CFB Zeitgeist Score
21
Below cohort in the position cohort. Carried by interceptions at the 97th percentile.
Cole Ballard
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
108 PASS YDS · 1 PASS TD · 92 RUSH YDS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Kansas for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Quarterback · Kansas
Returning around him
- 41% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 2 Kansas players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +5 net (31 in / 26 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Kansas · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #48 · 2026 recruiting class #72
QB · KANSAS · BIG 12
Cole Ballard
- 2
- #15
- 6-2 | 215 lb
- Westfield, IN
Heisman Heat
#517
<1% win probability
Fan Belief
Awaiting
Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.
Respect Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
Reality Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
ACCOLADE PROBABILITY
Heisman
<1%
TOP QB AWARD
Davey O'Brien
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. A locked-in starting role.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Development Trajectory · passing yards
2023–2025-62%
Sharp dropoff (-62%) — career inflection point.
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Kansas
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| No recruiting profile is on file for this player. | ||
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| No transfer portal moves on file for this player. | ||
Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final
Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.
HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.
Today’s Hot-Take
The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.
Anti-Take
PENDINGThe contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.
The Room on Cole Ballard
Fan sentiment ·
Belief Meter
50
Mixed Sentiment
Top Take
“”
Trajectory
Per-cohort trajectory lands when historical bucket data is aggregated.
Cohort divergence map
- Own fans · n=1
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Cole Ballard
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
Signature Story
Awaiting candidate metric
He hasn't written his page yet — we'll start filling it in when there are enough snaps to rank against his peers.
Signature Moment
No signature moment on the ledger yet.
Returns once this player puts together a multi-game body of work — single-game flashes alone don't clear the bar.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the passing totals stand
Through 7g
108Pass yards
1Pass TDs
1INT
Per game
15.4Pass yards
0Pass TDs
0INT
Projected (13g)
200.6Pass yards
2Pass TDs
2INT
To hit 3,000-yard season (currently 108): needs 482/game over remaining 6.
To hit 4,000-yard season (currently 108): needs 648.7/game over remaining 6.
To hit 25 passing TDs (currently 1): needs 4/game over remaining 6.
To hit 30 passing TDs (currently 1): needs 4.8/game over remaining 6.
To hit 35 passing TDs (currently 1): needs 5.7/game over remaining 6.
What made this player interesting
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Cole Ballard's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Kansas, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
QB season snapshot
2025 season snapshot | final
2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
Balanced quarterback against FBS QB peers. The quickest read is whether the profile wins on volume, efficiency, explosiveness, or rushing value.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Passing Efficiency
CMP
10 31st
ATT
22 40th
CMP%
45.5% 9th
Y/A
4.9 18th
Passing Production
YDS
108 31st
TD
1 44th
INT
1 63rd
Rushing
CAR
15 46th
YDS
92 66th
YPC
6.1 87th
TD
0 44th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-7vs Fresno State | — | — | — | — | — | — | Season-high 38 yds |
| Wk 1 | W 46-7vs Wagner | 2/6 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 | 30.3 | Season-high 38 yds |
| Wk 4 | W 41-10vs West Virginia | 1/2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 18.1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 34-37vs Cincinnati | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-42@ Texas Tech | 3/6 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 | 0.2 | |
| Wk 9 | L 17-42vs Kansas State | 1/2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 3.2 | |
| Wk 13 | L 14-38@ Iowa State | 3/6 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 6.2 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 10/22 | 108 | 1 | 1 | 4.7 | 30.4 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2023Kansas9-4HC: Lance Leipold · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2024Kansas5-7HC: Lance Leipold · Run-leaning
2025Kansas5-7HC: Lance Leipold · Run-leaning
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
Opponent-adjusted passing value. Positive numbers mean the quarterback is adding more value through the air than a neutral peer would in the same environment.
How much of the offense runs through the quarterback once passing and rushing responsibility are blended together.
Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.
The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Passing yards | 108 | #263/382 | 31st pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Pass TD | 1 | #228/407 | 44th pct | Scoringvs FBS QB |
| Passing | Completions | 10 | #265/383 | 31st pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Completion % | 45.5% | #349/383 | 9th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS QB |
| Passing | Yards / attempt | 4.9 | #316/382 | 18th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Rushing yards | 92 | #141/408 | 66th pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Usage | Role share | 8.7% | #284/428 | 34th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Attempts | 22 | #247/407 | 40th pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Interceptions | 1 | #153/407 | 63rd pct | Turnoversvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Carries | 15 | #221/408 | 46th pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 15 | #218/391 | 45th pct | Metricvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 6.1 | #52/407 | 87th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 0 | #230/408 | 44th pct | Scoringvs FBS QB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 12.9% | #283/428 | 34th pct | Money-down loadvs FBS QB |
| Usage | Pass share | 11.5% | #294/428 | 32nd pct | Air-game usagevs FBS QB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 9.0% | #281/428 | 35th pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS QB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 8.8% | #310/428 | 28th pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS QB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 8.7% | #272/428 | 37th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS QB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 6.5% | #295/428 | 31st pct | Early-down loadvs FBS QB |
| Usage | Rush share | 6.4% | #238/428 | 45th pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS QB |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 1 | #69/258 | 74th pct | Turnoversvs FBS QB |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16
Why he’s here
Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.
What moves him up
What moves him down
Accolade streams
Status—Awaiting tracker
Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 10.8 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 0.2 |
| Road2g | 27.0 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 |
Win vs Loss
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins3g | 15.3 | 0.0 | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| Losses4g | 15.5 | 0.2 | 4.3 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 12.6 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 22.5 | 0.5 | 5.1 | 0.5 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
21Below cohort
Elite: interceptions (97th). Concern: pass yards (0th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · QB · 2024
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
Advanced Savant
Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.
Advanced opponent-adjusted metrics are coming soon for this player. Selected cohort: P4.
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Cole BallardKansasNick VattiatoMiddle Tennessee· 60% simLogan FifeNew Mexico State· 53% simRyan BrownePurdue· 53% sim
Interceptions
Fumbles lost
Rush yards
Rush TDs
Yards / att
Pass TDs
Completion %
Pass yards
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lance Leipold
Pass share
45.1%
344 pass / 419 run
Plays / game
63.6
12 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
6.1%
293 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
1 coach2023
Lance Leipold
Kansas
2024
Lance Leipold
Kansas
2025
Lance Leipold
Kansas
Played his entire career under Lance Leipold.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownWestfield, IN
Height6'2"
Weight215 lb
Class2
PositionQB
Jersey15
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamKansas
ConferenceBig 12
Joined2025
Career arc3 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
No formal honors on the ledger yet
All-America, all-conference, player-of-the-week, watch-list, and postseason awards land here when they're earned. The absence is the signal: most players never collect formal honors, and that's its own kind of context.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No formal honors on the ledger yet. All-America, all-conference, weekly awards, watch lists, and postseason trophies land here when they’re earned. | ||||
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.