By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
Another week is in the books and there were some big QB performances to go with it. Let’s dive in.
How JTR Works
JTR ranks players by comparison to the league average using unbiased stats. By unbiased stats, we mean stats that don’t show a preference for one style of play over another. For example, we expect a quarterback in an air raid system to throw the ball more often than a quarterback in a multiple set. So comparing the two based on completions wouldn’t be fair. Once we determine stats that we believe to be unbiased, we create a league average. Outperforming the league average earns a player positive points. Stats that fall below the league average will earn a player negative points. Points for each stat are calculated and combined with a base rating given to each player. The combination results in a player’s JTR metric score. 0 is the worst possible score and 100 is the best possible score.
For QBs, the stats we chose to use are completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, interception percentage, passing yards per game, and unique rushing index. The rushing index excludes sacks from a quarterback’s rush totals to get a more accurate sense of them as a runner. Also, QBs cannot take negative points from the rushing index (outside of fumbles). This is because a running ability for a quarterback is a plus, but not a requirement.
JTR is not a predictive metric. It cannot tell the future. It can only measure what a player has done up to that point.
JTR Leaderboard
| Rank (Last Week) | Player | Team | JTR Score (Change) |
| 1 (1) | TJ Cunnington | Kentucky | 89.154 (+0.303) |
| 2 (5) | Kevin Price | North Carolina | 85.705 (+1.616) |
| 3 (6) | Leisa Pink | Miami | 84.623 (+2.803) |
| 4 (4) | Gunner Rice | West Virginia | 84.330 (-1.110) |
| 5 (8) | Jay Duke | Auburn | 81.340 (+2.285) |
| 6 (9) | JK Matthews | Syracuse | 81.168 (+2.354) |
| 7 (2) | Saint Major | Cincinnati | 81.117 (-5.365) |
| 8 (13) | Kolten Powell | Texas | 80.377 (+4.996) |
| 9 (3) | Luke Cannon | Clemson | 79.794 (-5.681) |
| 10 (7) | Jamesyn Golde | USC | 79.679 (-0.371) |
| 11 (12) | Greg Cooksey | Michigan | 78.431 (+2.934) |
| 12 (11) | Brandon Petty | Georgia | 76.819 (+1.216 |
| 13 (10) | Andrei Belov | Notre Dame | 75.898 (-1.461) |
| 14 (15) | Beau Dale | LSU | 74.513 (+1.176) |
| 15 (18) | Sterling Verdugo | Tennessee | 73.986 (+2.426) |
| 16 (17) | Zeus Claydon | Florida State | 72.610 (-0.076) |
| 17 (16) | Sky Sanders | Colorado | 71.767 (-1.111) |
| 18 (14) | Johnny Ray Davis | Alabama | 70.748 (-2.934) |
| 19 (21) | Jaylen Tyree | Ohio State | 70.185 (+3.279) |
| 20 (19) | Claude DuBois | Oregon | 68.957 (+0.742) |
| 21 (24) | Cole Mantell | Michigan State | 65.489 (+3.279) |
| 22 (20) | Sean Keohane | Penn State | 65.006 (-2.557) |
| 23 (20) | Windham Carter | Baylor | 63.138 (-0.285) |
| 24 (23) | Jack Schmidt | Florida | 60.350 (-3.048) |
| 25 (25) | Noir Royal | Illinois | 57.127 (+0.956) |
| 26 (26) | Owen Dart | Texas A&M | 56.663 (+0.755) |
Findings
TJ Cunnington was once again held onto the top spot. That makes six consecutive weeks that he has been in first, which shattered the old record. He only needs to do it one more week to be the Season 20 leader in JTR.
This week’s best score improver was Texas’ Kolten Powell. Powell threw for 512 yards, 8 touchdowns, and no interceptions against Cincinnati this week. This incredible performance increased his score by nearly five points, which is a major jump this late in the season. Other players who improved their score greatly were Ohio State’s Jaylen Tyree, Michigan State’s Cole Mantell, and Michigan’s Greg Cooksey.
Last week I talked about how rare it was to see someone be the biggest mover up the leaderboard and have the best increase in score. So, of course it had to happen in back to back weeks. Powell jumped up five spots to land in the top 10. This is Powell’s first trip inside the top 10 in his career. North Carolina’s Kevin Price was the second best jumper after moving up four spots. Six QBs moved up three spots.
There is just one week of the season left. Which of these QBs will dominate their rival and push themselves up the rankings before the season comes to a close?
