College football is different from the NFL in a lot of ways, but one of the bigger differences has always been that it's nearly impossible to win a Super Bowl without a franchise quarterback, but college teams have been able to win national titles without superstars at the position plenty of times.
Will that change in the 12-team College Football Playoff?
It certainly stands to reason to think it could. You can't win a national title without winning at least three games against another one of the best teams in the country, and having a quarterback who proves to be a difference-maker could be the deciding factor in games like this.
No true alpha QB emerged during the regular season (I've never had so many changes at the top of my weekly QB Power Rankings as this year), and no QB finished in the top two of the Heisman voting. In fact, of the six QBs to finish in the top 10 of the final Heisman voting, only two are on playoff teams.
Now is the time of year an alpha will likely emerge, but who will it be?
I don't know, but here's how I think the 12 quarterbacks of the CFP rank based on their power right now. A reminder for those who don't follow during the season: This isn't a draft board, nor is it a projection of the numbers I expect the player to put up. It's an amalgamation of everything about being a quarterback.
Your performance. Your leadership. Your charisma. Your moxie. Your juice. It's all considered. And these are the results heading into the first round.
| 1 | 
Dillon Gabriel
Oregon Ducks QB
|
| It's no coincidence that the only playoff QB who was a Heisman finalist is at No. 1 here. Gabriel had a slow-ish start to the season as he got to learn a new offense and teammates, but came on strong down the stretch to help the Ducks remain the only undefeated team in the country and win the Big Ten. He threw for four touchdowns against Penn State in the Big Ten title game to lock up the No. 1 seed. | |
| 2 | 
Kurtis Rourke
Indiana Hoosiers QB
|
| Rourke is the only other playoff QB to receive votes, but that's not why he's here. No, the fact he's here is why he received Heisman votes. Indiana has been one of the best stories of the year and Rourke's overall performance has gotten somewhat lost in it. Rourke doesn't have eye-popping overall numbers, but he leads the nation in passing efficiency and touchdown rate. | |
| 3 | 
Drew Allar
Penn State Nittany Lions QB
|
| Allar's importance to Penn State only grew this week with the announcement Beau Pribula was entering the transfer portal and leaving the team. Allar responded by announcing he'll be returning in 2025, which was in question because there are scouts who feel he'd be the most promising QB in the NFL Draft this year if he'd entered. The Nittany Lions are a strong team on both sides of the ball, but they'll go as far as Allar takes them. | |
| 4 | 
Riley Leonard
Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB
|
| When it comes to being a pure dropback passer, Leonard doesn't stack up very well against many of his playoff brethren, but nobody in the field matches what he does in Notre Dame's rushing attack. Leonard has rushed for 721 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. No other playoff QB has rushed for more than 458 yards (Klubnik) or seven touchdowns (Klubnik, Howard, Gabriel). | |
| 5 | 
Sam Leavitt
Arizona State Sun Devils QB
|
| Leavitt finds himself in the shadow of Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo, but don't get it twisted. Leavitt was huge for the Sun Devils down the stretch, as 16 of his 24 passing touchdowns came in the last six games. Arizona State puts a little more on Leavitt's plate each week, and he's answered the bell every time. | |
| 6 | 
Kevin Jennings
SMU Mustangs QB
|
| Jennings didn't begin the season as SMU's starter, but it's easy to argue that the Mustangs don't come nearly as far if they don't make the change. Since taking on the gig full-time, Jennings has saved his best for SMU's biggest games. That includes the ACC Championship, where he finished with 339 total yards and four touchdowns and nearly led the Mustangs to an incredible comeback victory. | |
| 7 | 
Will Howard
Ohio State Buckeyes QB
|
| If these rankings were purely statistical, Howard would be ranked higher, but the vibes are pretty low at the moment. Howard had his worst game as a Buckeye in the 13-10 loss to Michigan, finishing with only 185 yards and two interceptions. Like everybody involved in the Ohio State program these days, he's hoping for some redemption in the playoff. | |
| 8 | 
Cade Klubnik
Clemson Tigers QB
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| For all intents and purposes, Klubnik is the Clemson offense. That's proven to be a double-edged sword. When he's on, the offense is effective, but when he's off, things get ugly fast. We saw a little of both against SMU, where Klubnik finished with four touchdowns but disappeared for most of the final three quarters. He'll have to be a lot more consistent if the Tigers plan to make any noise in the playoffs. | |
| 9 | 
Quinn Ewers
Texas Longhorns QB
|
| This ranking isn't reflective of what I think of Ewers at his best. It's a reflection of how I view him now when he's not 100% healthy. He's still recovering from an oblique injury and he's added an ankle injury to his current list of maladies. So far, he's still had enough against anybody not named Georgia, but there are a lot more Georgias in the playoff than were on the rest of Texas' schedule. He has the ability to be No. 1 in these rankings (and has been early in the season), but can he get back there? | |
| 10 | 
Maddux Madsen
Boise State Broncos QB
|
| Madsen doesn't get nearly enough credit. Ashton Jeanty receives all the acclaim for Boise State's offense, and he deserves it because he's awesome, but Madsen has been excellent taking advantage of the breathing room Jeanty affords him. His role is simple, and he excels at it. Complete the passes you're asked to make, and don't turn the ball over. And he's not just dinking and dunking! His average air yards per attempt of 9.0 ranks fourth among the playoff QBs. Load the box to stop Jeanty, and Madsen can make you pay. | |
| 11 | 
Nico Iamaleava
Tennessee Volunteers QB
|
| Nobody was a bigger Iamaleava-hype man to start the season than me. I admittedly kept him in the rankings longer than his performance deserved, and while I'm still a believer in the long term, the fact is he doesn't deserve to be ranked higher than this right now. Tennessee is a team built on running the ball and defense this season. However, Iamaleava is one of the biggest X-factors in the playoff field. If he taps into his potential, Tennessee becomes a very difficult out. | |
| 12 | 
Gunner Stockton
Georgia Bulldogs QB
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| Every day that goes by that doesn't include Georgia saying, "Carson Beck will be back for the playoffs" only increases the odds Beck won't be back. Personally, I'm operating under the assumption his season is over. That's why I'm including Stockton in the rankings. He was good enough to help Georgia get past Texas, but is he good enough to lead the Dawgs to a third national title under Kirby Smart? I'll need to see more before considering moving him out of the bottom spot. | |
