Best backup QBs, premature poll angst and who advances between unbeaten Wake and Cincinnati? Dear Andy (2024)

It seems this year that we’re seeing more “backup” quarterbacks thrust into the spotlight. Who are the top five to 10 backup QBs who aren’t currently considered long-term starters (i.e. not temporary duties due to minor injuries, etc.)?

— Luke

The amount of times quarterbacks carry the ball in modern offense means they’re taking more hits, but the changes in the transfer rules mean it’s going to be more difficult than ever to keep a quality backup. One team’s capable backup is another team’s capable starter. A prime example of this is Will Levis, who under the rules at the turn of this century might have still been on Penn State’s roster backing up Sean Clifford. When Clifford went down Saturday with the Nittany Lions leading at Iowa, maybe the older, more experienced Levis could have come in and helped salvage a win instead of the less experienced Ta’Quon Roberson getting thrown in against one of the best defenses in the country.

But Levis — who would have been eligible to play immediately at Kentucky even before the most recent rule change because he graduated from Penn State in the spring — had moved on so he could win a starting job. This past weekend, he led the Wildcats to a win against LSU. Saturday, he’ll lead undefeated Kentucky against undefeated Georgia.

Coaches will have to keep signing quarterbacks and making sure young ones are ready to play. Because the second a backup gets a chance and shows on-field aptitude, he becomes a candidate to start somewhere else next year. So the teams that have capable, tested backups will become more rare. But there are a few teams this season that either have succeeded while playing a backup or that have a young QB waiting in the wings who should be able to perform if called upon. One such young QB burst on the scene last Saturday in his first extended action.

Since Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley hasn’t named Caleb Williams the starter even though we all saw what we saw during the Texas game, I’m stealing Williams for this list even though I suspect he won’t be eligible as of Saturday’s TCU game. (In which case we can just switch his entry to Spencer Rattler.)

Caleb Williams, Oklahoma

Holy cow, was the No. 1 QB recruit in the class of 2021 ever fun to watch on Saturday in the Cotton Bowl. Williams came in cold and raced for a 66-yard touchdown on his first play.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's @CALEBcsw ✈️✈️✈️

📺ABC | https://t.co/JJGgBBysE4 pic.twitter.com/JDK0SEoEmq

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 9, 2021

Then, after replacing Rattler on a more prolonged basis, Williams completed 16 of 25 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. This was one of those TDs …

🎯 @CALEBcsw out here throwin' darts 🎯

📺ABC | https://t.co/JJGgBBysE4 pic.twitter.com/ESmMye2Rau

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 9, 2021

This was the other …

CALEB WILLIAMS TO MARVIN MIMS🚀

OKLAHOMA COMEBACK!

pic.twitter.com/BMyW8weg1v

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 9, 2021

There just aren’t many people on Earth who can do this. Kyler Murray could, and Williams looked like a bigger version of Murray on Saturday.

Stetson Bennett IV, Georgia

Are we sure “The Mailman” is still the backup when J.T. Daniels is healthy? Bennett took a lot of heat last season for not leading Georgia to a win against Alabama and for failing — while injured — to keep pace with a Florida offense that was shredding Georgia’s injury-riddled defense. But this season, Bennett has done nothing but capably lead the offense when called upon. Bennett only has 62 attempts, but his 12 yards per attempt is second only to Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall (13.6). It looks as if Georgia can beat anyone with him playing QB. Which brings up an even scarier question for Bulldogs’ opponents: If Daniels is still the clear starter when healthy, how much better can Georgia get?

Zach Calzada, Texas A&M

Calzada’s performances against Arkansas and Mississippi State wouldn’t have put him on this list, but he morphed into a mashup of Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Patrick Mahomes in the Aggies’ win against Alabama. The indecisiveness that plagued Calzada in his first starts after replacing injured Haynes King melted away. In its place was a missile launcher with a far more precise guidance system. Calzada completed 21 of 31 passes for 285 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the biggest win of the Jimbo Fisher era at Texas A&M.

The question now is which Calzada will we see the rest of the way? If it’s the guy from Saturday, the Aggies could have a good problem when King gets healthy.

Anthony Richardson, Florida

Richardson was electric in the Gators’ first two games. The offense averaged 21.2 yards every time Richardson took a snap. He combines a huge arm with a huge body and sprinter speed. But that early success might have been a function of the level of competition, or the hamstring injury Richardson suffered while finishing an 80-yard touchdown run against South Florida is still slowing him.

Florida coach Dan Mullen has said repeatedly that Richardson needs to develop a better command of the full offense. Richardson saw extended playing time in Saturday’s win against Vanderbilt, but he completed four of six passes for 25 yards with an interception.

The early hype for Richardson might have been premature, but given the flashes he showed in those first two games, it’s easy to imagine Mullen designing an offense that could work well with Richardson running it if starter Emory Jones goes down for any length of time.

Dennis Grosel, Boston College

If we’d known before the season that BC starter Phil Jurkovec would be lost for the season in Game 2, we probably wouldn’t have predicted that the Eagles would be sitting at 4-1 with a narrow loss at Clemson. Grosel hasn’t been as explosive as Jurkovec, but he has kept the offense on schedule in Chestnut Hill.

Ty Thompson, Oregon

Ducks coach Mario Cristobal remains confident in senior starter Anthony Brown, but should anything happen to Brown, Oregon coaches feel good about Thompson, a 6-foot-4, 223-pound freshman from Gilbert, Ariz. Thompson played in the second half against Stony Brook and late against Arizona. And as long as Brown stays healthy and the Ducks move the ball, that’s the kind of action he’ll see. But the belief within the program is that if needed, Thompson can lead the offense.

If Texas had managed to slow down and tackle Kennedy Brooks with the clock expiring in the fourth quarter, what would the narrative be for Lincoln Riley and the game? It seems that play could have easily backfired.

— Craig

The narrative would be that Riley has won the Big 12 every year he’s been the head coach at Oklahoma, but maybe he might not win it this year. (Had Texas won the game in overtime.) But Brooks did score, Oklahoma did win and Williams looked like the quarterbacks who launched the Riley era at Oklahoma.

If anything, the second half of that game reframed our expectations of Oklahoma this season. I had expected better than what the Sooners showed early this season and had all but given up on the idea of Oklahoma as a Playoff team — which probably was dumb on my part considering the Sooners were still undefeated — but the team that came back against Texas could be awfully dangerous going forward.

The polls are broken. Oklahoma is a top-five team after giving up a ton of points? Oregon beats Ohio State in Columbus and is ranked behind them? Alabama loses to an unranked team and remains in the top 5? Help me understand the reasoning behind the polls.

— R.E.

They’re for entertainment purposes only at this point, and you shouldn’t worry about them at all until the College Football Playoff selection committee begins putting out the only one that actually counts on Nov. 2. And even then you shouldn’t worry that much, because the selection committee poll will change and evolve as more data arrives. By the first weekend in December, pretty much everyone will agree on the top three teams and argue ferociously about two or three teams jockeying for the No. 4 spot.

I’m not sure how many times the same thing has to happen before people realize they get worked up every year over nothing.

Dear Andy,

What’s the point of playing actual games if we’re just going to rank teams based on reputation/recruiting rankings instead of in-season results? Would any one of Michigan, Michigan State, Kentucky or even Penn State remain in the top five if they had lost to a 3-2 team?

— Colin

Again, who cares? They’ll play more games, and it’ll all sort itself out. If Alabama isn’t that good, Alabama will lose again. If Alabama is really good and just had a bad day, the Crimson Tide will keep winning. Pretty much everyone will arrive at the same place no matter how much hand-wringing you do now.

Dear Andy,

There is one CFP spot remaining. Who gets in? An undefeated ACC champ Wake Forest or undefeated AAC champ Cincinnati?

— Richard from Florida’s Space Coast

Easy. Wake Forest. But the chance of Wake Forest going undefeated is much slimmer than the chance of Cincinnati going undefeated. According to ESPN’s FPI ranking, Cincinnati has a 43.4 percent chance of winning the rest of its games this season. That’s No. 1 in the nation. The same metric gives the Demon Deacons — which still have Army, N.C. State, Clemson and Boston College on the schedule and would have to play the ACC Coastal champ if they won all those games — a 0.3 percent chance of winning out this season. At half a percent, this formula believes Oregon State and Rutgers have a better chance of winning out than Wake Forest.

And that’s why a 13-0 Wake Forest would be the choice in that situation. The Demon Deacons would have traversed a more difficult path, but because the path is more difficult, it’s also less likely Wake Forest wins all those games.

As a USC fan, I’m tired of the lack of success and professionalism between the finally-fired coach and administration. I haven’t even been able to finish watching a game this year.

For the rest of this season only, can you recommend a team for me to watch and root for? Some qualifications: They cannot be a Pac-12 team, no chance of winning the championship, but are entertaining to watch and well-coached.

— Nicholas in Rocklin, Calif.

Nicholas, look no further than the team I just discussed. Wake Forest is all kinds of fun to watch. Dave Clawson is pound-for-pound one of the best coaches in America. And as I’ve just explained, winning a national title would take a borderline miracle.

A random ranking

Nicholas wants me to rank the best TV characters to show up in a different series. But the catch is I’m not allowed to use spin-offs. So sorry to Frasier, Lenny and Squiggy. I also think this disqualifies any CSI or Law and Order crossover events.

1. Jessica Fletcher (“Murder, She Wrote”) visits “Magnum, P.I.”

2. Thomas Magnum (“Magnum, P.I.) visits “Murder, She Wrote”

3. Dr. Bob Hartley (“The Bob Newhart Show”) wakes up at the end of “Newhart”

4. Will Smith (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”) gives Blossom his hat on “Blossom”

5. Jack Bauer “24” on “The Simpsons”

6. James Avery (Uncle Phil from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”) does a mid-credits cameo on “Family Matters”

7. Steve Urkel (“Family Matters”) shows up on “Full House”

8. David Brent (“The Office” — UK version) meets Michael Scott on “The Office” — U.S. version

9. Alf (“Alf”) shows up on “Mr. Robot”

10. Abed (“Community”) shows up in an episode of “Cougar Town”

(Top photo of Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams: William Purnell / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)