While about two-thirds of the FBS quarterbacks who started this season as the main player are still in that role for their teams, there have been some significant changes.
Tenth-ranked Texas A&M (7-1) is the only team in the expanded SEC heading into November without a conference loss. This comes after redshirt freshman Marcel Reed replaced an ineffective starter in the second half of the game against LSU, leading to a quick 31-point turnaround for the win.
Earlier that same day, Tulsa came back from a 28-point halftime deficit against UTSA with backup quarterback Cooper Legas. This comeback, the second-largest in the school’s history, earned him the title of The Associated Press national player of the week.
In the Atlantic Coast Conference, newcomer SMU (7-1) has not lost since Kevin Jennings became the starter in the fourth game, just before the No. 20 Mustangs entered conference play.
The dual-threat sophomore replaced Preston Stone, who had a 13-3 record but struggled during a loss to undefeated No. 9 BYU, going three-and-out on all his drives while being sacked each time.
“Once you make a switch like that, there’s usually not any going back,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “It wasn’t like we were trying to find our quarterback, and didn’t know who could play. … And so when you make a switch like that, you know it’s a permanent switch. It’s not ‘Hey, let’s try it out for a game.’ It’s a switch for not only this year, it’s a switch for your future.”
Jennings was the quarterback for SMU’s victory in the American Athletic Conference championship game last December after Stone broke his leg in the regular-season finale.
Neither Texas A&M coach Mike Elko nor Tulsa coach Kevin Wilson would confirm who they plan to start at quarterback this week.
There are 134 teams in the FBS this season, and 69 have had the same starting quarterback for every game. Additionally, another 20 teams have had their original starters return after missing games.
