Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) warms up against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pitt’s Eli Holstein Ranked Amongst Worst P4 QBs

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI
By Mitchell Corcoran | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 1:00 PM ET

PITTSBURGH — Pitt Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein was ranked No. 50 out of 68 quarterbacks nationally and No. 10 out of 17 quarterbacks in the ACC on ESPN's Bill Connelly's rankings of the top Power Four quarterbacks.

Holstein has had a rocky start to the 2025 season so far. He has completed 62.2% of his passes for 1,050 yards, 11 touchdowns, five interceptions and has a QBR of 50.0. He also has 32 rushes for 69 yards, one touchdown and has been sacked nine times.

ESPN's QBR metric evaluates a quarterback's contribution to winning and their impact on the game on a 0-100 scale, meaning Holstein's QBR of 50.0 makes his performance exactly average so far this season.

Holstein performed well through the first two games of the season against Duquesne and Central Michigan, but struggled against West Virginia and was benched for Cole Gonzales in the fourth quarter of last week's game against Louisville.

"At his best, he's a bold playmaker. But there are too many picks and sacks," Connelly wrote.

Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Of the 18 quarterbacks listed below Holstein, seven of them are in the ACC. North Carolina's Gio Lopez was the lowest-ranked ACC quarterback at No. 66, followed by Syracuse's Rickie Collins at No. 63, Wake Forest's Robby Ashford at No. 60, Stanford's Ben Gulbranson at No. 59, Virginia Tech's Kyron Drones at No. 56, Clemson's Kade Klubnik at No. 54 and Boston College's Dylan Lonergan at No. 52.

Pitt will face Lonergan and the Eagles this week at home and will face Collins and Gulbranson later in the season. Also, Collins has only started one game for the Orange this season after their former starter, Steve Angeli, suffered a season-ending injury.

The ACC quarterbacks ranked above Holstien are Cal's true freshman starter, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, at No. 49, Louisville's Miller Moss at No. 36, SMU's Kevin Jennings at No. 35, NC State's CJ Bailey at No. 32, Georgia Tech's Haynes King at No. 29, Duke's Darian Mensah at No. 22, Miami's Carson Beck at No. 18, Florida State's Tommy Castellanos at No. 16 and Virginia's Chandler Morris at No. 13.

The Panthers faced Moss in last week's game, and he completed 65% of his passes for 339 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Pitt will face Bailey, King, Beck and Castellanos later this season, along with Notre Dame's CJ Carr, who was ranked No. 7 on the list.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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