I guess there is as much stellar QB play in CFB this year as there has been in recent prior years.
But what's "off" this year is that the QB play from some of the biggest names in the sport seems decidedly off.
For example...
Dante Moore: really off performance v Oak State that enabled a school that had lost TWENTY-ONE straight games to FBS opponents to become the 1st super loser program to defeat a top 5 opponent. (They're no longer top 5...the Ducks are ranked 21st this week.)
Arch Manning: don't be fooled by this particular comeback v tOSU. Arch seems completely befuddled 80% of the time he drops back. He looks like a typical civilian with no training trying to decipher an air traffic controller's display. "It's all Greek to me."
What hurts his cause even more is that he seems incapable of throwing a spiral. The ball is wobbling out of his hand consistently. That makes the ball harder to catch, and it makes being accurate with the ball harder.
Nico: same thing as Arch. He drops back, and seems to have no idea what he's looking at or looking for. I'd love to know on each pass play, "what is his key?" Which defender is he supposed to read? Like the TV guy said, "What I love is Nico not trying to take what isn’t there." So true, my friend, so true...now, if only Nico would take what is there. That would be nice.
John Mateer: poor throwing mechanics, say hello to poor ability to read a pass D. This guy has played a LOT of football. Have all the practice sessions been a waste of time?
Bryce Underwood: speaking of the game in Ann Arbor...another guy with little ability to see the field, read the d, throw the ball on time, on the money.
I didn't see any of the LSU game (i'll be checking out LSU and Ole Miss this w/e), but 3 ints for Sam Leavitt v...*checks notes*....Louisiana Tech??? Anamolous, for sure.
The covid era gave certain QBs, like Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, a bunch of extra games to hone their craft. Games that guys buried on the depth chart didn't get. Maybe that's a small factor as to why high profile QBs look "green" with their level of play.
Another is the introduction of helmet audio in the wake of the Michigan cheating scandal. Personally, I think the helmet audio is a nuisance and something getting in the way of QB performance. Look at the way it used to be:
1. The O would not huddle after the last play. They would get on the ball.
2. The coaches would signal in 2 or 3 plays from the sideline...an A, a B and a C option. Every player on the field was responsible for reading the hand signals. The skill players would move around to get into the proper formation, then execute the various shifts and motions to manipulate the D. There was more time for shifts/motions because the O was up to the line so much faster than coming out of a huddle.
3. The QB would pick from the 2 or 3 plays signalled in, and run the play.
In the new process, the QB has to listen to the OC call the play, which might be pretty terse, like "18 right. Then the QB consults the playsheet on his forearm, finds with "18" is, and then he has to verbally convey the play to the other 10 guys and hope he doesn't misspeak or trip over his words. What's faster and leads to more comprehension? You reading a paragraph to yourself, or having someone read a paragraph to you?
All the data suggests that students who read a textbook and then take a test do better than those students who listen to a textbook being read to them.
My bigger point is that it takes a LOT of mental bandwidth for a QB to "read out" the play call to his teammates, as opposed to interpreting the hand signals by himself.
Yes, it's better prep for the NFL, but it might not be helping QB performance at the CFB level.