Most important player on every College Football Playoff top 10 team

We finally got a shakeup in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings this week. Washington beat Oregon State on Saturday and jumped over Florida State to No. 4.

FSU not only lost its seat at the table, but the Seminoles also lost their quarterback on Saturday. The devastating injury to Jordan Travis forced me to ask the question: Who is the most important player on every top 10 team?

Of the top 10 teams in the Week 13 CFP rankings, eight are still alive to make the top four at the end of the season. There will be big shakeups coming with rivalry week, followed by conference championship games, so this is the time of year when stars need to shine.

When the calendar turns to late November in college football, sometimes it becomes less about the Xs and Os and more about the Jimmies and Joes. So, I’ve put together the most important Jimmies and Joes on all of the top 10 teams, the players who will decide who’s in and who’s out in the final four-team CFP.

This isn’t just the best player on every team, it’s the player that the team couldn’t live without. In many cases, that’s the quarterback, but I’ve limited the number of quarterbacks I put on this list and only included the ones that are truly irreplaceable.

Okay, I know, I’m already cheating, but there’s a good reason. Jeff Brohm might be the best offensive coach in the entire country. He should be viewed as the next Lincoln Riley except it’s even better because his best friend isn’t the worst defensive coordinator in football.

Brohm has walked into Louisville and in his first season, the Cardinals are 14th in yards per play, 22nd in total offense, and 28th in points per game, while checking in at 91st in plays per game. He’s created a hyper-efficient offense around Jawhar Jordan, a good not great running back, Jamari Thrash, a wide receiver from Georgia State, and Jack Plummer, who is not a good quarterback.

Against Miami in Week 12, Plummer was absolutely awful, especially in the first half, and Louisville still put up 38 points. Plummer finished the game 24/37 for 308 yards and three touchdowns because Brohm made his life unbelievably easy with schemed-up plays.

Plummer could have had an even bigger day if he didn’t turn a walk-in touchdown into an interception by staring down his receiver and missing the throw by about five yards to the inside.

I mean just look at Plummer’s game-winning touchdown drive. He doesn’t have to do anything impressive because Brohm is that good of a play-caller.