Week 1 Mountain West Quarterback Rankings
Who is the best QB in the Mountain West?
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A small sample size but hear us out.
Each week through the Mountain West season we will be ranking the quarterback situation(s) based off of the starting signal-callers. Some teams will have split starters or those who share time which was evident with Air Force and New Mexico. Those will be harder to pin down, even if effective in their games.
This is the after the first week of the year and some guys stumbled and some may have overachieved so these rankings will be fluid for the first few games of the year.
12: Ryan Agnew, San Diego State
Yikes. There were no offensive touchdowns in this game and as for Agnew himself, he was 16 of 30 for 108 yards. That average per attempt comes out to 3.6 yards per throw which is not good. Odds are this will improve but after the first week, it was a bad look.
11: Air Force (Donald Hammond/Isaiah Sanders)
This one is hard to pin down since there was one pass completed by Sanders, which did go for 41 yards, but the running game was not electric from either signal-caller either. Hammond did have five attempts for three touchdowns which is off the charts. Playing Colgate of the FCS ranks allowed so many backs to touch the ball but one key about this offense is keeping the ball off the ground and making the reads on the pitches, so in that sense, it was a good day.
10: New Mexico (Brandt Hughes/Sheriron Jones)
The positives are that the Lobos did not decide to go with four quarterbacks which was talked about as a real possibility. The Lobos won but it had next to nothing to do with the play of those under center. Neither threw a touchdown pass and combined the duo completed 18 of 40 passes for a solid 340 yards. If they keep this up it might be time to bring back the #Throwbos.
9: Jorge Reyna, Fresno State
Reyna nearly led the Bulldogs to a come from behind win over USC but it was not to be as he threw a pick in the end zone late in the game. He had 256 yards and two scores but he complete fewer than 50% of his passes and that needs to change.
8: Sean Chambers, Wyoming
Chambers is a bit difficult to evaluate since he runs the ball so well. He not only had that stiff-arm but he rushed for 120 yards on 10 carries. His passing is still very much a work in progress as he was just 6 of 16 for 92 yards.
7: Josh Love, San Jose State
Love had a solid game against an FCS foe but that doesn’t matter too much for the Spartans who need wins. He was 21 of 31 with no picks, two scores and 224 yards. Do this against an FBS opponent and he will move up the ranks.
6: Armani Rogers, UNLV
Rogers showed up with his arms and legs in limited action in the easy win over Southern Utah. He rushed for 114 yards and a pair of scores and also was an efficient 11 of 17 for 144 yards and a score. This is the Rogers that the Rebels need going forward when the competition heats up.
5: Collin Hill, Colorado State
Hill was fourth in the league in passing against Colorado with 374 yards and three touchdowns. However, his two interceptions set him back from being much higher this week.
4: Jordan Love, Utah State
Yes, the three interceptions were bad but Love is also why the Aggies were in it until the end against Wake Forest. Three touchdown passes and he had the most yards in the conference for the week with 416 and nearly completed 70% of his passes.
3: Carson Strong, Nevada
Strong was making his first career start and had zero interceptions in the upset win over Purdue. He threw 51 times, tied for the most this week, and made the most of it with 295 yards. The zero interceptions were possibly the most impressive thing he did all weekend.
2: Cole McDonald, Hawaii
McDonald was erratic in Arizona win back in Week 0. He had four touchdowns and four interceptions. So, he is a complete surprise at times but head coach Nick Rolovich is sticking with him against Oregon State. Calm him down and he could be the best quarterback in the league.
1: Hank Bachmeier, Boise State
Coming from behind to defeat Florida State was enough to get him to the top of the list. Bachmeier was a true freshman who took hit after hit and delivered the throws. He had 407 yards with a touchdown and one pick. His completion percentage needs to cross 60% but he is no his way to being the next great Boise State quarterback.
