The 10 best Big Ten quarterbacks of the last decade: How many non-Buckeyes really scared you?

How many Ohio State quarterbacks made the list of the best Big Ten QBs since 2015?

COLUMBUS — Will Howard wasn’t a spectacular Big Ten quarterback. He was an amazing playoff quarterback

Last season, Howard’s average game during the Big Ten regular season was 20 of 27 passing for 229 yards. He threw a total of 21 touchdown passes against 7 interceptions, and rushed for 12 yards per game. The Buckeyes averaged 31 points per game and went 7-2.

In the four-game playoff run, Howard’s average game was 21 of 27 passing for 288 yards. He threw 8 touchdown passes against 2 interceptions and rushed for 24 yards per game. The Buckeyes averaged 36 points per game and went 4-0.

Howard went from 10 turnover-worthy plays in nine Big Ten games to two turnover-worthy plays in four College Football Playoff games.

Also, you saw it. Dude elevated. Howard went from third-team All-Big Ten behind Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke to the guy you’d want running your offense in a national title chase.

Anyway, he’s not on this list.

This list is the 10 best Big Ten quarterbacks of the last decade, from 2015 to 2024. It’s a mix of winning and stats and the feeling you get playing against a great QB. That “This guy might do something to single-handedly win this game” kind of feeling that you love when it’s your quarterback and dread when it’s an opposing quarterback.

C.J. Stroud ripping a throw in a tight window. Justin Fields dropping a deep shot onto a receiver’s hands for a touchdown. J.T Barrett tucking the football and powering through tacklers like a fullback. And Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy rolling out and firing a throw on third down, or Penn State’s Trace McSorley escaping pressure and scrambling for a first down.

When we talked about this on Wednesday’s show, I spoke of the difficulty in trying to make a list of the 10 best non-Ohio State QBs of the last 10 years in this conference. So I included Buckeyes in this list — there are a lot of them.

This is some mix of the quarterback you’d want for one season or one game. With the Buckeyes included, things feel pretty good through No. 9 — and at No. 10 I dropped in the Big Ten’s all-time leader in passing yards.

Again, this is the last 10 years, back to 2015, so no Braxton Miller.

I also left out several other quarterbacks who had long careers recently and wound up pretty high on the Big Ten’s list of all-time passing yards: Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson (No. 5), Penn State’s Sean Clifford (No. 6), Purdue’s David Blough (No. 9, and with a huge win over the Buckeyes), and Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan (No. 11).

If you’re looking for an apology for not putting Thorson among the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks since 2015, YOU’VE COME TO THE WRONG PLACE.

No offense, but this isn’t a list of compilers.

With some interesting Big Ten quarterbacks ahead for the Buckeyes (Washington’s Demond Williams Jr., Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey, Illinois’ Luke Altmeyer, Penn State’s Drew Allar, UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava, Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis and Michigan’s Bryce Underwood) it’s about guys who can do damage against a great defense for 3 hours.

With that, your 10 best Big Ten quarterbacks from 2015-2024.