We’re about halfway through the 2019 college football season. This means that we are now at a good time to see how the nation’s quarterbacks have played so far in the midseason QB WAR update!
I created this metric to compare the numbers quarterbacks accumulate, based on who they played and how those stats correlated to winning. I then compared to a replacement level QB to see how much better or worse a QB has been than average. For baseball fans, the premise of this was very much like how baseball players are compared quantitatively. I was even very creative and used the exact same name for the stat.
On my third season of using this metric, I have found that it highly values QBs who are efficient. The stats used in my formula adjust for pass attempts. For instance, someone at Texas Tech or Washington State isn’t too highly ranked due to raw numbers. These factors that are looked at are completion percentage, YPA, touchdown percentage and interception percentage. QB WAR is a main component of my AGI ratings that I use to project games. Also, my numbers are based on just passing stats, so QB rushing stats are not factored into these grades.
Below are the full rankings of players in QB WAR this season against FBS opponents. I included the 115 QBs with over 100 attempts so far this season.
QB WAR Through 10/23/19 (Min. 100 Att.)
| Rank | Name | Team | Att | WAR |
| 1 | Justin Fields | Ohio State | 164 | 5.0626 |
| 2 | Tua Tagovailoa | Alabama | 194 | 4.5920 |
| 3 | Joe Burrow | LSU | 194 | 4.5472 |
| 4 | Jalen Hurts | Oklahoma | 136 | 3.5969 |
| 5 | Sam Howell | North Carolina | 244 | 2.8191 |
| 6 | Tanner Morgan | Minnesota | 134 | 2.7767 |
| 7 | Justin Herbert | Oregon | 190 | 2.6137 |
| 8 | Sean Clifford | Penn State | 161 | 2.5580 |
| 9 | Brady White | Memphis | 121 | 2.3934 |
| 10 | Jacob Eason | Washington | 171 | 2.3772 |
| 11 | Brock Purdy | Iowa State | 192 | 2.3497 |
| 12 | Jack Coan | Wisconsin | 167 | 2.3256 |
| 13 | Dillon Gabriel | Central Florida | 188 | 2.1834 |
| 14 | Charlie Brewer | Baylor | 165 | 2.0677 |
| 15 | Ian Book | Notre Dame | 171 | 2.0417 |
| 16 | Jake Fromm | Georgia | 163 | 1.7991 |
| 17 | Shane Buechele | SMU | 250 | 1.7129 |
| 18 | Chris Reynolds | Charlotte | 126 | 1.6205 |
| 19 | Sam Ehlinger | Texas | 235 | 1.6148 |
| 20 | Bo Nix | Auburn | 169 | 1.3832 |
| 21 | Anthony Gordon | Washington State | 259 | 1.3778 |
| 22 | Anthony Brown | Boston College | 123 | 1.3371 |
| 23 | Tyler Huntley | Utah | 101 | 1.3256 |
| 24 | Kyle Trask | Florida | 116 | 1.3115 |
| 25 | Max Duggan | TCU | 119 | 1.2451 |
| 26 | Ryan Hilinski | South Carolina | 169 | 1.1294 |
| 27 | Dustin Crum | Kent State | 127 | 1.0571 |
| 28 | Brian Lewerke | Michigan State | 228 | 1.0267 |
| 29 | Zac Thomas | Appalachian State | 119 | 1.0072 |
| 30 | Tommy Devito | Syracuse | 198 | 0.9720 |
| 31 | Chris Robison | Florida Atlantic | 211 | 0.9391 |
| 32 | Ryan Agnew | San Diego State | 165 | 0.9171 |
| 33 | Jack Abraham | Southern Miss | 192 | 0.8968 |
| 34 | N’Kosi Perry | Miami (FL) | 102 | 0.8754 |
| 35 | Mike Glass | Eastern Michigan | 178 | 0.7894 |
| 36 | Shea Patterson | Michigan | 202 | 0.7429 |
| 37 | James Blackman | Florida State | 190 | 0.7115 |
| 38 | Kellen Mond | Texas A&M | 223 | 0.7038 |
| 39 | Kedon Slovis | USC | 138 | 0.7008 |
| 40 | Trevor Lawrence | Clemson | 190 | 0.6681 |
| 41 | Patrick O’Brien | Colorado State | 156 | 0.6534 |
| 42 | Hank Bachmeier | Boise State | 150 | 0.6334 |
| 43 | Nathan Stanley | Iowa | 236 | 0.6331 |
| 44 | Kelly Bryant | Missouri | 186 | 0.6053 |
| 45 | Dan Ellington | Georgia State | 176 | 0.5883 |
| 46 | Logan Bonner | Arkansas State | 122 | 0.5787 |
| 47 | Jamie Newman | Wake Forest | 174 | 0.5766 |
| 48 | Skylar Thompson | Kansas State | 111 | 0.5737 |
| 49 | Zach Smith | Tulsa | 219 | 0.5579 |
| 50 | Ty Storey | Western Kentucky | 112 | 0.5161 |
| 51 | Kenny Pickett | Pittsburgh | 257 | 0.5063 |
| 52 | Jake Luton | Oregon State | 168 | 0.4948 |
| 53 | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | 151 | 0.4870 |
| 54 | Michael Penix | Indiana | 125 | 0.4789 |
| 55 | Zach Wilson | BYU | 175 | 0.4749 |
| 56 | James Morgan | FIU | 150 | 0.4340 |
| 57 | Elijah Sindelar | Purdue | 112 | 0.4333 |
| 58 | Caleb Evans | UL Monroe | 189 | 0.4267 |
| 59 | Jack Plummer | Purdue | 188 | 0.3541 |
| 60 | Jett Duffey | Texas Tech | 158 | 0.3430 |
| 61 | Cole McDonald | Hawaii | 251 | 0.3382 |
| 62 | J’Mar Smith | Louisiana Tech | 206 | 0.3374 |
| 63 | Jorge Reyna | Fresno State | 155 | 0.3198 |
| 64 | Carter Stanley | Kansas | 175 | 0.2848 |
| 65 | Asher O’Hara | Middle Tennessee | 185 | 0.2652 |
| 66 | Bryce Perkins | Virginia | 208 | 0.2091 |
| 67 | Matt Corral | Ole Miss | 117 | 0.2013 |
| 68 | Justin McMillan | Tulane | 120 | 0.1844 |
| 69 | James Graham | Georgia Tech | 108 | 0.1795 |
| 70 | Nathan Rourke | Ohio | 168 | 0.1721 |
| 71 | Steven Montez | Colorado | 240 | 0.1501 |
| 72 | Jayden Daniels | Arizona State | 143 | 0.1455 |
| 73 | Stephen Calvert | Liberty | 173 | 0.1091 |
| 74 | Dorian Thompson Robinson | UCLA | 159 | 0.0746 |
| 75 | Jarrett Guarantano | Tennessee | 113 | 0.0295 |
| 76 | Fred Payton | Coastal Carolina | 118 | -0.0062 |
| 77 | Brandon Peters | Illinois | 147 | -0.0680 |
| 78 | Nick Starkel | Arkansas | 145 | -0.1043 |
| 79 | Josh Love | San Jose State | 231 | -0.1436 |
| 80 | Jon Wassink | Western Michigan | 232 | -0.1503 |
| 81 | Levi Lewis | UL Lafayette | 157 | -0.1548 |
| 82 | Wiley Green | Rice | 115 | -0.1630 |
| 83 | Kaleb Barker | Troy | 193 | -0.1848 |
| 84 | Drew Plitt | Ball State | 199 | -0.2429 |
| 85 | Sawyer Smith | Kentucky | 117 | -0.2513 |
| 86 | Brett Gabbert | Miami (OH) | 150 | -0.2514 |
| 87 | Ross Bowers | Northern Illinois | 199 | -0.3138 |
| 88 | Tyler Johnston | UAB | 162 | -0.3797 |
| 89 | Khalil Tate | Arizona | 138 | -0.3888 |
| 90 | Alan Bowman | Texas Tech | 100 | -0.3991 |
| 91 | Quentin Harris | Duke | 165 | -0.4297 |
| 92 | David Moore | Central Michigan | 164 | -0.4389 |
| 93 | Josh Jackson | Maryland | 113 | -0.4632 |
| 94 | Matthew McKay | NC State | 122 | -0.4824 |
| 95 | Austin Kendall | West Virginia | 179 | -0.5456 |
| 96 | Sean Chambers | Wyoming | 100 | -0.5563 |
| 97 | Kato Nelson | Akron | 184 | -0.5940 |
| 98 | Kenyon Oblad | UNLV | 136 | -0.6126 |
| 99 | Garrett Shrader | Mississippi State | 106 | -0.6187 |
| 100 | Gresch Jensen | Texas State | 177 | -0.6469 |
| 101 | Mason Fine | North Texas | 197 | -0.7504 |
| 102 | Isaiah Green | Marshall | 169 | -0.7802 |
| 103 | Spencer Sanders | Oklahoma State | 172 | -0.8672 |
| 104 | Anthony Russo | Temple | 176 | -0.9016 |
| 105 | Holton Ahlers | East Carolina | 159 | -0.9079 |
| 106 | Stone Smartt | Old Dominion | 113 | -0.9777 |
| 107 | Adrian Martinez | Nebraska | 146 | -0.9805 |
| 108 | Layne Hatcher | Arkansas State | 106 | -0.9866 |
| 109 | Riley Neal | Vanderbilt | 182 | -1.0459 |
| 110 | Josh Adkins | New Mexico State | 276 | -1.0781 |
| 111 | Jack Zergiotis | Connecticut | 103 | -1.2012 |
| 112 | Cephus Johnson | South Alabama | 132 | -1.3614 |
| 113 | Jordan Love | Utah State | 189 | -1.7131 |
| 114 | Lowell Narcisse | UTSA | 104 | -1.7820 |
| 115 | Jarren Williams | Miami (FL) | 100 | -2.4003 |
