Quarterback Leaders at the Quarter Mark

It's hard to believe that we are already into week 4 of the college football season, unless you're Hawai'i, New Mexico St, Colorado St, Rice, UMass, and Wyoming then it's week 5. That means in a 12 game schedule, we're a quarter of the way through the season, so it's time to take a look at the stat leaders, starting with the quarterbacks.


10. D'Eriq King (Houston)
While the opponents haven't been defensive giants, it doesn't diminish what D'Eriq King has done so far this season. He's currently eighth in total yards with 997, tied for second in touchdowns (12) and has yet to throw an interception this year. Oh and he's only been sacked once in 109 attempts. The one knock is that he is just completing 58.7 percent of his passes, while is worse than Jake Browning and Deondre Francois.

9. Steven Montez (Colorado)
Steven Montez has got the Buffaloes rolling to a 3-0 start thanks to his efficient passing. Throwing for 855 yards (16th), 8 touchdowns (14th), and completing 73.4 percent of his passes (8th). In the opener against rival Colorado State he was 22-of-25 for 338 yards with four touchdowns passing and running for another.
8. Dwayne Haskins Jr. (Ohio State)
Even against a Top 25 defense in TCU, Dwayne Haskins Jr., still threw for a season high 344 yards and had two touchdowns passing and one rushing. Against Rutgers, he completed 87 percent of his passes and a fifth of his completions (20) went for touchdowns (4). His 890 yards are good for 13th in college football while adding 11 touchdowns (5th) and just one interception in 91 attempts.
7. Mason Fine (North Texas)
Hanging out in relative obscurity until the Mean Green throttled Arkansas, Mason Fine didn't even have his best game to beat the Razorbacks. It was the first time this season he hadn't thrown for over 400 yards in a game. He's just five touchdowns away from 50 in his career and eight (14th) of those have come this season already. His 1,143 yards are good for fifth best in the land and he has just one pick in 135 attempts. Only Gardner Minshew has attempted more passes (165) through three games. The Mean Green are also 3-0 for the first time since 1989.
6. Alan Bowman (Texas Tech)
There's a new Red Rifle in Texas and he's not at TCU this time. Alan Bowman did most of his heavy lifting against the Houston defense anchored by Ed Oliver. It's no surprise that Texas Tech likes to throw the ball, but Bowman put it up 59 times, completing 43 (72.9%) for five touchdowns and 605 yards. That's more than half of his passing production for the season (1,160). He also has eight touchdowns and has been sacked once in 133 attempts. Add to the fact that he only played the first half in 77-0 rout of Lamar, and Bowman could put up some scary numbers.
5. Brett Rypien (Boise St)
The nephew of former Super Bowl winner Mark Rypien, Brett Rypien has made a name for himself while at Boise St. The senior has started all four seasons and is nearing the 11,000 yard mark for his career. He's thrown at least three touchdowns in every game and has not thrown an interception in 112 attempts. He does get sacked a lot as his eight sacks are tied for 16th most in FBS.
4. Drew Lock (Missouri)
An SEC quarterback that can sling it. Drew Lock has the Tigers off to a 3-0 start and has been finding the end zone in bunches through the first three games. He's thrown for 11 scores while running for another two. He'll get his first real test at Georgia this week, so we'll see how long he hangs towards the top.
3. Gardner Minshew (Washington St)
The ECU transfer has been filling the box score against the bottom tier of college football. His 1,203 yards are good for third most in FBS, but are the most in a three game span this season. Minshew will get a look at PAC 12 play this Friday at USC. There's no doubt that Mike Leach will continue to throw the ball at least 50 times in a game, but how effective will his new QB be.
2. K.J. Carta-Samuels (Colorado State)
Another transfer, this time from Washington, K.J. Carta-Samuels has had to throw the ball a lot in the Rams first four games. At just 1-3 CSU has been on the wrong side of games and that has Carta-Samuels throwing almost as much as Minshew. His 1,319 yards are second in the FBS and he's thrown nine touchdowns this season.
1. Cole McDonald (Hawai'i)
He might have the worst hair worn by a football player not named James Connor, but that doesn't stop him from executing the Run and Shoot offense. McDonald's 143 attempts are the third most in FBS and his 1,486 yards and 15 touchdowns are tops in the nation. Add no sacks and you can see why the Rainbow Warriors are 3-1. His numbers were down last week against Army, but he still threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns. He'll get to pad the stats against FCS Duquesne this week.