No. 1: Baylor QB Bryce Petty (Last week: 1)
Coming off of a bye week, Petty looks to continue his hot streak as the Bears travel to Ames, Iowa on Saturday. He has averaged 288.5 yards in his first two games of the season and has battled through two fractured bones in his back. Facing the first real talent of the season, Petty has the chance to prove that he is an elite quarterback.
No. 2: K-State QB Jake Waters (Last week: 2)
In the loss to Auburn, Waters threw for a season-high 245 yards. Even with that mark, Waters looked flustered throughout the game and threw two interceptions.
One of his best weapons is his ability to get out of the pocket and make plays with his feet or to throw on the run. After rushing for 138 yards against Iowa State in his previous game, Waters ran for -7 yards against the Tigers.
One of the reasons that Waters had so many issues against the Tigers was that his offensive line could not sustain the Tigers’ pass rush, allowing Waters to be sacked three times. On the season, Waters has been sacked eight times and is on pace to be sacked more than the 23 times than he was last season.
No. 3: Oklahoma QB Trevor Knight (Last week: 3)
Against the Mountaineers, Knight seemed to struggle passing the ball. He could only muster 205 passing yards, while throwing his third interception. Knight had one of the worst games of his career as he finished with an 58.3 adjusted quarterback rating.
The production issue has been plaguing Knight since his game against Alabama to end last season. His stellar performance against the Crimson Tide gave the quarterback a much bigger profile. Fortunately for Knight, the Sooners’ rushing attack allows them to stay competitive against any team they face.
No. 4: West Virginia QB Clint Trickett (Last week: unranked)
After a strong performance against the Sooners, the senior has shown that he deserves to be in the ranked among the best players in the Big 12. Trickett, who threw for 1,605 yards and seven touchdowns a season ago, has already thrown for 1,600 yards and nine touchdowns in only four games.
Against the Sooners, Trickett threw for 376 yards against one of the most highly touted defenses in the country. Unfortunately, his performances was marred by two interceptions. Trickett’s issue this season will be how he handles pressure, because his offensive line might be historically bad as they have already allowed 10 sacks.
At this pace, Trickett could break former West Virginia and current New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith’s record for passing yards in a season. Smith set the record in 2011 with 4,385 yards.
No. 5: Oklahoma RB Samaje Perine (Last week: not ranked)
The biggest question for the Sooners this season was how they could manage a running game with a roster of three young running backs. Perine, who started the season behind redshirt sophomore Alex Ross, has shown that he is the premiere back for the Sooners.
In their first three games, he rushed for 177 yards and one touchdown. Against the Mountaineers last week, Perine looked unstoppable against a defense that had Knight and his passing offense tightly defended, rushing for 242 yards and four touchdowns.
He adds a layer to the Sooners’ offense that they were lacking last season and make them a team that’s horribly difficult to prepare for.
