What a difference a year makes in the MAC. Gone are a handful of polarizing quarterbacks, but back are a handful of quarterbacks who may push Brett Gabbert to the top of the MAC QB Rankings.
2024 MAC QB Rankings
As with all of our conference rankings and our national quarterback evaluations, the MAC QB rankings below consider everything involved with quarterbacking at the major college football level.
While statistics are listed, they were not the lone deciding factor in ranking the athletes. The list below prefers programs with a solidified quarterback situation and one signal-caller who plays significant snaps against top-tier competition. Two-quarterback systems will always be looked down upon, especially in those cases where an answer has not yet been provided for the long term.
Other factors in these rankings include but are not limited to game film, injury history, play-calling, offensive system knowledge and continuity, general quarterbacking mechanics, level of competition, the elevation of supporting casts, and several other influential factors.
All Other QB Rankings
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Tier 1: The Elite MAC QBs
While there aren’t any ‘elite tier’ quarterbacks in our MAC QB Rankings to start the season, we have seen some top-tier play from the two at the top and flashes from some others. We expect, if all goes well in Oxford, we could see at least one of the following quarterbacks make the leap.
Tier 2: Well-Above-Average MAC QBs
1) Brett Gabbert | Miami
Preseason Rank: 1 (no change)
We have just one game to go off of for Brett Gabbert’s 2024 review, and it wasn’t a good one. Still, what we know of Gabbert from the past five seasons has much more weight than a sloppy slugfest against Northwestern.
He remains the pinnacle of MAC quarterbacking until he’s dethroned and his accuracy, ball placement, and leadership abilities all lead him to the No. 1 ranking in the conference.
In the end of his Week 1 performance, Gabbert threw two interceptions, but let’s face it, the receivers against Northwestern did not help him. The Miami offense will need more firepower and need it quickly.
Tier 3: Above-Average MAC QBs
2) Connor Bazelak | Bowling Green
Preseason Rank: 7 (+5)
The Bowling Green Falcons offense needs to do so little from the quarterback spot. That’s mainly because of their talented skill players across the formation, and that’s exactly what Connor Bazelak did against Fordham in Week 1.
Back on Thursday of the season-opening weekend, Bazelak ran a successful offensive scheme and played error-free football, but did so in a relatively boring way. The offense is better when they feature Harold Fannin, and that came to life in Week 2 against Penn State.
Pushing Penn State to a nearly fatal result, BGSU was led by Bazelak who finally featured Fannin in the passing game. Despite two massive errors in judgment (both that were picked), Bazelak and the Falcons put a scare into Penn State in Happy Valley.
It was the kind of performance from the Bowling Green offense that should make them the darkhorse to compete in the MAC. Bazelak will have to play a bit cleaner, but forcing balls was the only way to come close to an upset against Penn State.
3) Tucker Gleason | Toledo
Preseason Rank: 4 (+1)
Like other MAC QBs who starred on Thursday’s Week 1 slate, Tucker Gleason was asked to do very little in a victory over an FCS team. He was sharp over the middle of the field, notably finding his talented skill players on time, but he did struggle to spot the ball deep downfield against what was an incredibly overmatched Duquesne defense.
However, Gleason played very well within the structure of the offense and made plenty of solid reads that a veteran of his stature should. He wasn’t asked to do much, but he certainly did enough to warrant his ranking as he distributed the ball well enough against a hapless defense.
Gleason followed his Week 1 performance up with a decent performance against UMass, lighting up the scoresheet with three touchdowns, but really struggling with his down-to-down accuracy. On just 34.8% completion percentage against a hapless UMass secondary, somehow Gleason threw for three scores and 175 yards.
That kind of hit-or-miss throwing won’t get the job done in the MAC, but it at least pushed the Rockets to 2-0.
Tier 4: Average MAC QBs
4) Cole Snyder | Eastern Michigan
Preseason Rank: 3 (-1)
We know what Cole Synder is and we know what Cole Snyder is not. Against UMass in Week 1, Snyder was his typical gun-slinging self, launching beautifully placed balls all over the field and throwing for 8.3 yards per clip.
But in Week 2, Snyder was forced to work through his progressive reads and try to find space underneath against a tough Washington defense. He and the Eagles limped to just 4.8 yards per attempt and got away with an errant throw or two in the process.
The road gets easier than a staunch Big Ten defense coming up, but Snyder will have to be a mix of the two if the Eagles want to compete in the MAC this fall.
5) Ethan Hampton, Northern Illinois
Preseason Rank: 12 (ranking was for Jalen Macon)
What a season it’s been for Ethan Hampton and the Northern Illinois Huskies. Everyone’s favorite from Week 2 after upsetting Notre Dame, it’s been a great start for Hampton in his first season back as the starter since he started three games in 2022.
Hampton has proven to be a great distributor of the ball from within the structure of the offense and his highlight-reel throw into a tight window against Notre Dame will be etched into memory for years to come. Splitting a closing safety and a trailing linebacker, Hampton fit a ball into Antario Brown with the smallest degree of separation for a momentum-swinging touchdown early against the Irish.
He then put forth multiple game-sealing moments on the game-winning drive against ND that will also be etched in to the NIU memory banks and record books all the same. This level of play may not be sustainable, but even half as good as he’s been to start the year gives this NIU team a chance to make some noise in the conference in 2024.
6) Parker Navarro | Ohio
Preseason Rank: 10 (+4)
A tough road loss to Syracuse in Week 1 didn’t do much to lend into the potential legacy of the quarterback position at Ohio, as Parker Navarro was erratic and struggled with ball security. In the end, it was a hard-fought battle that saw the emergence of running back Anthony Tyus rather than give hope for the passing attack in 2024.
But in Week 2, Navarro came back alive. He threw for 204 yards and found his receivers incredibly well through some nice progressive reads while keeping his offense on schedule against South Alabama.
It wasn’t world-beating, but Navarro flashed some dual-threat abilities against South Alabama that wouldn’t make the Rourke Family blush, but certainly keep them entertained. It’s a long road ahead for the Bobcats with Navarro at the helm, but if he improves on what he did in Week 2 with his passing abilities, they could make a splash this fall.
7) Hayden Wolff | Western Michigan
Preseason Rank: 5 (-2)
What a ridiculously tough two-game slate to open the season for Hayden Wolff and Western Michigan. Despite their best efforts, they weren’t quite good enough to knock off Wisconsin in Madison, and were out of it early against Ohio State in Columbus in Week 2.
For Wolff, it’s hard to put much stock into these two performances because WMU was so overwhelmed and overmatched in these contests, but still, Wolff didn’t do anything to elevate or uplift his team, so we’ll have to discredit him there.
At his best, the big-armed, big-bodied signal-caller is a great pocket passer with ample arm strength. But that’s only when he can stand tall in the pocket and deliver. Perhaps getting into the MAC play will actually see him able to stand up and not be immediately pressured in 2024.
Tier 5: Work-To-Be-Done MAC QBs
8) Joe Labas | Central Michigan
Preseason Rank: 2 (ranking was for Bert Emanuel Jr., not Labas)
What a game it was for Joe Labas, inferior opponent or not. Labas played a near-flawless game from the pocket against Central Connecticut. He was patient and decisive, standing tall to deliver accurate passes all over the field.
Labas even looked defenders off and successfully utilized the Central Michigan play-action game to his advantage.
There was some serious yardage that came after the catch, but that was more from Labas throwing his receivers open so brilliantly than anything else. He was terrific in his debut for CMU, considering his last game with Iowa in 2022.
As good as his day against Central Connecticut was in Week 1, however, his Week 2 debut left much more to be desired. He threw five interceptions against a staunch FIU secondary that gave him no open throwing windows and forced him off his spot multiple times. Still, Labas’ decision-making was suspect and FIU made the most of each mistake.
Labas has now reverted to the mean after two weeks and that average type overall performance won’t win many games for CMU in the future.
9) Kadin Semonza | Ball State
Preseason Rank: 9 (no change)
It’s a one-game sample size for Kadin Semonza through the first two weeks of action as Ball State was off in Week 1 only to decimate Missouri State through the air in Week 2.
However, their decimating of Missouri didn’t really happen until the fourth quarter as they played sluggish through the air in the first three quarters. Semonza, who was thrust into action last fall far too early, didn’t have to do too much with the skill players manufacturing yardage for him, and he left some plays on the table in his debut.
Things have to get better for the Ball State offense and that includes Semonza’s overall abilities as a football player in addition to his quarterback mechanics.
10) Ben Finley (Tahj Bullock) | Akron
Preseason Rank: 8 (-2)
Okay, so the starts have gone to Tahj Bullock, but the majority of the action has seen Ben Finley at quarterback for Akron in 2024. Two-QB systems rarely work (just ask SMU this year too) and it’s not working for the Zips.
For all the work that Joe Moorhead’s clearly done with this program, the quarterback situation has not improved and that has the Akron faithful deeply upset and concerned. And rightfully so.
Bullock struggles with accuracy when targeting anywhere past the line of scrimmage and Finley looks a shell of the quarterback that he was when he played at NC State or Cal.
However, against Rutgers in Week 2, Finley did give the Zips a minor spark. It’s a long road ahead, but the bottom-dwelling Akron offense looks like it will be better suited with Finley at quarterback, as long as they can keep him protected.
11) Devin Kargman | Kent State
Preseason Rank: 6 (-5)
What a rough stretch it has been to open the season for Kent State and Devin Kargman. The Golden Flashes are 0-2 with losses to ACC foe Pittsburgh and an FCS upset at the hands of St. Francis.
Kargman isn’t completely to blame, but the offensive inefficiencies sure are. The Golden Flashes aren’t pitting to Kargman’s strengths, but he’s not accurate either.
The offense has struggled to keep him upright, but Kargman has struggled when pressured and can’t get the ball out quick enough. Something’s got to change, and whether that’s at the coaching staff level or the starting quarterback level remains to be seen.
12) CJ Ogbonna | Buffalo
Preseason Rank: 11 (-1)
The Buffalo Bulls were a far better team than Lafayette in Week 1. However, due to some ball security issues from QB CJ Ogbonna, the game was still relatively in question until late.
Ogbonna was shaky with the ball and had only a handful of throws that really turned heads in a positive way. One of those, however, was a perfectly placed downfield shot outside the numbers to Nik McMillan that was a thing of beauty.
In Week 2, Ogbonna was never going to be set up for success against the vaunted Missouri defense, but he struggled independently of the difficult opponent in front of him. In what appears to be a rebuilding year for the Bulls, can Ogbonna rebuild his own platform after a rough two-game start?
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