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2026 College ACE (Accuracy Compared to Expectation) Leaders

ACE counts completions minus the expected chance of completing each throw. The expected chance comes from a model of every NFL attempt over the last five seasons, using how far the ball travelled in the air, which third of the field it went to, down, distance, field position, a hit on the quarterback, roof and weather. QuarterbackStats.com's rating is built on the standard completion-percentage-over-expected idea (CPOE); we did not invent that idea.

How to read it. +10 means about ten more completions than an average passer would have made on the same throws. Throwaways and drops count against everyone the same way, because the play-by-play does not mark them.

The 2026 leaders: Darian Mensah (+19.0), Caden Veltkamp (+15.3), Keelon Russell (+15.1).

ACE (Accuracy Compared to Expectation)

Minimum to rank: 15 pass attempts per team game (the NCAA's minimum for passing efficiency). 125 players.

RkPlayerPosTeamAttDropbacksACE
1Darian MensahQBMIA133128+19.0
2Caden VeltkampQBFAU174177+15.3
3Keelon RussellQBALA132141+15.1
4Ethan GrunkemeyerQBVT177182+14.3
5Braden AtkinsonQBORST196200+14.1
6Noah FifitaQBARIZ167176+12.7
7Malachi SingletonQBAPP132134+12.6
8Lunch WinfieldQBUL110115+12.1
9Kevin JenningsQBSMU156159+11.3
10Trinidad ChamblissQBMISS144144+10.8
11Tayven JacksonQBUNT168167+10.6
12Ryan BrowneQBPUR156163+10.0
13William Watson IIIQBMASS100104+10.0
14Gunner StocktonQBUGA102104+9.8
15Julian SayinQBOSU142143+9.3
16Carlos Del Rio-WilsonQBMRSH133138+9.2
17CJ CarrQBND124124+8.8
18Marcus StokesQBMEM123126+8.8
19Ashton DanielsQBFSU116127+8.6
20Aaron PhiloQBFLA121126+8.5
21Sam LeavittQBLSU139144+8.3
22Owen McCownQBUTSA151153+8.1
23Trey OwensQBARST133138+7.8
24Gio LopezQBWAKE151156+7.7
25Drew MestemakerQBOKST141142+7.0
26Dante MooreQBORE99105+6.8
27Landyn LockeQBSHSU145151+6.5
28Jaden CraigQBTCU157166+6.2
29Aidan ChilesQBNU8995+6.0
30Devon DampierQBUTAH101103+5.8
31Josh HooverQBIU107110+5.8
32Jared CurtisQBVAN98101+5.5
33Rickie CollinsQBKENN116119+5.4
34Skyler LocklearQBMOST8491+5.4
35Will HammondQBTTU142147+5.3
36Lincoln KienholzQBLOU139144+5.2
37Cameran BrownQBGAST131131+5.2
38Mason HeintschelQBPITT148151+4.8
39Jayden MandalQBFRES137136+4.7
40Kamario TaylorQBMSST154163+4.7
41Jay KastantinQBBGSU128132+4.6
42Demond Williams Jr.QBWASH163174+4.6
43Kenny MincheyQBUK142149+4.6
44Broc LowryQBWMU113118+4.3
45Brad JacksonQBTXST138136+4.0
46Taron DickensQBNIU120131+3.9
47JC French IVQBCIN123130+3.6
48Austin SimmonsQBMIZ136140+3.5
49Maddux MadsenQBBOIS132134+3.5
50Nathan HayesQBNDSU116122+3.4
51Keyone JenkinsQBUCF7679+3.3
52David McCombQBM-OH103107+3.1
53Caden CreelQBJXST126127+2.8
54Byrum BrownQBAUB158176+2.6
55Beau PribulaQBUVA118130+2.1
56Alberto MendozaQBGT123127+2.0
57Jayden MaiavaQBUSC191193+2.0
58Dru DeShieldsQBKENT120125+1.6
59Tyler HughesQBWYO112117+1.5
60Drake LindseyQBMINN157157+1.3
61K'saan FarrarQBCSU102107+1.2
62Mason McKenzieQBBC139148+1.2
63EJ Colson Jr.QBUTEP7790+1.0
64Cole GonzalesQBCLT127128+0.9
65Anthony ColandreaQBNEB143145+0.9
66CJ BaileyQBNCSU150156+0.8
67Katin HouserQBILL155160+0.6
68Arch ManningQBTEX116124+0.6
69Aidan ArmentaQBULM107111+0.5
70Kalieb OsborneQBCONN140145+0.4
71John MateerQBOU109111+0.3
72Nico IamaleavaQBUCLA99104+0.3
73Nick MinicucciQBDEL103108+0.2
74Noah KimQBEMU203205+0.2
75Luke WeaverQBSJSU171179+0.1
76John Alan RichterQBTOL153152+0.0
77Keldric LusterQBBALL119124-0.2
78Walker EgetQBDUKE9391-0.3
79Conner WeigmanQBHOU135136-0.5
80Bear BachmeierQBBYU8689-0.5
81Rodney Tisdale Jr.QBWKU117127-0.6
82Jaron-Keawe SagapoluteleQBCAL164167-0.7
83Baylor HayesQBTLSA96100-0.8
84Cutter BoleyQBASU127129-1.2
85Julian LewisQBCOLO95101-1.4
86Deshawn PurdieQBLIB100108-1.5
87Jared HollinsQBUSA8285-1.7
88Alessio MilivojevicQBMSU129137-1.7
89Max JohnsonQBGASO186187-2.1
90Avery JohnsonQBKSU133130-2.2
91Camden ColemanQBJMU128130-2.3
92Tait ReynoldsQBCLEM127140-2.4
93Ryder BurtonQBUAB110121-2.8
94Steve AngeliQBSYR103110-3.0
95Rocco BechtQBPSU134136-3.1
96LaNorris SellersQBSC152157-3.1
97Caden PinnickQBWSU142155-3.4
98Michael Hawkins Jr.QBWVU8389-3.4
99Brayden RoggowQBAKR95102-3.9
100Hank BrownQBIOWA124125-4.0

More 2026 College Quarterback Leaderboards

EPA per Dropback ACE per 100 Attempts Expected Completion % Success Rate Total Passing EPA Total QB EPA (Passing + Rushing) First-Down Rate per Dropback Explosive Pass Rate Negative-Play Rate EPA per Dropback, Excluding Garbage Time NFL Passer Rating Completion % Yards per Attempt Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt Adjusted Yards per Attempt Net Yards per Attempt Yards per Completion Touchdown % Interception % TD:INT Ratio Sack % Passing Yards per Game Pass Attempts per Game Passing Yards Passing Touchdowns Completions Pass Attempts Interceptions Thrown Sacks Taken Passing First Downs 20+ Yard Completions 40+ Yard Completions Longest Completion 300-Yard Passing Games 4-Touchdown Games Wins as Starter Average Depth of Target Deep Attempt Rate Deep Completion % YAC per Completion Share of Yards Through the Air 3rd-Down Conversion Rate Red Zone Touchdown Rate Clutch EPA per Dropback Clutch Passer Rating Two-Minute Drill EPA per Dropback Game-Winning Drives 4th-Quarter Comebacks Quarterback Rushing Yards Quarterback Rushing EPA Quarterback Rushing Yards Excluding Sacks NCAA Passing Efficiency QB Sneak Conversion Rate Touchdowns Responsible For Total Yards (Passing + Rushing)

Other seasons: 2026 · 2025

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