If you watched the college football national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, then you noticed the two quarterbacks playing could both run the ball when needed. It was the one element of both offenses that kept the defense off balance. How much difference does the quarterback being able to run the ball make? Well, consider this, of the 12 teams in the playoffs, only two quarterbacks rushed for double digit touchdowns on the season. Ohio State’s Will Howard and Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard. And here is another telling stat. Of the 12 teams in the playoffs, only two quarterbacks had negative yards rushing on the season. Texas’s Quinton Ewers and Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke. Indiana was knocked out in the first round and Texas struggled throughout the playoffs when they couldn’t run the ball.
But what about the rest of the B1G, does having a mobile quarterback equate to winning? Look for yourself. Below are the quarterback statistics for the top five teams in the B1G.
Ohio State, 14-2, QB, Will Howard, 4,010 yards passing, 73.1% comp-rate, 35 TD’s, 10 INT’s, 105 carries, 226 yards, 10 TD’s
Penn State, 13-3, QB, Drew Allar, 3,327 yards passing, 66.5% comp-rate, 24 TD’s, 8 INT’s, 96 carries, 302 yards, 6 TD’s
Oregon, 13-1, QB, Dillion Gabriel, 3,857 yards passing, 72.9% comp-rate, 30 TD’s, 6 INT’s, 75 carries, 149 yards, 7 TD’s
Indiana, 11-2, QB, Kurtis Rourke, 3,042 yards passing, 69.4% comp-rate, 29 TD’s, 5 INT’s, 46 carries, -35 yards, 2 TD’s
Illinois, 10-3, QB Luke Altmyer, 2,717yards passing, 60.8% comp-rate, 22 TD’s, 6 INT’s, 99 carries, 217 yards, 4 TD’s
In reviewing, there is a considerable drop off from Howard, Allar, and Altmyer when compared to Gabriel and Rourke. To further magnify the effect of having a mobile quarterback, look at USC’s quarterback stats on the season.
USC, 7-6, QB, Miller Moss, 2,555 yards passing, 64.4% comp-rate, 18 TD’s, 9 INT’s, 21 carries, for -18 yards, 2 TD’s, 9 starts, 4-5 record
USC, 7-6, QB, Jayden Maiava, 1,201yards passing, 59.8% comp-rate, 11 TD’s, 6 INT’s, 20 carries, 45 yards, 4 TD’s, 4 starts, 3-1 record
Lincoln Riley took substantial criticism for benching Miller Moss after starting 9 games. However, as the stats point out, adding Maiava’s ability to run the ball changed the direction of USC’s season.
Now, here are Dyan Raiola’s stats in comparison.
Nebraska, 7-6, QB, Dylan Raiola, 2,819 yards passing, 67.1% comp-rate, 13 TD’s, 11 INT’s, 50 carries, -65 yards, 0 TD’s
As you can see, Raiola is on the negative side of things when rushing and has zero TD’s. Now, some of you will be quick to point out that I haven’t taken sacks into consideration when talking about rushing yards for quarterbacks. But that’s another conversation. For one, quarterbacks with positive rushing yards often used their legs to elude trouble. While quarterbacks who hesitate to use their legs are sacked, thus the negative yards.
However, a quarterback who is super mobile can work against you as well. For instance, Nebraska just acquired offensive tackle Elijah Pritchett from Alabama. One of the knocks on Pritchett has been his pass-blocking ability. His PFF grades weren’t good. However, if you look at his former quarterback Jalen Milroe you will see he was one of the top running quarterbacks. In fact, he is the only other quarterback I’ve listed to rush for double digit touchdowns.
Alabama, 9-4, QB, Jalen Milroe, 2,844 yards passing, 64.3% comp-rate, 16 TD’s, 11 INT’s, 168 carries, 726 yards, 20 TD’s
Part of Pritchett’s pass blocking woes were due to Milroe’s scrambling, he never knew where Milroe was going to be in the pocket. Milroe ran into sacks. The fact Alabama’s leading rusher was their quarterback may explain their 9-4 record and missing the playoffs. The pendulum may have swung too far the other way when talking running quarterbacks.
What can we take from all this? Dylan Raiola needs to be able to use his legs for Nebraska to have success. Notice I said use his legs, not a runner. He does not need to be Taylor Martinez or Eric Crouch.
The truth is, Raiola has all the tools but one to be great. He has the arm, the head, and the footwork. But until he learns to use his legs, he won’t be a complete quarterback at the college level or at the next level. When it’s third and six and he drops back to pass and sees an opening, he needs to run. And a quarterback draw would also be effective to have on your play sheet. As we saw with Howard and Lenoard, a quarterback who can pick up critical first downs with his legs can be a difference maker.
Speaking of Howard and Leonard, how many times did we see them slide when giving up? They didn’t, instead they dive headfirst or forward every time. It’s the safest move for a quarterback when giving up. Too many times, we see quarterbacks get hit when sliding backwards. If Nebraska asks Raiola to use his legs, which they will, they also need to teach him how to protect himself and take a hit. Knowing how to take a hit is a must in football, especially at quarterback.
Holgorsen, Glen Thomas, and the quarterbacks at Nebraska have work to do. Raiola, most of all. Having a quarterback that can run the ball isn’t just a formula for winning in the B1G, it’s all of football. To satisfy your curiosity I’ve listed the top teams this season in the SEC, ACC, Big XII along with Notre Dame and Boise State for you to review. They are listed by quarterback rushing yards. As you will see, of the 16 listed, they all had double digit wins, but only 3 had negative rushing yards.
Notre Dame, 14-2, QB Riley Leonard, 2,861 yards passing, 66.7% comp-rate, 21 TD’s, 8 INT’s, 184 carries, 906 yards, 17 TD’s
South Carolina, 9-4, QB LaNorris Sellers, 2,534 yards passing, 65.6% comp-rate, 18 TD’s, 7 INT’s, 166 carries, 674 yards, 7 TD’s
Ole Miss, 10-3, QB Jaxson Dart, 4,279 yards passing, 69.3% comp-rate, 29 TD’s, 6 INT’s, 124 carries, 495 yards, 3 TD’s
Clemson, 10-4, QB Cade Klubnik, 3,639 yards passing, 63.4% comp-rate, 36 TD’s, 6 INT’s 119 carries, 463 yards, 7 TD’s
Arizona State, 11-3, QB Sam Levitt, 2,855 yards passing, 61.7% comp-rate, 24 TD’s, 6 INT’s, 110 carries, 443 yards, 5 TD’s
BYU, 11-2, QB Jake Retzlaff, 2,947 yards passing, 57.9% comp-rate, 20 TD’s, 12 INT’s, 100 carries, 417 yards, 6 TD’s
Tennessee, 10-3, QB Nico IamaIeava, 2,616 yards passing, 63.8% comp-rate, 19 TD’s, 5 INT’s, 109 carries, 358 yards, 3 TD’s
SMU, 11-3, QB Kevin Jennings, 3,245 yards passing, 65.0% comp-rate, 23 TD’s, 11 INT’s, 101
carries, 354 yards, 5 TD’s
Iowa State, 11-3, QB Rocco Becht, 3,505 yards passing, 59.4% comp-rate, 25 TD’s, 9 INT’s, 98 carries, 318 yards, 2 TD’s
Missouri, 10-3, QB Brady Cook, 2,535 yards passing, 62.9% comp-rate, 11 TD’s, 2 INT’s, 87 carries, 223 yards, 5 TD’s
Boise State, 12-2, QB Maddux Madsen, 3,018 yards passing, 62.4% comp-rate, 23 TD’s, 6 INT’s, 57 carries, 221 yards, 5 TD’s
Miami, 10-3, QB Cam Ward, 4,313 yards passing, 67.2% comp-rate, 39 TD’s, 7 INT’s, 60 carries, 204 yards, 4 TD’s
Georgia, 11-3, QB Carson Beck, 3,485 yards passing, 64.7% comp-rate, 28 TD’s, 12 INT’s, 55 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD
Colorado, 9-4, QB Shedeur Sanders, 4,134 yards passing, 74.0% comp-rate, 37 TD’s, 10 INT’s, 100 carries, -50 yards, 4 TD’s
Texas, 13-3, QB Quinton Ewers, 3,472 yards passing, 65.8% comp-rate, 31 TD’s, 12 INT’s, 57 carries, -57 yards, 2 TD’s
Syracuse, 10-3, QB Kyle McCord, 4,779 yards passing, 66.0% comp-rate, 34 TD’s, 12 INT’s, 67 carries, -65 yards, 3 TD’s
Of the 24 teams I have mentioned, only four have negative rush yards and only 1 has single digits wins. Dyan Raiola, learning to use his legs is a must.
All stats gathered from ESPN.com
Go to Off The Cob for more on Nebraska football.