College football · 2026

Season grade leaderboard

Every FBS player judged play by play against FBS opponents, updated after every game. How is this calculated?

Qualified: played in at least half of their team's games against FBS teams. Show everyone

Defensive grades use box-score stats, not play-level attribution, so they carry lower confidence than offense grades. Why?

#PlayerGrade
1Demari HendersonUCF99.7
2Javion WhiteHouston99.4
3Bo OnuBaylor97.3
4Kentrell WebbHouston96.6
5Jordan AllenHouston94.4
6Randon FontenetteColorado94.4
7Daniel CobbsBaylor94.4
8Will JamesHouston93.7
9Kamari WilsonWest Virginia92.4
10Geimere Latimer IIWest Virginia91.0
11Jalen MayoHouston90.5
12Micah GiffordBaylor89.0
13Nate RitchieUtah87.9
14Mose Phillips IIIOklahoma State87.9
15Jamel JohnsonTCU86.6
16Montana WarrenArizona State86.6
17MJ CannonCincinnati86.6
18Devon JordanBaylor85.3
19Jayden WilliamsUCF83.3
20Rabbit EvansUtah83.3
21LaDainian FieldsOklahoma State81.8
22Naeten MitchellColorado80.9
23Cannon DeVriesBYU80.9
24Jackson BenneeUtah79.8
25Taylor DavisKansas78.3
26Chams DiagneWest Virginia78.3
27Jayden BellamyUCF78.3
28Corey GordonKansas76.4
29Gil Jackson Jr.TCU76.4
30David CoffeyIowa State76.4
31Lee Molette IIIArizona74.7
32Elijah DavisUtah73.0
33Jasper BeelerCincinnati73.0
34Quinton HammondsOklahoma State73.0
35Lyrik RawlsArizona State71.2
36Kenny WorthyCincinnati68.9
37Devin TurnerBaylor68.9
38Malik EsquerraTexas Tech68.9
39Peyton MorganTexas Tech68.9
40Brenden JordanTexas Tech68.9
41Jay'Vion ColeArizona66.8
42Antione JacksonUCF66.8
43Seth JohnsonIowa State66.8
44Nick TaylorWest Virginia63.5
45Elijah ReedUtah63.5
46Boo CarterColorado63.5
47LeVar Thornton Jr.Baylor61.6
48Jacob FinleyCincinnati61.6
49Braeden MarshallUCF61.6
50Brice PollockTexas Tech61.6

Top 50 of 129. Pick a conference to see more.

How college grades work

College grades use the same method as the NFL: every play's expected points added, adjusted for how good the defense was, ranked against every other player at the position. The play data comes from CollegeFootballData.com, with ESPN's play feed saying who threw, ran and caught the ball. Four things are different.

  • Only games against FBS teams count. A power-conference offense against an FCS defense tells us little about either, so those games show in the game log but aren't graded.
  • Garbage time is left out: plays with a lead of more than 38 points in the 2nd quarter, 28 in the 3rd, or 22 in the 4th. Blowouts are common in college, and backups piling up numbers against backups would otherwise count like starters.
  • No win probability or completion-percentage data. The college play feed doesn't have them, so grades rest on opponent-adjusted EPA and success rate (the share of plays with positive EPA).
  • Grades and leaderboards use a minimum workload: every grade is a percentile among the players who meet it, so a few plays can't skew anyone else's. Per game against FBS teams, 14 dropbacks for quarterbacks, 10 touches for running backs, 5 targets for receivers and 3 for tight ends, counted over at least two games. Defenders need to have played in half their team's games.

Defensive grades use the same box-score impact score as the NFL's, minus forced fumbles, which the college box score doesn't record.