10. Kyle McCord, Syracuse (Previous Rank: 15)

Stats: 185-of-282, 2,160 yards, 19 TD, 6 INT; -12 rush yards, 1 TD

McCord leads the country in completions (185) and pass attempts (282), and his 2,160 passing yards trail only Jaxson Dart (2,384) and Cam Ward (2,219) on the FBS leaderboard. He completed 31-of-42 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns in a win over NC State on Saturday, and he now has at least 300 passing yards in six straight games to open the year.

9. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU (Previous Rank: 6)

Stats: 160-of-249, 1,989 yards, 18 TD, 6 INT; 11 rush yards, 2 TD

Nussmeier didn’t have his prettiest game of the season in Week 7, completing just 22-of-51 pass attempts while throwing two interceptions for the second week in a row. However, he delivered the game-winning, 25-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy in overtime to give LSU a 29-26 victory over Ole Miss.

8. Will Howard, Ohio State (Previous Rank: 12)

Stats: 121-of-165, 1,574 yards, 14 TD, 3 INT; 77 rush yards, 5 TD

Despite a 32-31 loss to Oregon, Howard had arguably his best game of the season, completing 28-of-38 pass attempts for 326 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a rushing score. He has completed at least 80 percent of his passes three times in his last four games, and his 14 touchdown passes are tied with Kurtis Rourke (Indiana) and Luke Altmyer (Illinois) for the Big Ten lead.

7. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss (Previous Rank: 4)

Stats: 151-of-215, 2,384 yards, 14 TD, 3 INT; 183 rush yards, 3 TD

It’s been a tale of two seasons for Dart through Ole Miss’ first seven games, and things are trending in the wrong direction:

• First 4 games (4-0): 95-of-119, 79.8%, 1,554 yards, 12 TD, 2 INT
• Last 3 games (1-2): 56-of-96, 58.3%, 830 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT

He threw 18 incompletions and an interception in Saturday’s overtime loss to LSU, and the Rebels now face a daunting uphill battle to stay alive in the College Football Playoff picture.

6. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (Previous Rank: 7)

Stats: 172-of-237, 2,018 yards, 17 TD, 4 INT; -25 rush yards, 1 TD

Sanders threw for 388 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday night against Kansas State, but the Buffaloes came up short in a 31-28 loss. In four games since suffering an ugly loss to Nebraska in Week 2, he has completed 74.5 percent of his passes for 1,329 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions.