The first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff may have brought more games, more fanfare and more heated rankings debates, but the action on the field hasn’t exactly matched the excitement for the experiment. Apart from the overtime thriller between the Texas Longhorns and Arizona State Sun Devils, fans have been treated to a series of blowouts and uncompetitive matchups.
However, with only four teams remaining, the stakes have been upped and the talent has been consolidated. The Orange Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Notre Dame Fighting Irish features two stout defenses and relentless rushing attacks. Texas and the Ohio State Buckeyes will square off in the Cotton Bowl in a matchup loaded with speed and athleticism on offense and defense.
Stars abound in both games, but some individuals stand out on the Final Four rosters. Here are the most impactful players set to take the field in this week’s CFP semifinals:
15. Penn State QB Drew Allar
Leaving any of the four quarterbacks off of this list felt wrong, given all will be hugely impactful in the outcome of their respective semifinals. However, Allar isn’t the primary reason why the Nittany Lions are two wins away from a championship.
Still, Allar’s improvement and willingness to risk more for big plays compared to last season helped Penn State get to this point. His completion percentage rose from 59.9% to 67.4% in 2024, as did his yards per attempt from 6.8 to 8.6. He has taken seven sacks in the team’s two playoff games, so his protection will need to improve against Notre Dame’s front.
14. Texas Edge Colin Simmons
It’s difficult to pinpoint one player on Texas’s defense, which ranks third in yards allowed and fourth in scoring, as the biggest reason for success. But what Simmons has done in his freshman season deserves some acknowledgement.
The 18-year-old edge rusher hasn’t been afraid of the big moments, recording a sack and a forced fumble in the SEC championship in addition to five total tackles and a sack in the quarterfinal win against Arizona State. He’s a game wrecker and will seek to take advantage of Ohio State’s patchwork offensive line in a way the Oregon Ducks weren’t able to on New Year’s Day.
13. Ohio State QB Will Howard
Howard gets the benefit of having a loaded set of skill players around him, but he arrived in the CFP on a mission. After receiving criticism for his poor showing in a loss to the rival Michigan Wolverines, the Kansas State Wildcats transfer has thrown for 630 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in blowout victories over the Tennessee Volunteers and Oregon. Frankly, his numbers would be even more impressive if both games hadn’t been decided by halftime.
When Howard is on, Ohio State looks unbeatable. But should his offensive line get battered around by Texas, there’s the possibility of him slipping back to midseason form.
Choosing between the two-headed monster of Allen and Singleton is a coin flip, but the latter gets the nod because of his ability to make an impact in the running passing games. The junior not only averaged a whopping 6.5 yards per carry this season but also caught 39 passes and five touchdowns from Allar.
Singleton hasn’t needed to be a pass-catching threat in the CFP so far, but has 26 carries for 177 yards and two scores. Should Penn State get bogged down against the Notre Dame front seven, getting Singleton out in space will be a valuable point of attack for the Nittany Lions.
11. Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard
The Fighting Irish didn’t have much going for them offensively against Georgia in last week’s quarterfinals. That is, except for Leonard’s legs.
The Duke Blue Devils transfer took a season-high 14 carries for 80 yards, stretching the Bulldogs defense and extending drives with ease. No other quarterback left in the field has Leonard’s mobility, an asset that will only be more important if running back Jeremiyah Love is not at 100% following an injury sustained in the quarterfinal. Leonard, who averages 6.8 yards per passing attempt, may not hurt Penn State with downfield throws, but he will give Tom Allen’s defense a lot to think about.
10. Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer
Perhaps no unit in college football is playing as well as Ohio State’s defensive line coming into the semifinals. Sawyer, a senior and vocal leader of the group, is largely to credit.
Sawyer racked up 3.5 sacks in the Buckeyes’ two playoff wins, highlighted by two of the eight team sacks Ohio State had against Oregon. Both of Sawyer’s sacks came early in the second half, shutting down any notion of a comeback by the Ducks.
Play on the offensive and defensive line has been the key ingredient for Ohio State’s success in the playoff so far. If Sawyer & Co. have another good outing against Texas, the Buckeyes will be playing for a national championship.
9. Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love
Love’s usage against Penn State may be dependent on how quickly he’s recovered from a leg injury sustained in the Georgia game. But there’s no denying the sophomore ballcarrier is Notre Dame’s best big-play threat.
Love averaged 7.3 yards per carry this season and scored seven touchdowns in the four games preceding the Irish’s win over the Bulldogs. He also had more than 120 yards from scrimmage in all four of those outings.
Against Georgia, the injury kept him limited and he had just seven touches for 21 yards. Notre Dame needs Love to make more of an impact Thursday, especially with Penn State’s defensive front looking to wreak havoc.
8. Ohio State S Caleb Downs
Ohio State boasts the top-ranked defense in the country in points and yards allowed per game and that’s not just because of the front seven. Downs anchors the back end of the Buckeyes’ unit and is as versatile as they come.
Replicating his 2023 season with the Alabama Crimson Tide, when he had 70 solo tackles, would have been a feat for the ages, but that shouldn’t take anything away from his performance in ’24. He’s still able to come up and defend against the run while serving as one of Ohio State’s best playmakers against the pass.
Texas has an ability to take the top off of a defense if Ewers is firing on all cylinders. Downs will lead the effort to prevent exactly that for the Buckeyes.
7. Texas QB Quinn Ewers
Ewers earns the highest ranking among the four quarterbacks in part because of what he did to squash Arizona State’s comeback effort in the quarterfinals. After allowing the Sun Devils back into the game, the Longhorns quarterback hit his two most explosive pass catchers (Matthew Golden and Gunnar Helm) on consecutive plays in overtime for the win.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Ewers that hasn’t quite matched what the Texas faithful hoped to get from their star quarterback. But he’s capable of taking over a game in an instant—and may need to do so if the Longhorns find themselves in a shootout with the Buckeyes.
6. Penn State DE Abdul Carter
When it comes to wreaking havoc, look no further than Carter. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year posted astounding numbers this season and is the latest star defender to come through Penn State under James Franklin.
Carter had no problem helping to stifle the SMU Mustangs’ heavy ground attack, but was kept off the stat sheet against the Boise State Broncos after a left arm injury knocked him out in the first quarter of the game. There’s optimism he’ll be ready to play, and Penn State direly needs him to lead the charge in curbing Notre Dame’s diverse rushing attack.
Watts, much like Downs, would have been hard-pressed to replicate his 2023 season—and yet he did almost exactly that. The senior complemented Notre Dame’s tenacious front and was a consistent playmaker, coming up with six interceptions just a year after he posted seven.
The reason why he prominently figures into the semifinal game script is because there’s a strong chance much of the responsibility of limiting Penn State tight end Tyler Warren will fall to him. The matchup pits the best player on Notre Dame’s defense against the best player on Penn State’s offense and could very well decide the outcome of Thursday’s game.
4. Texas CB Jahdae Barron
Barron will have the unenviable task of trying to slow down Ohio State’s plethora of talented wide receivers Friday night. But if any player is suited to such a task, it’s the Longhorn senior.
Barron, winner of the Jim Thorpe Award as the country’s best defensive back, led the SEC in interceptions this season with five. He’s then been masterful in the playoff, allowing just four completions for 23 yards on eight targets against the Clemson Tigers before racking up 11 tackles against Arizona State. Barron vs. Jeremiah Smith may rank as the top one-on-one matchup across both semifinals with the Texas cornerback being one of the few who may be able to at least slow down the standout Buckeye freshman.
3. Penn State TE Tyler Warren
Warren is by far the most remarkable player left in the playoff field. The Penn State junior is anything but orthodox and can cut up defenses in a multitude of ways. This season, he’s scored eight receiving touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns and even threw for a touchdown against the Kent State Golden Flashes.
After not needing to do much against SMU, Warren broke open the game against Boise State. He ended the 31–14 win with six catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which capped an 11-play drive for Penn State to respond to the Broncos pulling within three points. Warren is the ultimate option for the Nittany Lions to rely upon and will draw the focus of all 11 players on Notre Dame’s defense in the Orange Bowl.
Offensive linemen don’t tend to get enough love, but let Banks serve as an example for why that shouldn’t be the case. The stalwart left tackle is the epitome of consistency and will be tasked to lead the way against Ohio State’s red-hot pass rush.
Banks has started every game for Texas at left tackle for the last three seasons and was rewarded this season with the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy, the two most prestigious honors for offensive linemen.
Banks was briefly banged up in Texas’s quarterfinal win, but is expected to be ready to go for the Cotton Bowl. Awaiting him is an Ohio State defense that just had eight sacks against an undefeated Oregon team, leaving Banks and the Longhorns’ offensive line with plenty to deal with.
1. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith
It’s difficult for any player to rise and meet the moment of the biggest games of their career. Now taking into account a player who does it as a teenager is another story.
That’s what Smith has done for Ohio State in his first CFP as one of the best freshman receivers ever. If six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee wasn’t enough, he raised the bar with seven receptions for 187 yards and two scores in the rout of Oregon. Smith gets open with ease and catches everything thrown his way, making him a nightmare for teams to cover.
If the Buckeyes play like they have in the previous two rounds, they’re difficult to beat. Smith has been the x-factor, and there’s reason to believe he’s just getting started.
