The first 12 team College Football Playoff is set and there are a lot of surprises from what people anticipated at the beginning of the year. The most surprising part may be the lack of star power at the quarterback position. Now the actual QBs that are leading their teams may not be the surprise, but their overall performance this year is what comes across as confusing. Of the 4 Heisman finalist, there is only one QB from a playoff team, which is Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. But preseason Heisman hopefuls Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers are apart of the field in the playoff, but both had disappointing seasons statistically and did not receive the invite to New York. It just goes to show like the preseason playoff predictions, the Heisman race was not what people expected.
#1 Dillon Gabriel: The two-time transfer elected to attend Oregon with hopes to win a National Championship and compete for the Heisman, and he has positioned himself and the Ducks to do that. Gabriel is a long shot for the Heisman award, but Oregon has locked in the #1 seed and a first-round bye for the CFP. Like Bo Nix did in this system last year, he has shown great efficiency, focusing on taking what the defense gives you, finding his mismatches, and getting the balls in his play-maker’s hands. I believe if it wasn’t for the slow start that Oregon suffered from, he would be the Heisman favorite, but disappointing games against Idaho and Boise St hurts his numbers.
#2 Drew Allar: Allar and Penn State started the year projected to earn a spot in the playoff and never left. What has changed though, was the offense and that can be attributed to Allar’s development (also Tyler Warren’s dominance). Allar benefitted from Andy Kotelnicki taking reigns as the OC for Penn State this year, but it would be a lie to not say there were some struggles along the way. Penn State lacks the weapons on the outside and became predictable with their need and desire to feed Warren. This led to some lack luster performances, but Allar’s ability to run the ball (both on and off script) has added a second dimension to this Penn State offense. Allar has all the physical tools needed to be a top QB, and in a year where few have separated, I don’t think it’s crazy to have him ranked as the number 2 qb in the playoff.
#3 Cade Klubnik: This may come as a surprise to many, but that is because they either haven’t watched Clemson past the Georgia game or have an inaccurate idea of the type of player Klubnik is. Klubnik is a gamer, he doesn’t always execute with perfect form or on script, but he makes plays with both his arm and his legs and has improved chemistry with OC Garrett Riley. Klubnik has the 3rd most yards of any CFP QB and leads in TD passes with 33 to only 5 interceptions. When you add in his ground game, his case only gets better with 458 yards and 7 rushing touchdowns. I can guarantee you, if you poll the Defensive Coordinators in the 12-team field, this is the quarterback that gives them the most nightmares.
#4 Will Howard: Will Howard’s season has been a lot like his college career; moments of brilliance but an overall lack of consistency. He dueled with Gabriel and Oregon early in the year, put up great numbers against lesser opponents, led methodical drives against Penn State to control and eventually ice the game. But he’s also had his blunders, like the last play of Oregon Matchup, back breaking turnovers like the pick-6 in the PSU meeting, and then overall disappearance in the second half of the Michigan loss. Blame it on play calling and coaching all you want, but ask yourself why play calling was changed? Some attribute it to Ryan Day wanting to prove something or win a certain way, some mention that Howard was banged up and limited, I say that there is a lack of trust. Ohio State was planning on Howard being the perfect game manager (like Gabriel), but with the lack of a running game and offensive line injuries, he has been asked to step up. For every time that he answered the call, he has an opposite performance that leads OSU fans questioning if he really was the right choice to lead this super team.
#5 Quinn Ewers: Ewers returned because of unfinished business with Texas or due to negative reviews from NFL scouts after his 2023 campaign (all depends on who you ask). What seemed like the perfect situation for Texas to allow Archie to sit another year and have Ewers lead the team that will need a battle tested signal caller has raised questions for the Texas Fanbase. Ewers numbers this year look fairly well as a whole, and if you take out his performances against Georgia, you would be mildly impressed. Unfortunately, Georgia is the only ranked team Texas has played, and their defense is on par with most of the playoff teams. Ewers has the benefit of having the best play caller in the playoffs with Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, so that plays into this rating, but we are going to find out if Texas has a Georgia problem or a Ewers problem fairly quick.
#6 Kurtis Rourke: Rourke the Transfer from Ohio took the nation by storm be leading Indiana, projected by many to finish last in the Big10, to an 11-1 season and CFP appearance. His numbers are solid, he has the best Passer Rating in all of college football, and a top 10 completion percentage. The problem is he played one Playoff team and went 8/18 for 68 yards. Now, Ohio State has one of the best defenses in the country, but a reoccurring theme for this year’s playoff teams is elite defenses. Plus, you add in the worries about Qb coach and Co-OC Tino Sunseri, having outside distractions like his awaiting job as OC at UCLA, are we sure that the MAC transfer is prepared for the step up in class that awaits him?
#7 Nico Iamaleava: Physical Tools? Check. Prolific play caller? Check. Run Game for support? Check. Tennessee and Iamaleava have reached their first CFP appearance, and finally casted off the storm clouds that have lingered over Knoxville for far too long. You would assume that it is due to the QB’s stellar play, but you would be wrong. Tennessee has relied on a top defensive unit and a deadly run game, led by RB Dylan Sampson, to achieve their playoff berth. The Redshirt Freshmen quarterback has looked like a young QB that has had to learn by fire against some of the nation’s toughest opponents and craziest environments. But he has also shown why he was such a highly rated recruit with his second half performance against Alabama this year. His problem hasn’t been poor decisions or lack of skill, the offense has sputtered seemingly because he’s either a second ahead or his receivers are a step behind. At any moment Tennessee can put it all together with their stellar defense, punishing run game, and vertical passing threat, and they will be a tough out for anyone in the country.
#8 Sam Leavitt: ASU seemed destined to fail, with a first-year head coach, a program still feeling the repercussions from recruiting violations, and 4-star projected starter Jaden Rashada transferred to Georgia. Enter Sam Leavitt, a Michigan State Redshirt Freshmen Transfer who seems to have pushed out Rashada by winning the QB competition. He is a gamer, that plays hard, makes minimal mistakes, that can benefit from a young coach believing in him and rely on Cam Skattebo to draw heavy boxes. He’s a willing runner, has only taken 16 sacks all year. He will be without his best receiver Jordyn Tyson, but now has 6-4 Malik McClain available due to post season redshirt rules. If ASU can rely on their run game and allow Leavitt to make plays when available Leavitt will surprise some casuals with his play on the big stage.
#9 Kevin Jennings: The Sophomore in charge of SMU’s high-powered offense doesn’t have the numbers that his peers have, but you can attribute some of that to a Quarterback competition that bleed over into the season with previously named starter Preston Stone. Jennings is exciting because of his dual threat capability and his performance against Clemson in the ACC Championship, leading a comeback to only fall short due to a 56-yard field goal as time expired for Coach Dabo. His rushing numbers don’t blow you away, but his ability to change the game at a moment’s notice and make defenses pay if his legs are left unaccounted for. His biggest issue, like most young quarterbacks, is ball security. He has 7 interceptions in his last 7 games, where he threw at least 1 in 5 of those games. If he can avoid turning the ball over, and especially avoid the 3-interception game he suffered against Duke, he can lead SMU to a potential upset in the first round against Penn State.
#10 Riley Leonard: Leonard took the country by storm last year leading Duke to upset win over Clemson in Week 1. Leonard transferred to Notre Dame, after an almost upset against them in 2023 where Leonard ran for 88, before falling 21-14 to the Irish. Leonard had early season turnover issues but has drastically turned it around. He accounted for 30 touchdowns (16 passing, 14 rushing) and 11 turnovers in the 2024 regular season. He’s more dangerous as a rusher then a passer but has enough ability to hurt you through the air if you don’t respect his arm. The Irish is led by a stingy, tough defense and running back Jeremiyah Love, so all that is required from Leonard is to limit the turnovers and keep opposing defenses honest.
#11 Maddux Madsen: Let’s face it, Madsen is the lone Group of 5 quarterback in the playoff. He also benefits from the best running back in the country, Ashton Jeanty, being in his backfield. His one game against a Power 4 team, he went 17/40 for 148 yards in the air in a close loss to Oregon, where Ashton Jeanty ran for 192 yards and 3 scores. Now, Madsen has showed improvement later in the year, and Boise has remained undefeated outside of the Oregon game, despite Jeanty missing time. However, there isn’t much to go off of for power 4 opponents and the limited film we have is not promising for his chances.
NR – Georgia QB: In the Howard, Ewers territory of this list you probably were waiting to see Carson Beck’s name written down somewhere. Kudos to you if you were, because that’s just about where I would’ve ranked him, but unfortunately, he suffered an elbow injury in the SEC Championship Game and only played 1 snap after halftime. That one snap was the game winning handoff, after backup Gunner Stockton was knocked out, and Beck came in with his right arm practically dangling limp at his side. I can’t accurately rank the Georgia quarterback situation on this list, because I have no idea if Beck is going to play. I lean towards him not playing after reports from Georgia came out that he was seeking treatment and there was no timetable on his return, so that leaves QB Gunner Stockton. Stockton looked competent in his second half performance, but this is the first time all year we saw meaningful snaps from him. If Stockton is the starter he would be ranked 12th out of the field due to experience and actual live reps.
Ray Hall Talking College Ball 
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