Thankfully, the season is quickly approaching.

College football's return in two months brings considerable optimism for several programs expected to be in the thick of the Playoff race, a journey every team hopes ends with a stiff arm of Clemson and Alabama at the top of the rankings.

By now, you've seen the 2020 NFL Big Board, a who's who list of can't-miss players guaranteed to impact the national championship picture this fall. Top-end quarterbacks, elite-level defenders and playmakers at the skill positions litter most mocks, all having already proven their worth as sophomore or juniors — and in rare cases, freshmen.

We've watched quarterbacks take over games in the Playoff before, part of the reason — combined with stellar defensive play — the Tigers and Crimson Tide have owned the postseason four consecutive years.

Maybe the lack of parity discussion will simmer a bit this season and we'll see a new team win it all if one of these players can derail one of the heavyweights in the center of the ring. Time will tell and there's plenty of appetizing games throughout the fall that will dictate how many teams are on the shortlist in late November.

Here are 25 players to watch entering the 2019 season who will all have a say in the selection committee's final Playoff rankings during the first weekend of December: