Top 5 Quarterback Performances of Week 1 College Football: Shedeur Sanders, Michael Penix Jr., more

Justin's NCAA college football top quarterbacks from Week 1 of the 2023 season. Top performers include Shedeur Sanders and Michael Penix Jr.

Week 1 of the college football season is now mostly behind us, aside from Monday night's meeting between Clemson and Duke. It was an exciting first weekend of football, with strong showings from a handful of teams and some big upsets, like Colorado defeating No. 17 TCU.

The Buffaloes won on the strength of their passing game, with Shedeur Sanders throwing for over 500 yards in the victory, giving father Deion Sanders a win in his FBS coaching debut. Colorado, double-digit underdogs entering the game, looks like a completely different team than it did under Karl Dorrell. That makes sense, as it really is a different team. Just 10 scholarship players from last year's team are back in 2023.

Below are the top five quarterback performances from Week 1 of the college football season. These are judged through a combination of statistics, fantasy scoring, and game context, with consideration also given based on the team's offensive systems. Let's take a look at this week's top performances. (Note: this does not account for games played on Sunday and Monday.)

5. T.J. Finley - Texas State

If we were going purely by stats, I'd have Washington State's Cameron Ward here, as he threw for 451 yards and three touchdowns while adding 40 rushing yards and a score. But I mentioned in the opening that context matters and that's why T.J. Finley is in this spot.

Texas State went 4-8 last season. The team hasn't finished over .500 since 2014, which happens to be the only time since moving to FBS that the Bobcats had a season with a record better than .500. But the team shocked the world on Saturday, taking down Baylor 42-31 in head coach G.J. Kinne's FBS coaching debut.

Finley was 22-for-30 for 298 yards and three touchdowns in the victory while also adding six carries for 18 yards and a score. The former LSU and Auburn quarterback could never really carve out a sizable role in the SEC, but it looks like he's found a home in San Marcos in a passer-friendly offensive system.

4. Caleb Williams - USC

This week's list is dominated by the Pac-12. The conference might be heading towards dissolution, but the quarterbacks seem committed to making the final season of the Pac-12 (as we know it, at least) memorable.

Let's start with last year's Heisman winner, USC's Caleb Williams. The future NFL star wad 18-for-24 for 319 yards and five touchdowns in the team's 66-14 win over Nevada. He also added 42 yards on the ground.

It's always nice when a quarterback does so well that he doesn't have to stay in for the full game. Miller Moss closed things out for the Trojans, throwing 10 passes late in the game. Williams now had nine touchdowns and no interceptions this season between this game and the team's Week 0 win over San Jose State. He'll be a common sight in this top five all season.

3. Emory Jones - Cincinnati

Emory Jones has had a long college career. It started back in 2018 at Florida, where he was the backup for three seasons before being handed the starting job in 2021. After throwing 19 touchdowns and 13 picks, he transferred to Arizona State for 2022, throwing seven touchdowns and four picks.

Now, he's at Cincinnati. After one game, he's already just two touchdown passes away from tying last season's mark. Jones had the highest fantasy points total of any quarterback on Saturday, putting up 48.4 fantasy points in standard scoring.

He was 19-for-23 from the field for 345 yards and five touchdowns while also adding nine carries for 26 yards and another two scores. That's seven touchdowns that Jones accounted for in Cincy's 66-13 win over Eastern Kentucky. Just a huge showing from a guy who's bounced around a lot. Maybe it'll be with the Bearcats that he unlocks his full potential.

2. Michael Penix Jr. - Washington

After four seasons at Indiana, Michael Penix Jr. transferred to Washington last season and had a breakout campaign, throwing for 4,641 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Now, he's come out of the gates strong in 2023 as he looks to solidify his name among the Heisman contenders.

Penix was 29-for-40 for 450 yards in the team's 56-19 win over Boise State, throwing five touchdown passes and zero interceptions. It was his fourth game with 400 or more passing yards since joining the Huskies and was his first five-touchdown game since a 2020 contest against Ohio State back when he played for Indiana. Penix is set to have a strong season for Washington.

1. Shedeur Sanders - Colorado

TCU made it all the way to the National Title Game in 2022. While the team lost what made its offense special, it still entered 2023 with a top-tier defense, especially in the defensive backfield. Cornerback Josh Newton is one of the nation's best.

But Shedeur Sanders made mincemeat of the Horned Frogs defense. He was the only QB on Saturday to throw for over 500 yards, completing 38 of his 47 pass attempts for 510 yards and four touchdowns in the 45-42 win for the Buffaloes. This team won just one game all of last season, a year that included a 38-13 loss to TCU.

Sanders was electric at Jacksonville State, winning the Jerry Rice Award for top FCS freshman in 2021 and the Deacon Jones Trophy for best HBCU player in 2022. Now, the whole college football world gets a chance to experience his greatness. It's been one game, and he's already set the Colorado record for passing yards in a game.

More College Football Analysis