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Trinidad Chambliss Leads the SEC in Passing by 16 Yards, and Braden Atkinson Is Running Away With the National Lead

SEC passing leaders card: Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss leads Sam Leavitt of LSU, Keelon Russell of Alabama, Austin Simmons of Missouri and LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina

Trinidad Chambliss leads the SEC in passing, and it’s about as close as a race gets: 2,189 yards to Sam Leavitt’s 2,173, eight games apiece. Nationally, there’s no race at all. Oregon State’s Braden Atkinson has 2,977 yards and 25 touchdowns, 328 yards clear of everybody.

SEC passing leaders

SEC passing leaders card: Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss leads Sam Leavitt of LSU, Keelon Russell of Alabama, Austin Simmons of Missouri and LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina
  1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss: 2,189 yards, 18 TD (8 games)
  2. Sam Leavitt, LSU: 2,173 yards, 17 TD (8)
  3. Keelon Russell, Alabama: 2,057 yards, 15 TD (8)
  4. Austin Simmons, Missouri: 1,952 yards, 16 TD (8)
  5. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina: 1,849 yards, 16 TD (8)

Our pick: Chambliss. He’s averaging 273.6 yards a game and Leavitt is at 271.6, so this one comes down to the schedule. Ole Miss still has Georgia and Oklahoma, but it also gets Wofford and Mississippi State. Leavitt’s last four are Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas. Leavitt is the more efficient passer (70.3 percent, 8.5 yards per attempt), but yardage races are about volume, and Chambliss has the friendlier road. The sleeper is Alabama’s Keelon Russell: 9.3 yards per attempt and 132 yards back.

College football passing leaders

College football passing leaders card: Braden Atkinson of Oregon State leads Drew Mestemaker, Tayven Jackson, Caden Veltkamp and Marcus Stokes
  1. Braden Atkinson, Oregon State: 2,977 yards, 25 TD (8 games)
  2. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State: 2,649 yards, 25 TD (8)
  3. Tayven Jackson, North Texas: 2,577 yards, 22 TD (8)
  4. Caden Veltkamp, Florida Atlantic: 2,536 yards, 23 TD (8)
  5. Marcus Stokes, Memphis: 2,532 yards, 25 TD (9)

Our pick: Atkinson, and it isn’t close. He’s throwing for 372 yards a game. Oregon State has three regular-season games left to Oklahoma State’s four, so Mestemaker gets an extra shot, but at his pace of 331 a game he’d still come up about 120 yards short. And yes, this is the same offense that has the nation’s leading receiver, Jesse Legree.

Vols watch: DeSean Bishop is No. 2 in the SEC in rushing with 957 yards, 48 behind Missouri’s Jamal Roberts, and Tyree Weathersby is tied for third in the SEC with 7.0 sacks. Tennessee hosts Kentucky on Saturday.

Stats from ESPN, through games of Nov. 1. Who finishes No. 1? Tell us on X and Instagram @fiveandafade.

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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.

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