College football rankings: Sam Howell, Spencer Rattler and the top 20 quarterbacks of 2021

8. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati

Even though he plays for a Group of Five program, most college football fans are familiar with Desmond Ridder by this point. They know that he’s basically done nothing but win since taking over as the starter for Cincinnati, posting a 30-5 record over his time to this point with the Bearcats. But that also makes him a difficult quarterback to rank when you get down to it.

There’s no denying the production that Ridder has put forth. Last season in only 10 games for the Bearcats, the quarterback completed a career-high 66.2 percent of his throws for 2,296 yards, 19 scores and six interceptions while also rushing for 592 yards and an impressive 12 touchdowns. In fact, he’s thrown for at least 2,000 yards with at least 18 passing touchdowns, fewer than 10 interceptions, rushed for 580 or more yards and scored at least five times on the ground in all three seasons with Cincinnati.

Despite the winning and productivity, though, Ridder remains somewhat of an imperfect player. His accuracy isn’t particularly reliable and he does try to do too much at times. With that said, maybe he’s just not a player who can be viewed through a prototypical quarterback lens.

That’s what I’m going with and why he ranks No. 8 in these rankings. His dual-threat ability, leadership, playmaking and ability to grind out wins is all part of what makes a great college quarterback, so we’re considering Ridder in that light.