3 ... 2 ... 1. Almost there.
No. 3 Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse
Making the case: Nassib had one of the best seasons in Syracuse history, setting single-season records for passing yards (3,749), touchdown passes (26), completions (284), passing yards per game (288.4) and total offense (3,891) en route to Big East second-team honors. He would have been the best quarterback in the league had it not been for a fella at Louisville you will see later in this countdown. But what was truly a pleasure to watch this past season was the complete comfort level Nassib had in the offense. You could tell you were watching a player who had been in the system for some time, and who had a complete and firm grasp of what he had to do to not only to move the ball, but make the players around him better.
Nassib had six 300-yard games. Two that stick out to me the most: his performances against USF and Missouri. The Orange trailed 23-3 at halftime against USF and looked well on their way to losing. But Nassib was a force in the second half, carving up the USF secondary at will. His 1-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Alec Lemon came with 3 seconds remaining. He led a similar comeback against the Tigers a few weeks later, this time throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Lemon with 20 seconds left to win the game and clinch bowl eligibility.
Syracuse ended up winning a share of the Big East title, and a large reason why was the way Nassib played.
Previous ranking: No. 25
The countdown
No. 4 Trevardo Williams, DE, UConn
No. 5 Justin Pugh, OT, Syracuse
No. 6 Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers
No. 7 Alec Lemon, WR, Syracuse
No. 8 George Winn, RB, Cincinnati
No. 9 Montel Harris, RB, Temple
No. 10 Travis Kelce, TE, Cincinnati
No. 11 Yawin Smallwood, LB, UConn
No. 12 Greg Blair, LB, Cincinnati
No. 13 Ray Graham/Jawan Jamison, RBs, Pitt/Rutgers
No. 14 Mario Benavides, C, Louisville
No. 15 Adrian Bushell, CB, Louisville
No. 16 Sio Moore, LB, UConn
No. 17 Shamarko Thomas, S, Syracuse
No. 18 Scott Vallone, DT, Rutgers
No. 19 Jerome Smith, RB, Syracuse
No. 20 Devin Street, WR, Pitt
No. 21 DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
No. 22 Matt Brown, RB, Temple
No. 23 Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville
No. 24 Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple
No. 25 Aaron Donald, DT, Pitt