It's All About the Quarterbacks

With all due respect to the pitcher in baseball, the goalie in soccer and hockey, and the point guard in basketball, the most important position in all of sports is the football quarterback.

He directs his team's offense, handles the ball on virtually every play, and is expected to throw accurately and on time, complete two-thirds of his passes, protect the ball, execute play-action fakes, avoid pressure, scramble when necessary, make smart split-second decisions, show poise in critical situations, lead his team decisively and courageously, and absorb punishment throughout the game.

The late, great Bill Walsh once told me, "there are two things you need to win in football--a good quarterback and a pass rush in the fourth quarter."

Never has the importance of the quarterback been more obvious than in Saturday's college football games. It was a day of great performances and meltdowns by quarterbacks that resulted in stunning upsets and thrilling finishes.

Here's a look at the quarterbacks who made a difference on a day when pre-season No. 1 (Texas) and No. 2 (Penn State) were both upended by unranked teams.

Nico Imaleava: the $2 million transfer from Tennessee (above) showed the nation why he was so coveted, leading previously winless UCLA to a stirring 42-37 win over No. 7 Penn State. Imaleava threw for 166 yards, rushed for 128 and accounted for five touchdowns in a performance for the ages. He was, in a word, fabulous.

Jerry Neuheisel: The ex-Bruin walk-on quarterback was promoted mid-week from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator by interim Bruins' head coach Tim Skipper. It turned out to be a brilliant move as Neuheisel called a masterful game. A team that had scored 57 points in four games scored 42 against a defense that was allowing an average of 11.8 so far this season, guided by the nation's highest-paid defensive coordinator,  Jim Knowles ($3.1M).

The Bruin players carried Neuheisel off the field after the final gun. Eleven years ago Neuheisel replaced injured Brett Hundley and led UCLA to an upset win over Texas. He was carried off the field that day, too.

Rick Neuheisel: The former UCLA quarterback and UCLA, Colorado and Washington head coach is now an analyst for CBS, and was in the studio watching his son coach against Penn State. Neuheisel loves to talk, is quite a character--and from my personal experience with him, a good guy--and CBS was smart enough to feature him throughout the game and after the game. His reactions and fatherly pride were delightful to behold.

Arch Manning: It's not Arch's fault that he was ridiculously over-hyped, ranked as the No. 1 NFL draft choice and leading Heisman Trophy candidate on the basis of two career starts...and his last name. But the expectations were so high that he was doomed to fail.

After playing poorly in the season-opening loss to Ohio State, he had so-so efforts in wins over San Jose State, UTEP and Sam Houston. But on Saturday against 1-3 Florida, he threw two picks and took six sacks as the Longhorns were ambushed 29-21.

In five games, Manning has looked nothing like a Heisman candidate and very much like an average quarterback who overthrows receivers, makes bad decisions and holds the ball too long.

DJ Lagway: Manning's opponent Saturday, Florida's Lagway, had his best game, hitting 21 of 28 passes for 298 yards and two TDs.

Carson Beck: I have not been a fan of the Miami quarterback, who transferred from Georgia, but he's winning me over. The Canes may be the best team in the country. They beat Florida State 28-22, in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated, as Beck completed 20 of 27 for 241 yards and four TDs without an interception.

Julian Sayin: One of the only question marks about Ohio State this year was whether untested Julian Sayin could measure up to the quarterbacks who've led the Buckeyes in recent years. Well, the redshirt freshman has more than held his own. On Saturday he was brilliant in a 42-3 win over Minnesota, completing 23 of 27 for 326 yards, three TDs and no picks. He's pretty good. Just sayin'.

Cade Klubnik: My preseason pick for the Heisman struggled badly in his first four games, but came to life against Bill Belichick's hapless North Carolina defense. Klubnik was near-perfect, with 22 of 24 for 254 yards and four TDs in a 38-10 rout that could've been much worse if Clemson coach Dabo Swinney hadn't taken his foot off the gas.

Speaking of Belichick, his Tar Heels have been embarrassed by all three Power Four opponents so far this season, losing to TCU, UCF and Clemson by a combined score of 120-33. Their only wins have come against lower division opponents Richmond and Charlotte.

Wonder how the administration at North Carolina feels now about spending $10 million per year on a guy who spends much of his time playing around with his 24-year old girlfriend and is getting humiliated on the gridiron. Some are questioning if he'll he make it through the season.

Ty Simpson: Alabama got revenge against Vanderbilt for last year's upset with a convincing 30-14 win. Simpson led the way by completing 23 of 31 for 340 yards and two TDs. His opponent, Vandy's heralded Diego Pavia, threw two picks and had a key fumble.

Blake Horvath: Remember when Navy used to run the ball virtually every down and throw maybe four passes a game? No more. Horvath does it all for the unbeaten Midshipmen. In a thrilling 34-31 win over Air Force, Horvath completed 20 of 26 passes for 339 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. He also ran for 130 yards and a TD. A total of 469 yards and 4 TDs. Not a bad day's work.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele: Cal's freshman quarterback was on fire to start Saturday's game against Duke, completing his first nine throws as the Bears stormed out to a 21-7 lead. But he faltered the rest of the game, throwing three costly picks as the Blue Devils scored 38 straight points to win 45-21.

Darian Mensah: Sagapolutele's opponent, Duke's $3+ million transfer from Tulane, paid some nice dividends with 22 of 30 for 265 yards and two TDs.

Bear Bachmeier: Last but not least, the Stanford transfer led BYU to a 38-24 win over West Virginia by throwing for 351 yards and rushing for another 43.

Heisman Hopefuls: Three ex-Pac-12 quarterbacks are among the leaders in early Heisman Trophy candidate polls. Oregon's Dante Moore (formerly of UCLA), Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (ex-Cal) and Oklahoma's John Mateer (ex-Washington State) are now considered front-runners for the Heisman.

Moore and Mendoza will face off this Saturday when No. 3 Oregon hosts No. 7 Indiana in what should be a great football game in Eugene. (They both had byes on Saturday).

Those of us who followed the Pac-8/10/12 for the last half-century know that the league was always the cradle of great quarterbacks. Still true today, even if the league (as we knew it) is gone.

Consider: Jim Plunkett, John Elway, Andrew Luck, Frankie Albert, John Brodie, and Bobby Garrett from Stanford; Craig Morton, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Kapp, Steve Bartkowski, Vince Ferragamo, and Joe Roth from Cal; Troy Aikman, Gary Beban, Billy Kilmer, Steve Bono and Bob Waterfield from UCLA; Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer, Caleb Williams, Sam Darnold and Rodney Peete from USC; Dan Fouts, Marcus Mariota, Justin Herbert, and Norm Van Brocklin from Oregon; Terry Baker from Oregon State; Jack Thompson, Drew Bledsoe, Gardner Minshew and Mark Rypien from WSU; Warren Moon, Mark Brunell and Chris Chandler from Washington;  Jake Plummer from Arizona State; Nick Foles from Arizona; Alex Smith from Utah; Kordell Stewart from Colorado.

I'm sure I've missed a few. Let me know who I've forgotten.