Do stats matter because teams have played so few games? For some SEC football fans, they do, because their quarterbacks are rated as some of the nation's best passers. Alabama Football has been mostly unsettled at quarterback since Bryce Young won the Heisman. Jalen Milroe was spectacular at times. At other times, he was an awful turnover machine. Ty Simpson began the 2025 season with a rough outing against FSU.
On the road against the Noles, Simpson was 23-for-43 (53.5%) and produced a Passing Efficiency Rating (PER) of 118.5. Simpson has not blossomed in the two games since. He has exploded. Against ULM, his PER was 269.9, and against the Wisconsin Badgers, his PER was 238.9. Drops from multiple Alabama receivers have prevented Simpson from being in the FBS' top five passing quarterbacks.
Among SEC QBs Alabama Football has the best in Ty Simpson
Despite the drops, a sometimes leaky offensive line, and his rough start against FSU, Simpson is the SEC's leading passer in PER. His rating of 186.63 places Simpson at No. 8 among FBS quarterbacks.
Second among SEC quarterbacks and No. 12 in the FBS is Arkansas Razorback Taylen Green. His PER is close to Simpson's at 182.66. Vandy's Diego Pavia is third in the SEC and No. 15 nationally at 181.29.
On the opposite (lowest) end in PER by SEC quarterbacks are Garrett Nussmeier at 125.26, which ranks him No. 90 among FBS quarterbacks. Texas Longhorn Arch Manning is not much better. Manning's 128.74 PER ranks him at No. 83 among 100 FBS quarterbacks.
Georgia QB Gunner Stockton struggled in the Bulldogs' season-opener, completing only 58.3% of his passes. After a strong passing performance against Tennessee, Stockton now has a PER of 153.67. That ranks Stockton No. 40 in the FBS and higher than Oklahoma's Johm Mateer and Auburn's Jackson Arnold.
For some perspective, DJ Lagway threw five interceptions against LSU. His PER is almost identical to the PER of Arch Manning. Lagwag's rating is not only higher than Nussmeier's but also higher than other notables like UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava and Clemson's Cade Klubnik.
Another Ty Simpson stat with potentially high impact in close games is turnovers. Ty Simpson has zero turnovers in three games as a starter. Last season, Jalen Milroe had 17 turnovers in 13 games:11 interceptions and six lost fumbles.
After the ULM game, I wrote that Ty Simpson was "the best quarterback in college football." The claim will take a full season of proof. Simpson's performance in the Wisconsin game certainly reinforced the argument.
Note: Player stats provided by cfbstats.com and Sports Reference