College Football Stats: Top 10 Passing Yard Leaders, 2023

Who doesn’t love to see a football driven 60 yards downfield for a big play? College football is positively bursting with a plethora of passers, resulting in some incredible aerial offenses.

The top 10 passing yard leaders showcase the most prolifically productive passers so far in the 2023 college football season.

College Football Stats: Top 10 Passing Yard Leaders

All stats provided by CFB Stats and correct as the close of college football Week 2. Looking for more college football stats? Check out the Top 10 Rushing Yard Leaders and Top 10 Receiving Yard Leaders. 

1) Brayden Schager, Hawaii

Season passing yards: 972 | Yards per attempt: 7.6 | Season passing touchdowns: 10

The college football record books are littered with Hawaii Rainbow Warrior QBs, and with one of the Rainbow Warriors’ most productive passers now at the helm, it’s no surprise to see Brayden Schager heading up the top passing yard leaders through Week 2. Schager led the Rainbow Warriors to a first win of the season with a 31-20 victory over Albany.

2) Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

Season passing yards: 903 | Yards per attempt: 10.1 | Season passing touchdowns: 6

Shedeur Sanders followed up his FBS debut with another consummate performance and a second win of the season for Colorado against bitter rival Nebraska. Sanders’ 393 passing yards and two touchdowns was enough to take him into second amongst passing yard leaders through Week 2.

3) Caleb Williams, USC

Season passing yards: 878 | Yards per attempt: 12.5 | Season passing touchdowns: 12

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is three games deep into his 2023 campaign and shows no sign of stopping shredding opposition defenses. Caleb Williams added another 281 yards to his résumé, completing all but two of his 21 attempts in a 56-10 win over Stanford. The USC star is averaging 12.5 yards per attempt, by far the best in the nation.

4) Michael Penix Jr., Washington

Season passing yards: 859 | Yards per attempt: 11.0 | Season passing touchdowns: 8

The Pac-12 really is the place to find the best quarterbacks in the country this fall, and Michael Penix Jr. is another passer from the soon-to-be-defunct conference who is entrenched among the passing yard leaders. Penix and Washington tore apart Tulsa to the tune of 409 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2.

5) AJ Swann, Vanderbilt

Season passing yards: 766 | Yards per attempt: 7.8 | Season passing touchdowns: 8

Like Williams and Schager above him on the passing yard leaders list, AJ Swann has an additional game to pad his résumé compared to some other QBs, but that doesn’t make the sophomore passer’s accomplishments any less impressive. After a difficult opening drive against Wake Forest, Swann and Vanderbilt rallied to 314 yards in Week 2.

6) Sam Hartman, Notre Dame

Season passing yards: 731 | Yards per attempt: 11.4 | Season passing touchdowns: 12

With his magnificent beard and hair combination clearly giving him a competitive advantage, Sam Hartman has begun his Notre Dame career in fantastic fashion. Even in tough weather conditions in Week 2, he put up 286 yards and four touchdowns to guide the Fighting Irish past NC State, 45-24.

7) Diego Pavia, New Mexico State

Season passing yards: 715 | Yards per attempt: 10.5 | Season passing touchdowns: 6

Although he couldn’t lead the New Mexico State Aggies to a win over Liberty this time around, Diego Pavia maintains his standing among the passing yard leaders through Week 2 of the 2023 college football season. In addition to his 150 passing yards, he rushed for 63 yards in the 33-17 defeat to their CUSA foe.

8) Spencer Rattler, South Carolina

Season passing yards: 698 | Yards per attempt: 10.6 | Season passing touchdowns: 3

A porous offensive line thwarted Spencer Rattler’s season-opener against North Carolina but when five pass rushers don’t immediately engulf him, the South Carolina QB is as talented as they come. Against Furman in Week 2 he completed all but two of his 27 attempts, tallying 345 passing yards while accounting for four total touchdowns.

9) Hank Bachmeier, Louisiana Tech

Season passing yards: 684 | Yards per attempt: 7.2 | Season passing touchdowns: 3

With Louisiana Tech running wild on the ground in Week 2 behind freshman Keith Willis Jr., Hank Bachmeier was limited to 110 passing yards and one touchdown. However, the former Boise State talent remains within the passing yard leaders after impressing in the Bulldogs’ early encounters.

10) Jacob Zeno, UAB

Season passing yards: 676 | Yards per attempt: 8.0 | Season passing touchdowns: 5

Although they came out on the wrong side of a 49-35 shootout with Georgia Southern, UAB was able to go toe-to-toe for the most part, thanks to the arm talent of Jacob Zeno. The former Baylor QB went 33/43, with 385 passing yards, and three total touchdowns. It was his second consecutive game, completing over 75% of his pass attempts.

The rest of the country’s passing yard leaders are all below.