Auburn’s Byrum Brown Earns QB Power Ranking After Georgia Upset

Auburn's starting quarterback is climbing the ranks of college football after a win over the No. 1 team in the country.

Oct 17, 2026; Athens, Georgia, USA; Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown (17) throws downfield during the fourth quarter against Georgia at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week has finally found his way onto CBS Sports’ quarterback rankings, as on Wednesday, David Cobb ranked Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown as the 43rd-best quarterback in football after spending several weeks among the unranked.

This jump in ranking comes just after Brown led the Tigers to a massive upset win over Georgia, where Brown, notably, attempted exactly as many rushes as he did passes, with 26 each. The senior totaled 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while passing for 150 yards and a touchdown.

Brown seemed to have been in something of an adjustment period throughout the beginning of the season, rushing at a very limited capacity as the Tigers’ offense struggled to find its way. Against the Bulldogs, though, the Tigers’ playcalling shifted to favor Brown-centric rushing plays, a strategy that certainly paid off for the Tigers in their 27-24 win.

If the Georgia game was all anyone had seen from Brown, he’d likely be ranked quite high on this list. However, the first few games of the season were shaky at best from the transfer, so he’ll have to continue the level of play he established against Georgia throughout the rest of the season if he wants to climb the list.

A graduate transfer from USF, Brown was the only quarterback in football last year to pass for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season, and he ranked second among all FBS quarterbacks in touchdowns, falling only behind 2025 Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza’s production.

Tiger fans have long since been waiting for a 2025-like performance from Brown in an Auburn uniform, and the Georgia game seemed to be the first real taste of what an in-conference game with Brown at the helm could be like for the Tigers.

The tests certainly don’t stop now, though– up next for Brown and the Tigers, who are still coming down from a highly emotional win last weekend, is a matchup with Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers, who will travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium in search of their first in-conference win not in their home stadium.

Kiffin has already stated that he thinks Auburn’s win over Georgia makes preparation for his team much more difficult, and Brown will need to stay focused throughout the rest of the week if he wants to lead his team to yet another ranked upset win.

The Tigers are currently 7.5-point underdogs to the Bayou Bengals, but Brown has proven his ability to take over games when necessary, and he’ll have an opportunity to show that skill to the home crowd this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT.

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