One knock against new quarterback Anthony Colandrea making a major impact on Nebraska’s fortunes this year is that he’s never really been as good as a Power 4 quarterback. But what if, instead of returning to his rather mediocre form from his first two seasons with Virginia, he puts up very similar numbers to what he did last year at UNLV? Should that happen, Erik Skopil of Ducks Territory recently pointed out he’d be the second-best quarterback Oregon faces all season.
Skopil recently looked at every quarterback Dan Lanning’s squad will face in 2026 and ranked them by their 2025 Pro Football Focus ratings. Clearly, there are some flaws relying entirely on this system, especially since guys like Colandrea didn’t face a single Big Ten opponent last fall. Still, the PFF ratings and where they rank Nebraska’s quarterback should be a reminder that the former Mountain West Conference Player of the Year has some serious playmaking abilities.
The new Nebraska quarterback isn’t just the second-best quarterback Oregon will face this season; he’s just barely behind the No. 1 spot, which belongs to Ohio State’s Julian Sayin. The Buckeyes’ signal caller finished 2025 with a 92.9 overall PFF rating. Colandrea ended with an 89.9 rating, which was just ahead of the third-place QB Drew Westemaker’s 88.3. Westmaker is leading a rebuilding Oklahoma State squad in 2026 after posting an impressive rating for North Texas last season…