ESPN placed Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin first in its national Total QBR season ratings after Week 5, with a 92.1 score, just ahead of Miami’s Darian Mensah at 92.0. The updated ratings put Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks on a numbered ladder, with one point separating first from second and a wider gap farther down. Week 6 begins with the rankings set.
Who Sits at the Top
ESPN’s Adjusted Total Quarterback Rating evaluates quarterbacks across all play types on a 0-100 scale, adjusting for the strength of opposing defenses they’ve faced. The measure turns performances into one comparative score. The article doesn’t provide the underlying calculations for individual players.
Sayin led at 92.1, followed by Mensah at 92.0. Alabama’s Keelon Russell ranked third at 91.0, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr fourth at 90.4, and West Virginia’s Michael Hawkins Jr. fifth at 89.3.
Georgia’s Gunner Stockton ranked sixth at 88.7. Memphis’ Marcus Stokes came seventh at 88.0, Boise State’s Maddux Madsen eighth at 87.3, and Indiana’s Josh Hoover ninth at 86.4.
Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles ranked 10th at 83.7. North Texas’ Tayven Jackson was 11th at 83.3, followed by Illinois’ Katin Houser at 83.2, USC’s Jayden Maiava at 82.9, Miami University’s David McComb at 82.8, and Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss at 82.5. That’s the top 15 entering Week 6, ranked with a measure intended to compare quarterbacks facing different opponents.
The Numbers Behind Jackson’s Place
Jackson, a former Tennessee quarterback now in his first season at North Texas in 2026, ranked No. 11 nationally. In five starts, the 6-foot-4, 209-pound quarterback completed 119 of 167 passing attempts for 1,519 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.
He added 55 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 attempts. Those figures accompany his QBR rank, though the placement can’t convey every detail of a season by itself.
Jackson played at Tennessee in 2022 and appeared in three games. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 37 yards and totaled 10 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown for the Vols. The article offers those earlier numbers as context for his first season at North Texas.
Tennessee’s Freshman on the List
Tennessee freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon ranked No. 90 nationally, with a 48.2 QBR in five starts. The article places him well below the top 15 and uses the same rating scale ESPN describes.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound freshman completed 61 of 101 passes for 697 yards and seven touchdowns. He also recorded 130 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 53 attempts. These totals accompany the rating, but the report doesn’t separately explain how his individual plays produced that score.
Dan Harralson of Vols Wire wrote the report, dated Oct. 6, 2026, at 5:10 a.m. ET. It invited readers to follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter. The article reports a ratings system and player statistics; it describes no grassroots response, mutual aid effort, institutional helper, or electoral proposal.