What a week it was for college football. We may as well call it the week of upsets, due in part to a lot of highly-ranked teams losing. Look no further than No. 9 Missouri losing to No. 25 Texas A&M, No. 4 Tennessee falling to Arkansas, and No. 1 Alabama suffering a monumental upset at the hands of Vanderbilt.
With the NFL season five weeks in, there are going to be teams looking at the top of the draft class. Specifically, those who look like they don’t have much of a chance to have a winning record or make the playoffs. Some of those teams may need a quarterback.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at how some of the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 class performed in Week 6.
Previous editions of “In the Market” can be found below:
Carston Beck overcame a brutal start to a huge game against Alabama, to leading a tremendous comeback attempt in the second half.Beck showcased why he was considered the QB1 in this year’s class at one point. But, he would have to put it all together in a full game.
This past weekend, the Georgia Bulldogs took on the Auburn Tigers. While Auburn tried their best to keep things close, Beck helped them pull away in the second half. From orchestrating a 12-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a one-yard touchdown run by Trevor Etienne. In the fourth quarter, Beck connected on a three-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Bell five plays after Auburn turned the football over on downs.
In the 31-13 win, Beck completed 23-of-29 pass attempts for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Beck thrived on short-distance passes (zero to nine yards), completing all nine attempts for 53 yards and two touchdowns, per Pro Football Focus. Additionally, Beck was five for seven for 103 yards on passes between 10 and 19 yards.
Next Game: vs. Mississippi State, Saturday, Oct. 12, 4:15 p.m. ET
Last week, Jalen Milroe had one of the best games by a quarterback this season by helping lead Alabama to a win over Georgia. One week later, Alabama’s good vibes were literally out of the window, thanks in part to Vanderbilt.
No longer were the Commodores the punching bags of the SEC, as they showed up in a big way, scoring a massive 40-35 win over the Crimson Tide. This was a monumental loss for Alabama, as they dropped from the No. 1 spot all the way to No. 7.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe struggled with turnovers. What made them worse, is that both mistakes resulted in Vanderbilt touchdowns. In the first quarter, Milroe threw a brutal interception to Randon Fontenette, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. Then, in the fourth quarter, Milroe was sacked from his blindside, resulting in a lost fumble. Vanderbilt responded with a six-yard touchdown pass from Diego Pavia to Kamrean Johnson to extend their lead to 40-28.
Milroe threw for 310 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while completing 18-of-24 pass attempts. Besides the pick-six, Milroe was nearly perfect throwing in the middle of the field, completing 9-of-10 throws for 150 yards, per Pro Football Focus.
Next Game: vs. South Carolina, Saturday, Oct. 12, noon ET
The Ole Miss Rebels and Jaxson Dart suffered a brutal loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, forcing them to fall down the AP Top 25 rankings. Now, the Rebels have to win out the rest of the year and see how the rest of the SEC performs to keep their College Football Playoff chances alive. Their next opponent were the South Carolina Gamecocks.
It was an easy day at the office for Dart and Ole Miss, as they cruised to a 27-3 win. Dart didn’t get on the scoreboard, and it was a mixed-bag performance overall. Dart completed 14-of-27 pass attempts for 282 yards. With a clean pocket, according to Pro Football Focus, Dart completed 10-of-17 throws for 145 yards on 17 dropbacks. Dart struggled on deep passes 20 yards or further, and completed two of nine attempts for 98 yards.
Dart will have a huge game this weekend, when Ole Miss plays LSU.
Next Game: at No. 13 LSU, Saturday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m. ET
What a game for Cam Ward. Much like Carson Beck last week against Alabama, Ward put behind a rough first half against the California Golden Bears with an incredible final two quarters. The difference is, Ward led Miami to a win, overcoming a 35-10 deficit to win 39-38. Ward led the team to four consecutive touchdown drives to keep Miami’s undefeated season alive.
In the game, Ward completed 35-of-53 pass attempts for 437 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Ward also ran for 15 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Ward notably struggled when pressured, completing 7-of-15 throws for 70 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 20 dropbacks, per Pro Football Focus.
It was a true Heisman performance for Ward and showed why he should be in consideration to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Next Game: at Louisville, Saturday, Oct. 19, noon ET
Once again, Kurtis Rourke makes the list. Rourke has played a role in the Indiana Hoosiers shocking the world this season by going undefeated and already clinching a bowl game appearance.
In the team’s 41-24 win over the Northwestern Wildcats, Rourke threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns while completing 25-of-33 pass attempts. Rourke did most of his damage on medium throws (10-19 yards), completing 9-of-13 attempts for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 13 dropbacks, per Pro Football Focus.
Now, Indiana will be in contention for a bowl game. But in the process, Rourke is making a name for himself.
Conner Weigman entered the season as a top quarterback prospect and a Heisman favorite. However, his stock took a bit of a hit due to his play in Week 1 against Notre Dame, and the fact he was sidelined due to injury for a month.
This past Saturday, Weigman returned to start against No. 9 Missouri in a big game. It was a decisive 41-10 win over the Tigers, and Weigman threw for 276 yards while completing 18-of-22 passes.
It was a solid showing for Weigman in his first game back from injury. Let’s see what he can do for the rest of the season and if he can increase his draft stock.
The Cleveland Browns look destined to take a quarterback in the first round. Well, at least they should be considering it. Deshaun Watson is an unmitigated disaster at quarterback and is dragging the team down with him. The problem is, Watson is on a $230 million fully guaranteed contract. While that’s a lot of money, the Browns should be replacing him. But this is Cleveland, aka “The Factory of Sadness,” so who knows what they’ll do.
Could Sean McVay draft his quarterback of the future? The Rams are banged up on offense and look to be trending towards the bottom of the NFC West. Matthew Stafford is under contract through the 2026 season. It may be time to have a succession plan in place. As in, draft a top quarterback, sit him behind Stafford for a season or two, then take over the starting job.
The Carolina Panthers may have beaten the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, but they are back on a two-game losing streak, where they look completely outmatched. Bryce Young struggled, and the offense was a bit more competent when Andy Dalton took over. The Panthers will eat a lot of crow if they move on from Young so quickly, but one has to wonder if head coach Dave Canales wants his own quarterback to develop.
The Tennessee Titans are still sticking by Will Levis, but he has to sshow some improvement. Some of the mistakes he makes are baffling. Maybe he’ll get the full season to prove he should be the QB1. If he can’t the Titans could be in the market for a quarterback.
The Raiders have benched Gardner Minshew multiple times this season. Aidan O’Connell hasn’t looked much better. The Raiders should be making a big move for a rookie quarterback next year after missing out this past April.
The New York Giants are playing better than they did in Week 1, and that includes Daniel Jones. No matter how well Jones plays this season, let’s not forget that the team actively tried to draft his replacement. The Giants drafting a quarterback in the first-round should be viewed as a lock.
Could the Pittsburgh Steelers be in the market for a quarterback? Well, we’d have to see how the offense progresses this season with either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson. Pittsburgh’s offense is painfully conservative under coordinator Arthur Smith. Let’s see the quarterback take some shots downfield, because now, it’s hard to evaluate how well either quarterback on the roster can play.
