Top 10 ACC quarterbacks through four weeks

In this week’s edition of ACC football, I will be ranking the quarterback play so far this season.

The list of ACC schools continues to grow, with 17 now playing for the championship.

Without further ado, let’s start the list at No. 10 and count down to one.

No. 10: Fernando Mendoza, California

Besides a slightly rocky start last weekend against the Florida State Seminoles, Mendoza has proved to play well. He enters Week 5 with five passing touchdowns off of two interceptions.

The key factor for me though is the way he’s played in pretty big ways down the stretch of games, including the team's Week 2 win over Auburn.

No. 9: Anthony Colandrea, Virginia

Colandrea has shown that Virginia will prove to be a pesky team in the ACC race down the stretch this season.

With seven TDs and four interceptions so far, Colandrea has proven that he is unafraid to air it out through four weeks.

Much like Mendoza, one bad performance, in this case against Maryland, is the only gripe on the resume so far.

No. 8: Thomas Castellanos, Boston College

Castellanos’s 10 touchdowns so far this season should incline me to rank him higher, but with a lower completion percentage and passing attempts, I feel the 8th spot is a good spot here.

Boston College is proving however, that they are not going to go quietly in the night, and Castellanos’s play could move him higher up this list later in the year.

No. 7: Tyler Shough, Louisville

The craziness of Shough’s season can be summed up by the fact that he has more passing touchdowns this year (8) than he has had each of the last three seasons total (7,7,6).

The first test of the season awaits now for the sixth year season, as he and the Cardinals head to Notre Dame to face one of the top defenses in the country this season.

His play in that matchup will make or break his spot on this list down the road.

No. 6: Maalik Murphy, Duke

The second-year quarterback, who was the backup to Riley Leonard last season, is already showing flashes of being an elite quarterback.

He has 11 passing touchdowns through four weeks, as the Blue Devils have a 4-0 record so far to start the season.

No. 5: Kade Klubnik, Clemson

People didn’t think he would respond this season, but after the Georgia game, Klubnik has been superb.

After the loss in Week 1 to the Bulldogs, he has been somewhat perfect with eight passing touchdowns on nearly 80% completion percentage.

No. 4: Haynes King, Georgia Tech

One of the few teams to play five games, the Yellow Jackets have had a challenging 3-2 start to the season.

However, King has been very effective completion percentage wise completing almost 74% of his passes.

After a great season last year, I expect to see King climb the list.

No.3 Kyle McCord, Syracuse

This is the part of the list that separates the good from the elite.

The Ohio State transfer McCord has proven that he is an elite quarterback, and his leadership with Syracuse is showing just that.

McCord is one of five field generals on this list to throw for 10 plus TDs (10).

No. 2: Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh

Didn’t have this guy’s name on your bingo card. Yeah, me neither.

But Holstein is proving to be the man in the Steel City after he transferred in from Alabama.

Already with 12 touchdown passes on only two picks, the buzzed bomber is proving that all he needed was a team to give him a chance, and Pitt has been rewarded.

No. 1: Cam Ward, Miami

What an elite season it has been already for the magician down in South Beach.

Ward leads all starting quarterbacks with yards per throw, to go along with his fourteen touchdown passes already.

The question becomes this down the stretch; Is there anything he can’t do?

Giustino Racchini is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email him at gar5448@psu.edu.