We are just outside of 60 days from the state of week one of the season and Ohio State’s 2025 opener against Texas. The Buckeyes will be breaking in a new quarterback as will many of Ohio State’s opponents.
Maybe you are new to the game or have been living in a cave for the entire offseason, but the quarterback matchup will be one to witness with the Horns bringing Arch Manning as the Ohio State quarterback battle remains unresolved at this very moment.
It got us to thinking about who will be the best quarterbacks that Ohio State will face in the regular season. The Buckeyes will miss out on a few in the conference including Dante Moore (Oregon), Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), and Dylan Raiola (Nebraska) to name a few along with a newcome at the team up north with Bryce Underwood.
We know Manning will top the list, but who else makes the cut as we are just two months out from the start of the season?
5. Demond Williams – Washington (September 27th)
Williams saw spot duty last season for the Huskies before seeing the bulk of the action in the Oregon game as well as the Sun Bowl against Louisville. While the Huskies didn’t win either game, Williams had better than an 80-percent completion rate and threw five touchdowns to just one interception in going 43-52 between those two games. One of the biggest things keeping Williams down is his inability to avoid the sack, at least to this point, giving up 21 on the season, 15 in those last two games. The talent is there but being slightly undersized (just 5-foot-11) has many people doubting him.
4. Nico Iamaleava – UCLA (November 15th)
14-34 for 104 yards notwithstanding, Nico is still a known commodity in quarterbacking, and he will get another shot at Ohio State, at Ohio State, this time with a different team and different weather conditions. Iamaleava only had his legs in the only other matchup against Ohio State because there was no success throwing the ball, but will UCLA provide a different set of weapons and maybe a different outcome, at least on a personal basis? Sure, it may be aggressive having a quarterback that only cracked the 70-percent completion mark three times last season this high, but the ground ability really does add to the total package, and this feels like the correct ranking.
3. Luke Altmyer – Illinois (October 11th)
I am just as shocked as anyone that I have an Illinois quarterback this high, but ‘Dems da’ facts’. The touchdown to interception rate is solid at 22 to 6, Altmyer seems to keep the Illini out of too many bad situations, and he seems to be a steady competitor. But he did get sacked 32 times last year and did have a sub-60-percent completion rate in seven Power Four games last season. He is another quarterback that is not going to beat you on two or three big plays more than likely, he is just going to play a steady game where he won’t allow himself to defeat his own team. Bettors see Illinois has some sort of dark horse bet in the Big Ten race, I may not be as bullish on the Illini, but the team needs Altmyer to be solid if they are going to pull off any upsets along the way.
2. Drew Allar – Penn State (November 1st)
But Kevin, we have seen him play and it hasn’t been all that impressive. Is that setting up a big 2025 or have we already seen this movie and there just aren’t any top tier quarterbacks in the conference? That is up for you to decide. Allar had the Nittany Lions really one drive away from getting to the championship game against Ohio State, but Allar also made a throw so bad on that drive that led to an interception, should all the goodwill be tossed aside with the weekly trash? He threw for more than 3,300 yards last season, had a 3:1 touchdown to interception rate and saw Penn State go 11-1 in the regular season. But he also wasn’t much of a factor in the Ohio State, SMU and Notre Dame games. We have been told repeatedly that Penn State has solved issues via the portal in the passing game, but you are well within your right to be skeptical until proven otherwise.
1. Arch Manning – Texas (August 30th)
It is better to be getting him week one than week 10 as a new(ish) quarterback. Yes, Manning did step in for an injured Ewers for a couple of starts last season but largely was held to a backup role, knowing his coronation would be in 2025. What can we learn from games against UT-San Antonio, Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State? Not a whole lot when it comes to playing in a major road venue, but Manning has the DNA for these types of games. Manning did not attempt a pass in his last four games played and is 6 of 12 in throwing from October 2024 on. So, he has more real game experience than either Julian Sayin or Lincoln Kienholz, but he has less experience than the four quarterbacks ahead of him on this list. Regardless, week one is going to be must watch TV (even if it is at 12pm and you are big mad about the time, you will still be watching).
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