Tua's Heisman seems secure, but here are 9 other QBs crushing it this season

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (padding sold separately to cushion the crash landing in Lexington, Kentucky):

[More Dash: Bobby Petrino’s downfall | Year 2 hot seat | CFB’s hairy question]

SECOND QUARTER

TIME TO RECONSIDER THE HEISMAN RACE?

One of the most inevitable cycles in college football is the November Shop Around by Heisman Trophy voters. (Full disclosure, The Dash is a voter.) They identify the best players in September, form an unofficial consensus on the leaders in October — then get bored and start looking around for alternative candidates down the stretch.

There’s nothing wrong with that cycle if it keeps voters from tuning out on late-season developments that should be kept in mind. Nobody should lock in on his or her Heisman vote with weeks left to play. But there also is a risk of screwing up your ballot by trying to be too clever. Oftentimes, the obvious choice is the obvious choice for good reason.

The obvious choice thus far this year is the Alabama quarterback. But we have reached the stage where a single pedestrian performance against an outstanding defense — say, Mississippi State’s — becomes leverage to suggest that the Heisman race is opening up.

In this case, that feels like manufactured news.

Still, it is abundantly fair to note that there are a surprisingly large number of other accomplished quarterbacks having great seasons out there. Coming into the year the positional strength across college football was supposed to be elsewhere — defensive line, running back, etc. But the QBs are doing just fine. So The Dash is noting 10 quarterbacks having standout seasons on winning teams, while providing some stat work for context:

Tua Tagovailoa (11), Alabama. Team record and CFP ranking: 10-0, No. 1. Pass efficiency rating: 207.7, second nationally. Other key numbers: 67.9 completion percentage; 11.7 yards per attempt; 28 touchdown passes and two interceptions; 252.2 passing yards per game; 267.3 yards total offense per game; 10.61 yards per play total offense; 31 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 66th. Beyond the numbers: They would be bigger if he hadn’t played so sparingly all season in the second half. The knee is a lingering concern.

Kyler Murray (12), Oklahoma. Team record and CFP ranking: 9-1, No. 6. Pass efficiency rating: 212.9, first nationally. Other key numbers: 70.9 completion percentage; 12.3 yards per attempt; 32 touchdown passes and five interceptions; 303.8 passing yards per game; 367.8 yards total offense per game; 10.72 yards per play total offense; 39 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 75th. Beyond the numbers: The most athletic of all the QBs on this list.

Will Grier (13), West Virginia. Team record and CFP ranking: 8-1, No. 9. Pass efficiency rating: 180.7, third nationally. Other key numbers: 69.0 completion percentage; 9.9 yards per attempt; 31 touchdown passes and eight interceptions; 329 passing yards per game; 322 yards total offense per game; 8.68 yards per play total offense; 33 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 75th*. Beyond the numbers: Two plays to win the game against Texas were epic – a perfectly thrown bomb for the touchdown, then a cagey run for the two-point conversion.

Gardner Minshew (14), Washington State. Team record and CFP ranking: 9-1, No. 8. Pass efficiency rating: 147.1, 37th nationally. Other key numbers: 69.6 completion percentage; 7.4 yards per attempt; 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions; 385.2 passing yards per game (leads nation); 393.8 yards per game total offense; 6.98 yards per play total offense; 32 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 70th*. Beyond the numbers: Has elevated the program in his first season after transferring from East Carolina. And the mustache has become a thing, too.

Dwayne Haskins (15), Ohio State. Team record and CFP ranking: 9-1, No. 10. Pass efficiency rating: 165.4, eighth nationally. Other key numbers: 68.9 completion percentage; 8.5 yards per attempt; 33 touchdowns and six interceptions; 328 passing yards per game; 331.4 yards per game total offense; 7.76 yards per play total offense; 34 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 76th. Beyond the numbers: Best pure passer Urban Meyer has had, good enough to alter the offense. But watch for backup Tate Martell to play a role in the final weeks as a red zone dual-threat QB.

McKenzie Milton (16), Central Florida. Team record and CFP ranking: 9-0, No. 12. Pass efficiency rating: 159.9, 15th nationally. Other key numbers: 60.2 completion percentage; 9.1 yards per attempt; 21 touchdowns and five interceptions; 288.6 passing yards per game; 324.3 yards per game total offense; 8.21 yards per play total offense; 29 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 93rd*. Beyond the numbers: No player on this list has done more to elevate a program than Milton, who has merely won 22 straight games and will get the “College GameDay” spotlight this week for the Knights’ game against Cincinnati.

Tyree Jackson (17), Buffalo. Team record and CFP ranking: 9-1 and unranked. Pass efficiency rating: 143.8, 40th nationally. Other key numbers: 56.1 completion percentage; 7.9 yards per attempt; 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions; 233.8 passing yards per game; 243.3 yards per game total offense; 7.31 yards per play total offense; 30 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 68th*. Beyond the numbers: Towering, 6-foot-7, 245-pounder has helped change the course of Buffalo football.

Trevor Lawrence (18), Clemson. Team record and CFP ranking: 10-0 and No. 2. Pass efficiency rating: 158.6, 18th nationally. Other key numbers: 66.7 completion percentage; 8.1 yards per attempt; 19 touchdowns and four interceptions; 184.4 passing yards per game; 190.2 yards per game total offense; 7.18 yards per play total offense; 20 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 78th*. Beyond the numbers: The guy with the greatest NFL potential on this list? Right here. He’s just 10 games into his college career.

Jordan Love (19), Utah State. Team record and CFP ranking: 9-1 and unranked. Pass efficiency rating: 164.4, 10th nationally. Other key numbers: 66.7 completion percentage; 8.8 yards per attempt; 24 touchdowns and four interceptions; 267.6 passing yards per game; 273.5 yards per game total offense; 8.02 yards per play total offense; 30 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 83rd*. Beyond the numbers: The nation’s top scoring offense isn’t led by Tua or Murray; it’s led by this guy.

Shea Patterson (20), Michigan. Team record and CFP ranking: 9-1 and No. 4. Pass efficiency rating: 160.3, 14th nationally. Other key numbers: 67.0 completion percentage; 8.5 yards per attempt; 17 touchdowns and three interceptions; 192.7 passing yards per game; 211.4 yards per game total offense; 7.6 yards per play total offense; 19 total touchdowns. Average rank of defense faced: 56th. Beyond the numbers: Where would the Michigan offense be without Patterson? You saw it last year, and it wasn’t pretty.

(*FCS defenses assigned a No. 131 ranking, since there are 130 FBS teams.)

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