Top 5 Quarterback Performances of Week 2 College Football: Tyler Van Dyke, Jayden Daniels, more

Justin's NCAA college football top quarterbacks from Week 2 of the 2023 season. Top performers include Tyler Van Dyke and Jayden Daniels.

Week 2 of the college football season is now behind us, with some big games happening. We also got a chance to see a lot of really good quarterback performances from players like Michael Penix Jr. and Shedeur Sanders, who once again posted big throwing numbers.

One of the most interesting games of the week was Houston/Rice, a game that saw my alma mater, Houston, lose to Rice for the first time since 2010. I bring it up because that game is a good example of how fantasy scoring doesn't tell us who the top quarterback in a week was. Houston's Donovan Smith led all QBs in fantasy scoring thanks to his three rushing scores, but he completed just 57.1% of his passes, so I couldn't get behind including him in this week's list.

Below are the top five quarterback performances from Week 2 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.

5. Bryson Daily - Army

I can't believe I'm putting an Army quarterback on this list, but Bryson Daily was about as good as an Army quarterback can ever be in Saturday's 57-0 win over Delaware State.

While he threw just 11 passes, he made them count, going 8-for-11 for 193 yards and three touchdowns. He also made a big impact with his feet, with nine carries for 65 yards and two scores.

This is simply not stuff you see from a team like this. Army averaged 8.7 pass attempts per game last season, and the team's passers combined to complete just 40.4% of those attempts.

So, kudos to Daily. Maybe Army's offense will take to the air more this season.

4. Jayden Daniels - LSU

Jayden Daniels was one of two quarterbacks to throw for five touchdowns this week, joining Miami's Tyler Van Dyke. Overall, the LSU passer was 18-for-24 for 269 yards while also adding 29 rushing yards in the team's 72-10 win over Grambling State.

The touchdown total gets him a spot on this list, but Daniels gets dinged a bit for the yardage and also for the competition. LSU should destroy Grambling, so there are no points here for difficulty.

After throwing just one touchdown in the season-opening loss to Florida State while completing just 59.5% of his passes, it was good to see Daniels get back on track this week. There's still some improvement needed, but hard to really knock five touchdown passes.

3. JT Daniels - Rice

I mentioned the Houston side of this game in the intro, and that wasn't just because I needed to vent about Houston. It's also because JT Daniels was legitimately good for the Owls in the upset victory.

His 401 passing yards ranked second this week among FBS quarterbacks, behind only Michael Penix Jr. from Washington. Overall, Daniels was 28-for-42 with three touchdowns and an interception.

It's been a long road for Daniels to get to H-Town. The 23-year-old began his college career as a highly-touted prospect at USC, where he won the starting job as a freshman. After an uneven freshman season, he tore his ACL early in his sophomore year and transferred to Georgia, where he was a backup to Stetson Bennett for two seasons.

Last year, Daniels transferred again, heading to West Virginia. He was benched mid-way through the season. He hit the portal again, finally winding up at Rice. Maybe this will be the season where Daniels finally puts it all together and gets the Owls over .500 for the first time since 2014.

2. Michael Penix Jr. - Washington

Michael Penix Jr. is the only player from last week's top quarterbacks list to make a return appearance this week. He was one of two FBS quarterbacks to throw for over 400 yards, tossing 409 of them in the 43-10 win over Tulsa.

Penix was 28-for-38 in the game, throwing three touchdowns and one interception. Through two games, the Huskies quarterback has thrown for 859 yards and eight touchdowns. He currently sits third in the FBS in passing yards, behind Shedeur Sanders—who just missed this week's list after throwing for 393 yards and two touchdowns this week—and Caleb Williams, who has played an extra game.

Also, shout out to the Pac-12. The conference is about to be decimated by realignment, but right now the top three players in passing yards play for teams in the conference.

1. Tyler Van Dyke - Miami

Texas A&M's defense is full of blue-chippers, but you wouldn't know that if the only Texas A&M game you watched was this week's performance against Miami. The defense looked bad.

Tyler Van Dyke threw for 374 yards on 21-for-30 passing in Saturday's 48-33 win over the Aggies. He had five passing touchdowns, tied with LSU's Jayden Daniels for the most passing scores of the day.

Back in 2021, Van Dyke looked on the verge of a breakout, with six consecutive 300-yard passing games to end the season. Last year, he hit that mark just twice, and he ended up benched for Jake Garcia down the stretch.

Van Dyke won the starting job this year, and his performance on Saturday night solidified that it was the right call from the Miami coaching staff. Factoring in opponent, Van Dyke had the best showing of the week.

More College Football Analysis