Five weeks in and the 2026 Big Ten landscape is starting to take some shape. We can start to get a view of which players are outperforming or underperforming preseason expectations. With this in mind, I looked at the Big Ten Quarterback Ratings to see who is living up to early expectations.
The Method
To avoid getting lost in a sea of statistics, I took the simple approach of comparing the Pre-season ESPN ranking (based on 2025 QBR) vs the current ESPN ranking (based on current QBR).
The QBR metric is ESPN’s in-house calculation. It is defined as a comprehensive measure of a QBs contributions to winning, including passing, rushing, turnovers and penalties.
QBR adjusts for the perceived difficulty of each play and is presented as a score out of 100. On the scale, 50 is considered an “average quarterback” and 65+ is pro-bowl level.
This therefore seems the best metric to use to consider a QBs all round impact on games played.
For the purposes of this article, I have compared a QBs relative ranking to his peers and not the QBR scores, so I can see the change in our relative perceptions of the group as a whole.
The Results
The comparison can be seen below.
Change in Quarterback Ranking (March 2026 to October 2026)
| Quarterback | Team | Current QBR | Pre-Season | Post Week 5 | Change |
| Ryan Browne | Purdue (2-3) | 77.5 | 18 | 6 | 12 |
| Aidan Chiles | Northwestern (3-1) | 83.7 | 14 | 3 | 11 |
| Hank Brown | Iowa (4-1) | 63.7 | 17 | 9 | 8 |
| Alessio Milivojevic | Michigan State (2-3) | 62.3 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| Katin Houser | Illinois (2-3) | 83.2 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Josh Hoover | Indiana (5-0) | 86.4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Drake Lindsey | Minnesota (4-1) | 56.2 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| Anthony Colandrea | Nebraska (5-0) | 65.5 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Julian Sayin | Ohio State (4-1) | 92.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dylan Lonergan | Rutgers (1-4) | 41.9 | 15 | 16 | -1 |
| Jayden Maiava | USC (5-1) | 82.9 | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| Dante Moore | Oregon (3-1) | 75.5 | 3 | 7 | -4 |
| Rocco Becht | Penn State (3-2) | 53.7 | 10 | 14 | -4 |
| Colton Joseph | Wisconsin (4-1) | 59.8 | 7 | 11 | -4 |
| Malik Washington | Maryland (2-3) | 33.3 | 11 | 17 | -6 |
| Nico Iamaleava | UCLA (4-0) | 31.9 | 12 | 18 | -6 |
| Bryce Underwood | Michigan (3-2) | 56.6 | 5 | 12 | -7 |
| Demond Williams Jr. | Washington (3-2) | 45 | 6 | 15 | -9 |
Actual Week 5 QB Rankings by QBR
| Quarterback | Team | Current QBR | Pre-Season | Post Week 5 | Change |
| Julian Sayin | Ohio State (4-1) | 92.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Hoover | Indiana (5-0) | 86.4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Aidan Chiles | Northwestern (3-1) | 83.7 | 14 | 3 | 11 |
| Katin Houser | Illinois (2-3) | 83.2 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Jayden Maiava | USC (5-1) | 82.9 | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| Ryan Browne | Purdue (2-3) | 77.5 | 18 | 6 | 12 |
| Dante Moore | Oregon (3-1) | 75.5 | 3 | 7 | -4 |
| Anthony Colandrea | Nebraska (5-0) | 65.5 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Hank Brown | Iowa (4-1) | 63.7 | 17 | 9 | 8 |
| Alessio Milivojevic | Michigan State (2-3) | 62.3 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| Colton Joseph | Wisconsin (4-1) | 59.8 | 7 | 11 | -4 |
| Bryce Underwood | Michigan (3-2) | 56.6 | 5 | 12 | -7 |
| Drake Lindsey | Minnesota (4-1) | 56.2 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| Rocco Becht | Penn State (3-2) | 53.7 | 10 | 14 | -4 |
| Demond Williams Jr. | Washington (3-2) | 45.0 | 6 | 15 | -9 |
| Dylan Lonergan | Rutgers (1-4) | 41.9 | 15 | 16 | -1 |
| Malik Washington | Maryland (2-3) | 33.3 | 11 | 17 | -6 |
| Nico Iamaleava | UCLA (4-0) | 31.9 | 12 | 18 | -6 |
To be clear on what we are seeing, as an example, Ryan Browne at Purdue was ranked eighteenth of all Big Ten QBs in pre-season but his current QBR has him climbing twelve positions to be ranked sixth.
Risers
The four QBs with the largest change are basically not as bad as expected.
The large jump for Ryan Browne is due to very low expectations following 2025. In 2025 he threw ten interceptions and nine touchdowns. But so far this season he has a 70% completion rate on passing and eight touchdowns and one interception.
For Hank Brown at Iowa, this was largely due to being untested at Big Ten level but he seems to have adjusted ok so far.
Aidan Chiles is the most interesting as he has climbed up the rankings from fourteenth to third. His base position will reflect his time at Michigan State. He is not blowing the doors off in terms of yards, he is ranked thirteenth, but he has the third highest completion rate. But clearly his contribution to the overall offense and hence value is higher under the metric used. Northwestern have had a great start to the season too with three wins and respectable loss to Indiana.
Fallers
Demond Williams Jr is the biggest faller in the table, sliding from sixth to fifteenth. Williams has thrown three interceptions so far and being sacked fifteen times already will not help his composure.
The rankings fall back up the general media opinion that Bryce Underwood is underperforming. He has slide seven positions and is ranked twelfth in terms of QBR after 5 weeks. Five touchdowns and four interceptions so far and a 59% completion rate, not helped by taking eight sacks.
The Curious Case of Nico
Nico Iamaleava is a curious case. UCLA are 4-0 (2-0 in the Big Ten) and have scored over forty points on three of their four games. In conference play they have scored 106 points, more than anyone else. What gives?
They have been ground dominant with 1,126 rushing yards and only 820 passing yards. Nico has thrown four touchdowns, but star RB Wayne Knight has run in nine. Nico to date just hasn’t been very impactful in the games even though they are winning.
A Long Season Ahead
There is still plenty of season to go, and we are just getting started with in-conference games. Five weeks is still quite a small statistical group with so many big games still to play.
It is fair to say that the analysis cannot capture the leadership qualities that a player brings to the locker room. The Quarterback position is a key leadership role after all.
With so many exciting Big Ten games to come, it will be interesting to watch how the fortunes change for this cadre of Big Ten quarterbacks.
With the great selection of games on DAZN this year, I will spend most Saturdays on Big Ten QB-watch!
