In the offseason, Ryan Mallett was pretty much unanimously anointed as the best quarterback in the SEC (if not the country). Six weeks into the season, though, not even Mallett's string of five straight 300+ yard games has been able to hold back Auburn's Cameron Newton from establishing himself as the #1 guy with a string of dominant rushing and passing performances.
No matter how you rank them, though, this weekend's Arkansas vs Auburn battle should be a fascinating matchup, with the contrasting styles of each QB (Newton: run, then pass; Mallett: pass, then pass some more) and implications in both the SEC West and Heisman races adding plenty of extra spice.
In honor of the fact that this is the most interesting quarterback matchup in an Arkansas game since, well, pretty much whenever, let's do a head-to-head comparison to see how they compare.
Follow me after the jump for the breakdown:
Vitals
Mallett: 6'6", 238 lbs, 22 yrs old
Newton: 6'6", 250 lbs, 21 yrs old
Passing Stats (2010)
Mallett: 122/176 (69.3%), 1748 yards, 13 TDs, 6 INTs, 170.3 rating (after 5 games)
Newton: 70/108 (64.8%), 1138 yards, 12 TDs, 5 INTs, 180.73 rating (after 6 games)
Rushing Stats (2010)
Mallett: -24 yards, 2 TDs (after 5 games)
Newton: 672 yards, 9 TDs (after 6 games)
Fan Tribute
Mallett: "U Can't Touch Mallett"
Newton: "Cam Newton for Heisman"
Brush With the Law
Mallett: too much partyin'
Newton: throwing stolen laptop out a window
Defining Moment (2010)
Mallett: tossed game-winning TD pass to Greg Childs against Georgia
Newton: led epic seven minute game-winning drive against Kentucky