





Back by semi-popular demand (my editor and a guy down the street said they liked it), we have the second annual Most Intriguing Series previewing the 2013 college football season. This week: the 25 most intriguing quarterbacks.

1. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M. If you don't know why he tops this list, you may want to start following curling instead of football.

2. A.J. McCarron, Alabama. Has a chance to go where no quarterback has gone before, being the starting QB on three straight national titlists. McCarron has often been at his best in the past two BCS championship games, and was highly clutch in the winning drive at LSU last year. He also comes with a girlfriend who made Brent Musberger foam at the mouth on national TV, and a chest tattoo that even Birdman Andersen would find impressive. The only player in America who makes him look dull is Manziel.

3. Braxton Miller, Ohio State. Which starting quarterback has the longest active winning streak in the country? This guy. The Buckeyes went 12-0 last year and have a chance to add 14 more consecutive victories this season – if Miller continues his improvement in the user-friendly Urban Meyer spread offense. The dual-threat junior has nearly 5,300 yards total offense in two seasons, with plenty more to come this year.

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4. Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville. Can a guy from a middling league playing a weak schedule actually win the Heisman Trophy? Bridgewater has a chance. Probably the most pro-ready QB in the country, Teddy Ballgame has both the tangibles (accuracy, velocity, athletic ability) and the intangibles (great under pressure, physical toughness, leadership ability). If only he had a marquee opponent for a potential Heisman Moment – but an undefeated season and big stats may offset that disadvantage.

5. Tommy Rees, Notre Dame. He's been all over the map with coach Brian Kelly: starter, bench jockey, suspended, reinstated, expendable spare part, irreplaceable relief pitcher. Now, after the academic dismissal of starter Everett Golson, Rees returns to the starting job for his senior year and takes over a team with a solid chance of replicating last year's success – if he comes through. Rees has to be ready right away, because the front half of the Notre Dame schedule is loaded.

6. Marcus Mariota, Oregon. Teammate Kenjon Barner finished in the Heisman voting top 10 last year, but Mariota might have been the more indispensible Duck. He threw for 32 touchdowns and just six interceptions, and ran for 752 yards and five more TDs. Mariota gets a new head coach this year but a familiar face in promoted offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. Expect the pyrotechnic Oregon offense to remain the same, and Mariota to be its leading man.

7. Zach Mettenberger, LSU. The Tigers might have been a quarterback away from national title contention last year – and Mettenberger was that quarterback. Hugely touted coming out of junior college, he has the size and arm strength of an NFL QB but often looked bewildered when facing the speed and complexity of SEC defenses last year. But there was the flash of hope when Mettenberger lit up Alabama, and if new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron can build on that then LSU will again have a chance to win the SEC West.

8. Aaron Murray, Georgia. Murray came back for a fifth season in part to get the bitter taste of the SEC championship game defeat out of his mouth, after the Bulldogs came up five yards and five seconds short of upsetting kingpin Alabama. For a four-year starter, Murray has endured plenty of ups and downs with the Georgia faithful, including the knuckleheads who egged his house after the Bulldogs lost to South Carolina last year. Murray has his best-ever supporting cast on offense now; can it translate into an SEC title?

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