By Patrick Weider
1) Oregon
Oregon’s offense is dynamic and can score anytime they touch the ball. They are led by Dillon Gabriel at quarterback and the Heisman finalist has had a great year for the Ducks, throwing for 3,558 yards and 28 touchdown passes with only six interceptions. He’s complimented by a talented running back in Jordan James who has rushed for 1,253 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Past that, they have dynamic weapons outside at wide receiver in Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart. The offensive line has been good as well this season led by the best tandem of offensive tackles left in the playoffs in Josh Conerly, and Ajani Cornelius.
2) Ohio State
This is where the rankings get tricky. Is this the Ohio State offense against Tennessee or the Ohio State offense vs. Michigan? I am going to assume the Ohio State offense has turned the corner and they will play that well going forward. Quarterback Will Howard has played well for the most part, with his struggls against Michigan a few weeks ago being the exception. He threw 311 yards on 24 of 29 passing with two touchdown passes against Tennessee. During the year he completed 73% of his passes, which is excellent.
It helps that Howard gets to throw to the best wide receiver group in the country: Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate. Ohio State also has a dynamic duo at running back in TreVeyon Henderson, and Quinshon Judkins. The question has been the offensive line since they had two massive injuries this season, but they have seemed to find the solution against Tennessee.
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3) Texas
The Texas offense has been led by a potent rush attack. Against Clemson in the 1st round of the playoffs, they rushed for 292 yards. They have had similar games this season when they rushed for 240 yards against Texas A&M, overcoming major injuries at running back in the process with a committee in the backfield. That is certainly aided by a great offensive line, led by future top-10 pick Kelvin Banks Jr. and they plug different bodies in at different times without missing a beat.
The biggest issue for Texas has been Quinn Ewers this year at quarterback. He has been up and down as he has battled injuries early in the year. He has thrown for 2,867 yards with 26 touchdowns, but also 10 interceptions. If he was playing better, you could easily make the case that they are the best offense left, but his struggles have held back this dynamic offense. Behind him is Arch Manning, who has been used in certain packages. It will not shock me if Ewers struggles early to go to Manning at some point.
4) Penn State
The four spot was a toss-up between Notre Dame and Penn State, and I give Penn State a slight edge. While the Nittany Lions lack any true elite wide receivers outside, they make up for it with do-everything tight end Tyler Warren. Warren is used all over the field, even playing some wildcat quarterback. He has 92 catches, 1095 yards, and six touchdown receptions. He also rushed for 197 yards and four touchdowns.
Quarterback Drew Allar has had a good year and has a chance to play at an even higher level during the playoffs. He comes into this game with 21 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. The other big part of the Penn State offense is Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, who are a dynamic one-two punch at running back. The offensive line seems to be playing well to finish the year as well.
5) Notre Dame
Notre Dame probably has the 2nd best rushing attack in the playoffs behind Texas, but QB Riley Leonard is limited as a passer. Notre Dame is 11th in the country in rushing averaging 224 yards per game. On the flip side, they are 100th in the country in passing yards at 196 yards. Now Leonard is also used in the running game as well, and he played well in the 1st round of the playoffs, but again, he is limited as a passer. Add in a limited group of wide receivers and you have an offense that is good, plays into its strengths well, but not elite.
6) Georgia
Georgia is the biggest wildcard of the eight teams left in the playoffs. Carson Beck will miss the rest of the playoffs with an injury, and it will be led by Gunner Stockton. Stockton will be making his 1st career start against Notre Dame. The Georgia offense has been up and down most of the year as they have played one of the toughest schedules in America.
The other thing with Georgia is it seem they don’t understand their identity. I know I am piling on them, but their wide receivers are very average as well. Case in point, in the SEC Championship game they were outgained by Texas and still won.
If Georgia is going to beat Notre Dame and make a National Title game run, they will need Stockton to play well and run the ball, which they are capable of because they have two talented running backs, Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier.
7) Arizona State
Confession time, I have a man crush on RB Cam Skattebo. 1st, what a name that is, and 2nd he is in many ways the entire Arizona State offense. He has rushed for 1,568 yards and 19 touchdowns in the year. Plus 37 catches, 506 yards, and another 3 touchdowns. He will run over, and through you at the running back position. Sam Leavitt has started to play better as a quarterback as a freshman and All-Big 12 receiver Jordan Tyson helps. Case in point his last two games he has thrown six touchdown passes to no interceptions. Arizona State has had an impressive season led by Skattebo and company.
Cam Skattebo is a bowling ball equipped with razor blades pic.twitter.com/DMK14nFOGz
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) December 7, 2024
8) Boise State
Ashton Jeanty has had an amazing season leading Boise State to the playoffs. He has rushed for an eye-popping 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns. He is the engine who could for the Boise offense. Quarterback Maddux Madsen has been smart and efficient as a passer. He has thrown for 2,714 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. If Boise is going to beat Penn State, Jeanty will need to continue to play well, Madsen needs play his best game of the year, and the offensive line will have to hold up.
