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Justin's college football quarterback rankings for the 2025 postseason. His rankings for all 12 College Football Playoff starting quarterbacks, including Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, and more.
College Football Playoff QB Rankings
Looking over the list of quarterbacks who are about to play in the College Football Playoff has me very, very excited for the playoffs. We’re about to get a stacked group of QBs battling it out for the national title.
Four of the top 10 players in the Heisman voting will be playing quarterback in the playoffs, and multiple others who had strong cases for finishing in the top 10 will take the field as well. Who, though, is the best of the best? Let’s rank all 12 quarterbacks ahead of the College Football Playoff.
12. Alonza Barnett III, James Madison
Nothing against Alonza Barnett III, but he comes in last here by default. Barnett isn’t a bad quarterback, but he doesn’t quite compare to the rest of the field. In the Sun Belt Championship Game, for example, Barnett completed just 40 percent of his passes for 93 yards, though he rushed for 85 yards and a score.
Barnett has completed 59.9 percent of his pass attempts this season for 2,533 yards with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s also added 14 rushing scores. Barnett’s a good player who could surprise people against Oregon, but he’s clearly last in a crowded group of talented passers.
11. Jake Retzlaff, Tulane
Jake Retzlaff landed at Tulane at the last minute after he was kicked off the BYU team, and the result was that Retzlaff is in the playoffs while BYU just missed out.
Retzlaff enters this game on a bit of a poor stretch after not throwing a touchdown over the past two games, but overall, he’s had a strong season. Retzlaff has completed 62.4 percent of his pass attempts for 2,862 yards and 14 touchdowns, plus has added a career-high 16 touchdowns on the ground.
10. Behren Morton, Texas Tech
Behren Morton doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Maybe he’s not an elite college quarterback, but he was the best quarterback in the Big 12 this season, leading the conference in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and quarterback rating.
Morton doesn’t add value on the ground — he had zero rushing scores this season — but he’s a very good pocket passer who could dissect some defenses in the playoffs. No quarterback stands to see a larger leap in reputation over the next month than Morton.
9. Carson Beck, Miami
That Carson Beck only ranks ninth on this list speaks to just how strong the quarterback class is for these playoffs.
Beck looked like a potential Heisman candidate early in the year, but his four-interception performance in a loss to Louisville killed that chance. Still, Beck has thrown 25 touchdowns and led the ACC in completion percentage. If he can avoid turnovers in the playoffs, then Miami will be a very dangerous team.
8. John Mateer, Oklahoma
John Mateer’s passing stats might make you think it’s wrong to put him over Beck, but I firmly believe Mateer is better than the numbers. He also just kind of has the elusive “it” factor.
Yes, he only threw 12 touchdown passes this season and his seven rushing scores aren’t that impressive either, but he’s stepped up when it mattered, leading the Sooners to wins over Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, and Missouri. His only real “bad” game was a three-interception effort against Texas, but Mateer was recovering from injury in that one, so it’s fair to put an asterisk by that performance.
7. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
This feels like a disrespectful ranking for a quarterback who led his team to a one-loss season in the SEC, but I have some questions about Reed’s arm. His 61.8 percent completion rate isn’t bad, but it isn’t elite, and Reed was picked off 10 times this season.
On the other hand, Reed is really good at extending plays with his legs, something that will come in handy against Miami in the first round. He also flat-out just knows how to win football games. The intangibles matter.
6. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
Trinidad Chambliss was one of the best stories of the season. He entered the season as Ole Miss’ backup until an Austin Simmons injury pushed him into the starting lineup. From there, he delivered huge numbers for the Rebels.
Chambliss completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 3,016 yards and 18 touchdowns while only being picked off three times. On the ground, he rushed for six scores.
5. Ty Simpson, Alabama
Ty Simpson has been slumping, but he’s still a top-five quarterback heading into the playoffs. The problem for Alabama is that, as recently as a month ago, Simpson had an argument for ranking third on this list, and even a slight drop-off is going to make it tough for the Crimson Tide to win playoff games.
Yes, Simpson was bad against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, but he still completed 64.3 percent of his passes overall for 3,268 yards and 26 touchdowns. He doesn’t offer much on the ground, but if the offensive line gives him time, then he can get the football where it needs to go.
4. Gunner Stockton, Georgia
Last year, Georgia having to start Gunner Stockton in the playoffs was a big part of why the team lost. This time around, Stockton is set to be a big advantage for the Bulldogs after completing 70.7 percent of his passes with 23 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
Stockton is also a very underrated runner, as he’s found the end zone eight times this season. You could make a valid argument that he’s the most underrated quarterback in this playoff field.
3. Dante Moore, Oregon
We’ve reached the Big Ten portion of this list, as the top three quarterbacks all play in the conference.
Oregon’s Dante Moore comes in at No. 3. Maybe he wasn’t quite as dominant as other recent Ducks quarterbacks have been, but he ran this system very well, completing 72.5 percent of his pass attempts for 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
2. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
There’s a legitimate debate between these top two players, though Ohio State’s Julian Sayin ultimately loses that debate. Not by much, though!
Sayin led the nation in completion percentage, completing an absurd 78.4 percent of his passes. Sure, having Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate to throw the ball to helped with that, but that doesn’t fully account for how good his season was, as he completed over 80 percent of his pass attempts five times.
1. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
No shock here, as the Heisman Trophy winner ranks at the top of this list. Fernando Mendoza might not have a completion percentage as good as Sayin’s, but he’s better at pushing the ball down the field, leading the nation in adjusted yards per attempt while also throwing an FBS-best 33 touchdown passes.
The presumptive QB1 in the 2026 NFL Draft class also rushed for six scores. He’s not the biggest threat with his legs, but he’s a good-enough athlete to get the job done. In a very, very deep playoff quarterback class, the Walter Camp winner stands out as the best of the best.
