Ohio State will play 12 regular season games this year and face just four quarterbacks who are not only “returning starters,” but actually returning to the same starting job they had last year. In the age of the transfer portal, this is what is known in the business as “a luxury.”
They will also likely face another four quarterbacks who had starting experience at their previous school and transferred in this past offseason. In the age of the transfer portal, this is what is known in the business as “business.”
That, of course, leaves four other home-grown first-time starters who will be tested week after week. In the age of the transfer portal, this is what is known in the business as “poverty.”
The Ohio State defense is going to face a variety of quarterback types this season, which is one of the great things about college football — unless you ask the defensive coordinators.
Since we are now approaching college football magazine season, I thought it would be a good time to start producing some college football magazine-like content and rank the 12 opposing quarterbacks who are expected to start against the Buckeyes this season.
(This used to be a much easier task when returning starters didn’t jump into the transfer portal as often as backups do.)
So let’s get things started — and yes, I can already hear you shaking your head as you look at this list.
1) Dillon Gabriel, Oregon [Game 6, October 12 – at Oregon]
Dillon Gabriel is one of the top Heisman favorites this year after transferring over from Oklahoma. He is going to have one of the two best receiving rooms in the Big Ten to work with. This will be the biggest regular season test for the Ohio State defense. Gabriel was sixth nationally last year in pass plays of 30 yards or more (29). He was third in 40-yard plays (18), and second in 50-yard plays (9). The Buckeyes led the nation last year with just one pass play of 40 yards or more allowed.
2) Drew Allar, Penn State [Game 8, Nov. 2 – at Penn State]
Drew Allar completed 28-of-65 passes for 261 yards total in the two games against Michigan and Ohio State last year. Most quarterbacks’ worst games are going to come against the best defenses, however. Allar has a strong arm but was reticent to show it last year downfield. Part of that was because of the lack of playmaking receivers. His numbers weren’t as bad as his reputation made you think they were, and he’s a better runner than he gets credit for, but you can’t continue to play it safe and throw it short and only complete 60% of your passes.
3) Hudson Card, Purdue [Game 9, Nov. 9 – Purdue]
We have now gotten to the “throw your hands up in the air in a ‘hell if I know’ kind of manner” part of the show. Hudson Card finished third in the Big Ten in passing yards per game last year (217.0), but eighth in pass efficiency (123.02). That number dropped to 117.57 in conference play. Card has never developed into the kind of runner people thought he would become. Consistency has also been a factor. But now as a fifth-year senior, this should be the best version of him, though he did lose his best receiver from last year. There’s a pretty good chance that the next three guys on this list will finish ahead of Card if we were to revisit this exercise after the season.
4) Aidan Chiles, Michigan State [Game 4, Sept. 28 – at Michigan State]
It’s easy to buy into the hype of Aidan Chiles, and not just because people at Michigan State buy into the hype faster than a greased pig down a waterslide. Chiles came over from Oregon State with head coach Jonathan Smith. Chiles was part of the game plan last year for the Beavers as a true freshman, but now he’ll be the entire game plan with the Spartans. Chiles was the No. 2 quarterback in 247Sports’ portal rankings, behind only Ohio State freshman Julian Sayin. We’ll see how consistent he can be this year, but it won’t be a surprise to see him have games where he is a complete pain for the defense to deal with. Also, and perhaps most telling, the recent history of Aidans in the Big Ten has been pretty spectacular.
5) Alex Orji, Michigan [Game 12, Nov. 30 – Michigan]
The Michigan quarterback job is still up for grabs, but all signs point to Alex Orji as the betting favorite. Despite questions about his accuracy, he is a career 100% passer, which has to make Michigan fans feel pretty good about things. Orji has been primarily a runner over his first two years, but will need to show the rest of his game this year. The good news is that he has enough natural talent to make things happen in the Big Ten, but can he do the routine things routinely?
6) Kurtis Rourke, Indiana [Game 11, Nov. 23 – Indiana]
My apologies to the Ohio University fans here for disrespecting Kurtis Rourke this way, but I need to see the necessary consistency and playmaking before I’m completely bought in. Still, being sixth on this list feels pretty purchased. I’m just keeping the receipt in case I find a better deal on Amazon. I wonder if he’d be higher on this list if this was last year and he was just coming off of his 2022 performance.
7) Cade McNamara, Iowa [Game 5, Oct. 5 – Iowa]
Cade McNamara is the only player on this list who has actually led his team to a College Football Playoff berth, so that’s gotta count for something, right? A year ago he wanted people to doubt the Hawkeye offense. Well, he got his wish and he didn’t even have to ask a genie for a damn thing. McNamara has his limitations, but his floor is also higher than everybody else below him. Probably.
8) Dylan Raiola, Nebraska [Game 7, Oct. 26 – Nebraska]
Dylan Raiola hasn’t been named the starting quarterback yet, but he’ll either have taken over the job or lost it by the time the Ohio State game comes around. There is a ton of excitement around Raiola’s potential. Even with the freshman mistakes, he can’t be any worse than what Nebraska had last year with Heinrich Haarberg, Chubba Purdy, and Jeff Sims. Having him eighth on this list feels like a safe hedge, and also makes room for his ups and downs. There will be times maybe he plays like the fifth quarterback and times he plays like the 12th.
9) Mike Wright, Northwestern [Game 10, Nov. 9 – at Purdue]
Mike Wright is listed about five spots below former Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras in 247Sports’ portal quarterback rankings, if that tells you anything. Wright announced his commitment/transfer to Northwestern two weeks ago. He came over from Mississippi State after starting his career at Vanderbilt. You just have to hope that after going from Vandy to Mississippi State to Northwestern that he can revert back to his studious ways. It’s kinda like stopping off at Myrtle Beach between visits to the Louvre and the Vatican. Wright started 11 games in his Vanderbilt career and three last year with the Bulldogs. He was recruited by the Wildcats way back when, so there has always been some familiarity here. Also, his skill set does fit new offensive coordinator Zach Lujan’s preferences.
10) Hayden Wolff, Western Michigan [Game 2, Sept. 7 – Western Michigan]
We have reached the non-conference portion of this rankings list. And when you’re talking about Group of Five quarterbacks, you’re probably not going to be facing any kind of returning starter that scares you, because if they’re that good, then they’ve probably transferred out and up. Hayden Wolff is the returning starter here but three-star true freshman JD Davis was the star of the spring game. He comes to Western from Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia where he was the Offensive Player of the Year in his region and the Gwinnett County Quarterback of the Year after throwing for 3,000+ yards and 35 touchdowns with just one interception.
11) Ben Finley, Akron [Game 1, Aug. 31 – Akron]
Ben Finley began his career at North Carolina State, where he played from 2020-2022 before transferring to California last year. He played in eight games with two starts in his Wolfpack career, and got two starts last year out west. Akron head coach Joe Moorhead can usually get a lot out of his quarterbacks. It’s not easy to get good info on the Zips, but I did read on an Akron message board that Finley is the likely starter and throws a catchable ball. He’s got pretty decent experience as well.
12) QBTBNL, Marshall [Game 3, Sept. 21 – Marshall]
There is still a quarterback competition going on between a large handful of possibilities. Each of those possibilities would likely end up 12th on this list anyway, so as long as they don’t form a Marshall Voltron and fuse all of their best skills together, this feels pretty safe for now.
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