CBS Sports shakes up Top 25 QB rankings after Week 2 of college football

Through two weeks of the college football season, stud quarterbacks are beginning to rise above the rest of the crop.

This includes Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who appears to have jumped to the forefront of Heisman talks following his performance against Michigan. Florida‘s DJ Lagway however saw his stock fall significantly this past weekend in the Gators’ upset loss to USF.

Heading into week three of the college football season, CBS Sports has ranked the top-25 quarterbacks in the sport. Those rankings are below.

1. John Mateer (Oklahoma) +9

Following Mateer’s stellar performance in Oklahoma‘s 24-13 win over Michigan, he has skyrocketed to No. 1 in CBS Sports‘ quarterback rankings. The Washington State transfer completed 21/34 passes for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also led the Sooners in rushing with 74 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.

Through two weeks, Mateer leads the SEC in passing yards (662) and ranks ninth nationally. “I think John Mateer is one of the twitchiest players in college football,” Florida legend Tim Tebow said on last Friday’s edition of ‘The Paul Finebaum Show‘. “He reminds me a little bit, just a little bit – this is early – a tiny bit of the way that Johnny Manziel was really twitchy in the pocket, could make people miss.”

2. Byrum Brown (USF) +17

It’s hard to argue that USF‘s Byrum Brown shouldn’t be heralded as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation through the first two weeks of the college football season.

Brown has led the Bulls to the best resume in all of college football so far, as they have kicked off the season with a dominant 34-7 win over No. 25 Boise State and an 18-16 road win over No. 13 Florida in The Swamp. He has completed 39/60 passes for 473 yards and one touchdown this season, but has been even more effective on the ground. He leads USF in rushing with 109 yards and two touchdowns.

3. Sawyer Robertson (Baylor) +13

After opening the season with a 38-24 home loss to Auburn, Baylor and Sawyer Robertson bounced back in a major way last Saturday with a 48-45 2OT win over No. 17 SMU. The Bears trailed 38-24 with 8:38 remaining, but Robertson led his team to 14 unanswered points over the final 5:23 to take the game in overtime.

In the comeback win, Robertson completed 34/50 passes for 440 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He currently ranks second in all of FBS with 859 passing yards.

4. Luke Altmyer (Illinois) +27

Illinois is off to an extremely strong start to the 2025 season, enjoying dominant wins over Western Illinois (52-3) and Duke (45-19). Quarterback Luke Altmyer has been nearly perfect for the Illini, as he’s completed 39/52 passes for 513 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.

Bret Bielema‘s program rose to No. 9 in this week’s AP Poll, their highest mark since January 2002 (No. 7). Behind Altmyer, the Illini can rise even higher with games against No. 22 Indiana and USC on the schedule within the next three weeks.

5. Josh Hoover (TCU) -4

Although TCU had the weekend off, quarterback Josh Hoover fell four spots from No. 1 to No. 5 in CBS Sports’ latest QB rankings.

This is absolutely no fault to Hoover, who was sensational in their season-opening 48-14 drumming of Bill Belichick‘s North Carolina program. In that matchup, Hoover completed 27/36 passes for 284 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

6. Tommy Castellanos (Florida State) -2

Tommy Castellanos‘ storybook opening to the 2025 season continued last Saturday with a 77-3 win over East Texas A&M, marking the largest margin of victory in Florida State school history. Castellanos completed just 8/11 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Obviously, he was removed early from the blowout.

The Seminoles have another buy game against Kent State this weekend, but will face Virginia, No. 5 Miami and Pittsburgh in the following weeks.

7. Julian Sayin (Ohio State) -2

Fresh off its season-opening win over No. 1 Texas last weekend, Ohio State continued to roll with a 70-0 shutout against Grambling State. Quarterback Julian Sayin was surgical once again, completing 18/19 passes for 306 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

Although it is early, Sayin looks to be the latest in a long line of very good quarterbacks at Ohio State. He’ll attempt to keep his early season success going on Saturday against Ohio.

8. Beau Pribula (Missouri)

Missouri‘s Beau Pribula made the biggest jump this week in CBS Sports’ QB rankings, as he went from being ranked outside of the top 50 to No. 8.

This comes following Pribula’s stellar performance in Missouri‘s 42-31 win over Kansas in the “Border War,” in which he passed for 334 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. After not even being named the starter to open the year, Pribula boasts 617 passing yards (second in SEC), five touchdowns and no interceptions through two games.

9. Jackson Arnold (Auburn) -2

Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold seems to be enjoying his new program at Auburn, as he has been tabbed as the No. 9 ranked quarterback in CBS Sports‘ rankings.

Through two games, Arnold has completed 35/45 passes for 359 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. On the ground, he’s been a weapon as well. He is second on the team in rushing with 142 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

10. Haynes King (Georgia Tech) -2

Just like Hoover, Haynes King fell in this week’s CBS Sports QB rankings after not playing this past weekend. He missed Georgia Tech‘s 59-12 win over Gardner-Webb, but his injury doesn’t seem to be that serious.

In just one game this season (Colorado), King completed 13/20 passes for 143 yards and one interception. He however thrashed them on the ground, rushing for 156 yards and three touchdowns. His game-winning 45-yard touchdown run propelled the Jackets to the season-opening win

Quarterbacks 11-25

11. Devon Dampier (Utah) -1
12. Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) +2
13. Demond Williams (Washington)
14. Jayden Maiava (USC) +1
15. Dante Moore (Oregon) +15
16. Carson Beck (Miami)
17. Rocco Becht (Iowa State) +4
18. Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) -16
19. Jalon Daniels (Kansas) -7
20. Marcel Reed (Texas A&M) +9
21. Drew Allar (Penn State) -18
22. Taylen Green (Arkansas) +6
23. Jake Retzlaff (Tulane) -3
24. Darian Mensah (Duke) -2
25. Behren Morton (Texas Tech)