The quarterback duel between USC's Caleb Williams and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders is a matchup of future first-round picks in the NFL Draft.
Which year? Could both be future No. 1 picks in the next two seasons? Those are two interesting questions heading into Saturday's matchup between No. 8 USC at Colorado. The Trojans and Buffaloes will be on at noon ET on Fox, and that will give both college football and NFL fans a long look at those two quarterbacks, who have emerged as superstars at the college level.
How unique is this quarterback matchup? A closer look at Caleb Williams, Shedeur Sanders and why this could be an unforgettable quarterback matchup.
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Caleb Williams 2023 USC statistics
Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 and he is the favorite to become the first repeat winner since Ohio State's Archie Griffin in 1974-75.
Williams' play through four games this season has been remarkable. He has 1,200 passing yards, 15 TDs, no interceptions and leads the FBS in quarterback rating at 223.1. The only other quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts and a rating of more than 200 this season are Washington's Michael Penix Jr. (209.6) and Notre Dame's Sam Hartman (200.9).
Williams also continues to be one of the best deep-ball passers in the FBS. According to Pro Football Focus, Williams is 11 of 19 (57.9%) with eight TDs and zero interceptions on passes of 20 yards or more. The only quarterbacks with at least 18 passes of 20 yards or more with a higher completion percentage are LSU's Jayden Daniels (72.2%) and Hartman (60%).
MORE: Ranking every CFB team, from No. 1 Georgia to No. 133 Buffalo
Shedeur Sanders 2023 Colorado stats
Shedeur Sanders ranks second in the FBS with 1,410 passing yards. The only quarterback with more passing yards is Penix, who has 1,636 yards in four games for the Huskies.
Sanders also has a 76.9% completion percentage – which ranks fifth among quarterbacks with at least 20 passing attempts per game. He also has 13 TDs and one interception.
Pro Football Focus tracks big time throws, a subjective stat that by definition is "a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window." Sanders has 11 of those throws so far, which is tied for seventh in the FBS.
Of course, Sanders also leads the FBS in sacks with 22. He took seven sacks in the 42-6 loss to Oregon, where he was limited to 159 passing yards and a TD. This week, he'll face an improved USC defense that allows 228 passing yards per game and limits opponents to a 55.5% completion percentage.
NFL Draft outlook for Caleb Williams, Shedeur Sanders
Both quarterbacks will be eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams transferred from Oklahoma after his freshman season in 2021 and is in second season with the Trojans. Sanders played two seasons at Jackson State before transferring to Colorado.
Williams has been the projected No. 1 pick throughout the early process ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. SN's Vinnie Iyer projects Williams to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 1, where he would potentially replace another former Heisman Trophy winner. Iyer writes:
"The Cardinals can't ignore the fact their current former Oklahoma QB, Kyler Murray, is coming off major knee injury and may not be the same passer or runner going forward in relation to his mega contract. Either with them going that way or another team trading up, Williams isn't slipping out of the top two as next year's clear-cut most dynamic overall QB prospect."
Sanders has moved up draft boards after his hot start – something we were keyed in on in the offseason when we ranked Sanders at No. 3 behind Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye. If that continues to be the trend, then it would be difficult for Sanders to pass up a first-round projection.
Could Caleb Williams, Shedeur Sanders both be No. 1 picks?
It's possible. On Sept. 18, ESPN Draft analyst Mel Kiper touted Sanders as a No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft if he decides to return to Colorado next season.
"If he stays at Colorado, we'll be talking about him next summer like we're talking about Caleb Williams right now – No. 1 pick guaranteed," Kiper said via On3.com. "So he's got a decision to make."
Sanders could stay at Colorado. That would be another year of playing for his father Deion Sanders. Coach Prime told Taylor Rooks in a Sept. 21 interview that Shedeur is not looking to be the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
"Shedeur don't wanna be No. 2 to nobody," Deion Sanders said. "He don't get down like that. So people projecting him behind Caleb Williams — and Caleb Williams is phenomenal — but Shedeur ain't no backseat driver."
What if both quarterbacks return to school? In an interview with GQ, Williams' father Carl said Caleb still has the opportunity to return to school in 2024.
"The funky thing about the NFL draft process is, he'd almost be better off not being drafted than being drafted first," Carl Williams said via GQ. "The system is completely backwards. The way the system is constructed, you go to the worst possible situation. The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league — because of their desire for parity — gets the first pick. So it's the gift and the curse."
Sanders and Williams rank No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, in NIL valuation, which also could be a factor in those decisions.
Our best guess? Williams is the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Sanders strongly considers returning for one more year with the Buffaloes. If Sanders leaves, then he becomes a mid- to late first-round pick.
Have two No. 1 picks ever played against each other in college?
It doesn't happen often, but Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and LSU's Joe Burrow met in the College Football Playoff championship on Jan. 13, 2020. Burrow led LSU to a 42-25 victory before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Lawrence was the No. 1 pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft.
As far as a regular-season game, the last time was when Tennessee's Peyton Manning and Kentucky's Tim Couch, who played each other in 1996-97. Manning led the Volunteers to a 56-10 victory on Nov. 23, 1996 and a 59-31 victory on Nov. 22, 1997.
The 1997 matchup is memorable because Manning (523 yards, 5 TDs) and Couch (476 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) combined for 999 passing yards. Manning was the No. 1 pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. Tim Couch was the No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Browns the following year.
