year, walk into Ann Arbor, and suddenly transformer into a super saiyan before an inevitable life of NFL busting and Instragram model drama, but for now, it's looking like a large step down from the Justin Fields days.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sean Clifford looks exactly like the previous PSU iterations at QB - solid, will win a lot of games, doesn't really scare you. For what it's worth, this seems like a good comp for Cade at this point.

Tier 3 - Solid

(Tanner Morgan and Jack Plummer would probably go here)

Tier 4 - Yikes

No need to spend a lot of time pointing out that Noah Vedral and Hunter Johnson are pretty bad. The much more notable thing here is that perhaps the most highly regarded returning QB's in the East and West have actually been complete pumpkins so far.

Graham Mertz is making up for Wisconsin's ability to turn every RB into a five-star caliber talent by taking their first and only home-grown blue-chip QB and becoming Rutger-ian in less than two years.

And there's no other way to put it, Indiana has a broken Michael Penix Jr. (not sorry).

Final Thoughts

It's hard to tell where Cade might fit on this list. His YPA is gaudy and would put him second in the conference, but Michigan hasn't played anyone that forced Michigan to throw a lot, and he looked pretty shook in the night game environment. Time will tell, but, as mentioned, his ceiling feels similar to that of that last few PSU QB's, include Clifford.

It does seem notable that the three best looking QB's in the conference so far are all on our schedule as away games. Most of us have been concentrating on the @Wisc/@PSU matchups, but Nebraska and Maryland look like very dangerous trap games, and MSU looks straight up good at football so far this year.

Should be an interesting conference season.