Morning Distribution for Wednesday, September 8, 2021

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Morning Distribution]( Wednesday, September 8, 2021 Your daily briefing from FiveThirtyEight --------------------------------------------------------------- The Morning Story [Oklahoma v Tulane]( [Is Spencer Rattler The Next Valedictorian Of Oklahoma’s ‘Quarterback U’?]( By [Jake Lourim]( In his first season as the starting quarterback, Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler posted a [Total Quarterback Rating]( (QBR) of “only” 81.2, which made him “only” 11th among qualified players in 2020. But no team would feel sorry for the Sooners, who are [known for churning out]( elite QBs: Since 2017, Lincoln Riley’s first as Oklahoma’s head coach, just 25 FBS teams have had even one quarterback deliver a season with a QBR better than Rattler’s last season. Oklahoma had three: Baker Mayfield in 2017, Kyler Murray in 2018 and Jalen Hurts in 2019. [Mayfield]( and [Murray]( were Heisman winners and [No. 1 picks]( Hurts was the Heisman [runner-up]( and a [second-round pick](. By that standard, Rattler’s 2020 does indeed qualify as a significant drop-off. But it appears that slip could be temporary: Early in his third year at Oklahoma, Rattler is billed as a [Heisman contender]( and one of the [top prospects]( for the 2022 NFL draft. If there’s one key to Riley’s quarterback record at Oklahoma, it’s that he tailors his scheme to the signal-caller’s strengths. Mayfield, who had the worst QBR outside the pocket of the group, was also the most accurate passer, finishing with an FBS-leading 70.5 completion percentage and with an interception rate of just 1.5 percent in 2017. Then came Murray, by far the best improviser of the group, with a QBR of 98.5 outside the pocket. He added a [rushing element]( with 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns in 14 games. Riley then brought in Hurts from Alabama — the [best rusher of the three]( with a team-high 1,298 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 14 games. Those three players quarterbacked Oklahoma in consecutive years. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: How Politics Have Changed Since The Days After 9/11]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.