Ranking Every Power 4 Starting Quarterback for the 2026 College Football Season

Sports Illustrated recently ranked every Power 4 starting quarterback from No. 68 to No. 1 and slotted LSU's Sam Leavitt at No. 9.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss landed at No. 1 on SI’s list, followed by Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr.

Here's what they had to say about Leavitt:

quote:

---

9. Sam Leavitt, LSU

2025 Stats (Arizona State): 60.7% completion rate, 1,628 yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions, 129.2 efficiency rating

Leavitt seems to have lost some of his standing among the nation’s most elite quarterbacks due to an injury-riddled 2025. Even still, he gritted his way to upsets of TCU and Texas Tech, the latter’s only loss of the regular season. In ’24, just seven Power 4 quarterbacks recorded more than 3,000 yards, 24 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns, and Leavitt was one of them. He’s as tough as they come and the idea of pairing him with Lane Kiffin is tantalizing. There are plenty of similarities between Leavitt and Chambliss, so if anyone is going to get the best out of Leavitt at this stage of his career, it’s Kiffin.

---

Top-10:
1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
2. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
3. CJ Carr, Notre Dame
4. Dante Moore, Oregon
5. Darian Mensah, Miami
6. Arch Manning, Texas
7. Demond Williams Jr., Washington
8. Jayden Maiava, USC
9. Sam Leavitt, LSU
10. Josh Hoover, Indiana