3,459 pass YDS, 2,500-yd club is what Anthony Colandrea has put on film since landing at Nebraska — the bet is starting to settle.
6′0″ · 205 lb · St. Petersburg, FL · Lakewood / Virginia / UNLV
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 275 pass yds, 3 TD, 23 rush yds, vs Ohio
The play that turned itSwung Virginia from 14% to 74% to win.Maryland at Virginia · 27-13
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior quarterback for Nebraska. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
Aura™ · Him Watch
-37aura tax
71st pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=31
— the tape outruns the hype.Buzz vs Tape
His production sits in the 72nd percentile among qualified QBs this season, well ahead of 34th-percentile attention — a gap of 38 points between tape and volume.
“Anthony Colandrea QB1 deserves his own thread”
Anthony Colandrea
Anthony Colandrea arrives at Nebraska with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.
PASS YDS · 2,500-YD CLUB
3,459
3459 passing yards — clears the 2,500-QB volume bar.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST · 1ST TEAM
All-Mountain West 1st team (2025)
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Matt Rhule.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Nebraska
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 49-21vs Ohio | 18/32 | 275 | 3 | 0 | 8.6 | — | Season-high 275 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 56-7vs Bowling Green | 20/24 | 222 | 4 | 1 | 9.3 | 52.8 | 4 TD passes |
| Wk 3 | W 34-7vs North Dakota | 15/21 | 195 | 1 | 0 | 9.3 | 86.6 | |
| Total | 53/77 | 692 | 8 | 1 | 9.1 | 69.7 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 34–7
vs North Dakota
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +195 passing yards, +1 passing TD.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: fumbles lost (90th percentile). Strength: rush tds (84th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
10.1119 of 126 QBsSack rate
2.5%26 of 126 QBsRarely sacked (26 of 126 QBs) and still 19 of 126 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 68.8% completion on 77 attempts · 55% completion on 11 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 68 dropbacks72Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
55.9%98th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -2.9% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
9.2699th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -0.8 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
1.7%96th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.2% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (10 of 78 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 231 | 2.7 | 9.1 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 231 | 2.7 | 9.1 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Rhule
Pass share
42.7%
90 pass / 121 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Play style
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,489 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Big Ten as a senior.
Player DNA
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Frank Harris’s 2021 season.
Matches Frank on
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Parker Navarro’s path through Ohio.
Matches Parker on
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Jake Retzlaff's junior season at Tulane (2025).
Matches Jake on
Differs from Jake on
Player DNA
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #9 — top-10 conversation.