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
1EJ SmithNevada98.6
2Blake FletcherAir Force97.6
3Dylan LeeSan José State95.6
4Jeremy Naborne-OwensNevada91.6
5Naseri DanielsonSan José State90.5
6Dallas DaleyAir Force89.1
7Jamih OtisHawai'i88.6
8Cam SanteeUNLV87.0
9Donovan WoolenNorth Dakota State84.6
10Wynden Ho'ohuliHawai'i83.4
11Kimar NelsonNorthern Illinois81.9
12Jaxton EckNew Mexico81.9
13Jaylin ReeseAir Force75.9
14Gary RutherfordWyoming72.0
15Jack MurrayNorthern Illinois70.1
16Elias RudolphUNLV70.1
17Gavin SellNorth Dakota State68.6
18Ethan PowellSan José State67.0
19Kamuela Ka'aihueUNLV61.8
20Brady KerperinNorthern Illinois59.3
21Dee CraytonUNLV57.8
22Peder HaugoNorth Dakota State55.9
23Ethan StuhlsatzWyoming52.8
24Jayden WilsonUTEP51.5
25Steven PerezWyoming49.6
26Ray James Jr.North Dakota State45.3
27Mercury SwaimNew Mexico40.8
28Isaiah BogertyUTEP36.9
29Matteus IoaneHawai'i36.9
30Garrett HawkinsUTEP34.7
31Jayden FlakerNew Mexico32.2
32Isaac HubertAir Force30.0
33John NorwoodSan José State30.0
34Shay SmithUTEP30.0
35Blesyng Alualu-TuiolemotuUNLV25.7
36Alosio MaluiaNevada23.7
37Alex ElliottNorth Dakota State23.7
38Justin FloweUNLV21.4
39Clay MartineauNew Mexico14.3
40Cooper MauNorthern Illinois14.3
41Keith WilliamsNorth Dakota State14.3
42Poasa UtuNevada14.3
43Malakai HoeftSan José State10.2
44Luke FisherAir Force7.6
45Brady Van BennekumSan José State3.8
46Noah TaylorNorth Dakota State3.8
47Zaden MariteragiHawai'i3.8
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.