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Arch Manning Ranks as Best Quarterback in College Football in Latest Power Rankings

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Joey Hickey | Last updated Mar 5, 2025 2:10 PM ET

Is Arch Manning the best quarterback in college football? One football analyst thinks so.

CBS Sports college football analyst Tom Fornelli shared his Top 10 quarterbacks for the 2025 season. He ranked Texas Longhorns star Arch Manning as his top quarterback.

Fornelli explained his reasoning for giving Manning the top ranking.

"Of all the QBs on this list, Manning is the least accomplished on the field. He hasn't led his team to a conference title or the College Football Playoff (though one can argue Texas doesn't accomplish (those) things without him last year), but if you were to ask who the biggest name in the sport is at QB heading into 2025, it'd be Arch Manning. There's been so much anticipation for his career since he was a high schooler, and this fall, we'll all finally get to see him at the helm of the Texas offense."

Fornelli may have only supported his case with the hype that surrounds Manning, but there's enough of a sample size on the field to believe the former five-star will play well in 2025.

Manning filled in for 2024 starter Quinn Ewers for a short time while Ewers recovered from injury. His first lengthy appearance yielded 223 passing yards and four touchdown passes on just nine completions against the UTSA Roadrunners. Manning added 67-yard touchdown run in the game.

Manning followed the UTSA game with two explosive performances against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks and Mississippi State Bulldogs. The signal caller completed 26 of 31 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns against the Bulldogs in his first SEC matchup, adding 33 yards and a rushing touchdown on six carries.

The New Orleans product completed 67.8% of his passes for 939 yards, nine touchdowns, two interceptions and 10.4 yards per attempt in 2024. Manning added four rushing touchdowns.

The rest of the power ranking includes the following quarterbacks: Cade Klubnik (Clemson), Carson Beck (Georgia), Drew Allar (Penn State), Sam Leavitt (Arizona State), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina), Sawyer Robertson (Baylor), Rocco Becht (Iowa State) and DJ Lagway (Florida).