Top 5 Quarterback Performances of Week 5 College Football: Caleb Williams, Jaylen Raynor, more

Week 5 of the college football season is now behind us. It was a week filled with some great quarterbacking. I mean, seriously. This was a great week if you love passing the football. Before we get to the main list of top five performances, we've got to talk about the honorable mentions.

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (Colorado State) threw for the sixth-most yards in a game of any QB this season, but his two interceptions keep him off the list. Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) had 366 yards, three passing touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns. Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) threw four touchdowns and rushed for another. Brady Cook (Missouri) had 395 yards and four scores. Just a weekend full of big-time performances.

Below are the top five quarterback performances from Week 5 of the college football season. These are judged through a combination of statistics, fantasy scoring, and game context, with consideration also given based on the team's offensive systems. Let's take a look at this week's top performances.

5. Jaxson Dart - Ole Miss

Ole Miss and LSU played the most exciting game of Week 5, with Ole Miss coming away with a 55-49 victory. It was a back-and-forth affair, fueled by the passing attacks of both teams.

On the Ole Miss side, Jaxson Dart bounced back big time from last week's disappointing loss to Alabama. Dart failed to throw a touchdown pass in that one, but he made up for it by tossing four of them on Saturday against the Tigers. He was 26-for-39 for 389 yards and also added 50 rushing yards and a score.

Dart has really stepped up his game from last year. His completion percentage is up. His yards per attempt have jumped from 8.2 to 11.4. He's also really cut the interceptions down. Last year, 3% of his pass attempts were picked off. This year, it's down to 1.4%.

4. Taulia Tagovailoa - Maryland

Look, Taulia Tagovailoa might not be the kind of star that his older brother Tua Tagovailoa is, but he's still a really talented college quarterback. He showcased that on Saturday in a win over Indiana.

Tagovailoa had his best game of the season this week, completing 70.6% of his passes for 352 yards. He threw five touchdowns in the win as the Terrapins moved to 5-0 to begin the 2023 season. Tagovailoa also found the end zone on the ground for the second game in a row.

So far this season, Tagovailoa has completed 65.7% of his passes for 1,464 yards, 13 touchdowns, and three interceptions. He's run for three scores. His completion percentage is his lowest as an NFL starter, but he's averaging a career-high in yards per attempt and his 160.3 QB rating is also the best mark of his career.

3. Jayden Daniels - LSU

That LSU/Ole Miss game was about as good as a football game gets. Surprisingly, while both QBs are on this week's list, I have the losing quarterback a couple of spots ahead of the winning quarterback. LSU's Jayden Daniels just didn't really do anything wrong despite the loss.

Daniels was 27-for-36 in the loss, throwing for a season-high 414 yards and four touchdowns. It was the third time this season he's thrown four or more touchdown passes. He wasn't picked off in the game and also found the end zone once with his legs, carrying the football 15 times for 99 yards.

Through five games, Daniels is completing 73.1% of his passes for 1,710 yards with 16 touchdowns and two picks. He's scored three rushing touchdowns as well. He's already just one touchdown away from tying his career high, which he's set twice -- in 2019 at Arizona State and in 2022 at LSU.

2. Jaylen Raynor - Arkansas State

Arkansas State QB Jaylen Raynor made his first career start last week against Southern Miss, posting a really good stat line. He was 11-for-21 for 233 yards with three touchdowns and one pick in the win while also adding 97 yards and two scores on the ground.

It was enough to win Raynor the starting job for the game against UMass this week. And his performance against UMass was enough to ensure he's not going to be giving that job up to anyone else as long as he's playing for the Red Wolves.

Raynor was 20-for-25 in the victory, throwing for 383 yards and six touchdowns, tying the school record and sharing the overall lead in Week 5 with USC's Caleb Williams. He had 10 carries for 35 yards as well. Just a huge game for the true freshman signal-caller.

1. Caleb Williams - USC

It's going to be tough for anyone to dethrone Caleb Williams in the Heisman race if he keeps playing like this. Last season's winner of the award had his best game of the season on Saturday against Colorado, throwing a season-high six touchdowns.

He was picked off for the first time all year, but interceptions happen. When a player has 21 touchdowns to just one pick, well...that's impressive.

Williams finished Saturday's victory with 403 passing yards on 30-for-40 passing. On the season, he's completed 74.5% of his pass attempts. The schedule's going to be harder in a hurry after this for USC, so don't expect Williams to keep playing quite at this level, but he's proving why he's the best player in college football.

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