With this knowledge in hand, the Oakland Raiders select Luke Getsy (Akron) number one overall...

With Byron Leftwich taking on Ben Rothlesberger last night on Monday Night Football, it came to my attention that this was the second week in a row that two former MAC quarterbacks were starting on national TV. That got me wondering about just how many starting QBs are from the MAC compared to other conferences. The results of my work will shock you, they will disturb you, and they will almost definitely arouse you. Enjoy.

(Please note: I counted each school into the conference they were in when said player was still enrolled. For example, when Michael Vick was at Virginia Tech, the Hokies were in the Big East; therefore, Vick counts as a starter for the Big East. Also, I discounted injury, such as Trent Green’s. I consider a starter the man that a team ideally wants to be playing.)

MAC (5)

Duante Culpepper (Central Florida)

Chad Pennington (Marshall)

Charlie Frye (Akron)

Ben Rothlesberger (Miami of Ohio)

Byron Leftwich (Marshall)

That’s right, sucka ducks, the MAC reigns supreme in producing starting quarterbacks for the NFL. Not only that, but Marshall is the only school to have two starters in the NFL. These guys have been pretty successful, too, with Rothlesberger winning a Super Bowl and playing in two conference title games, Culpepper playing in a conference title game, Pennington twice making it to the second round of the playoffs (and should have beaten Rothlesberger’s Steelers his last time there if Doug Brien could make a field goal), and Leftwich getting his first taste of the postseason last year. As for Frye, his future is very much in the air, especially if he can’t get an offensive line or offensive coordinator to help him out.

PAC-10 (4)

Carson Palmer (USC)

Jake Plummer (Arizona St.)

Drew Bledsoe (Washington St.)

Mark Brunell (Washington)

This is a solid group of QBs. Palmer is probably in line for 3-4 years of Hall of Fame quarterback play, and should be to at least one conference championship game (if not a Super Bowl). Bledsoe and Brunell are solid pros at the end of the line, with Bledsoe making a Super Bowl start and Brunell starting two AFC title games. And Jake Plummer is Jake Plummer. The PAC-10 will probably take the lead next year when Matt Leinert steps in for Kurt Warner in Arizona and if Andrew Walter (Arizona State) can show something for the Raiders while Aaron Brooks is out with an injury.

Big East (4)

Donovan McNabb (Syracuse)

Michael Vick (Virginia Tech)

Marc Bulger (West Virginia)

Matt Hasselback (Boston College)

If I were to move Vick to the bottom of the list, this would be the Oreo conference.

Big Ten (4)

Tom Brady (Michigan)

Kerry Collins (Penn State)

Trent Green (Indiana)

Drew Brees (Purdue)

I was as shocked as you that Trent Green went to Indiana. I can only hope that he ran the same offense that Antwan Randall-El ran. This will go down to three within the next two weeks when Collins is replaced by Vince Young, which will give the Big 12 a much needed boost.

SEC (3)

Peyton Manning (Tennessee)

Eli Manning (Ole Miss)

Rex Grossman (Florida)

With his 4 touchdown passes last week, Grossman matched the previous NFL career TD mark of all ex-Gator QBs combined. Congrats, Rex.

ACC (3)

Aaron Brooks (Virginia)

Phillip Rivers (NC State)

Brad Johnson (Florida State)

Did Aaron Brooks actually play quarterback at Virginia, or was he converted from safety upon being drafted?

Non-Division I Schools (3)

Steve McNair (Alcorn State)

Jon Kitna (Central Washington)

Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa)

How great is it that starters from non-DI schools have as many Super Bowl starts (3; Warner 2, McNair 1) as the ACC, SEC, and PAC-10 combined (Bledsoe)? Is it even greater that there are more starters from I-AA schools than there are from the Big 12? (Pssst! Yes it is. Yes it is.)

Conference USA (2)

J.P. Losman (Tulane)

Brett Favre (Southern Miss)

To be honest, I don’t think the C-USA existed when Favre played, so this might only be one, but what a one to have! J.P. Losman is number one!

Sun Belt (1)

Jake Delhomme (Louisiana-Lafayette)

I wish he had gone to a C-USA school. Delhomme, Favre, and Losman could’ve been the 21^st century’s answer to Sellick, Danson, and Guttenberg in Three Men and A Baby.

Big 12 (1)

Chris Simms (Texas)

If Simms keeps playing like he’s been through two games (0 TDs, 6 picks), the MAC’s going to have another starter in Bruce Gardowski (Toledo). Although, in a perfect world, Major Applewhite would be Simms backup.

WAC (1)

David Carr (Fresno State)

Shockingly, there were two starters from Fresno State last year (Trent Dilfer).

Mountain West (1)

Alex Smith (Utah)

Alex Smith is the only number one draft pick I have never even seen a highlight of, pro or college, which is the only thing holding me back from calling him one of the worst number one picks ever.