Despite the overall pass-heavy approach of modern offenses, the variety of schemes in the 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision still puts running backs on full display.
Elite quarterbacks remain the most important asset, but a dynamic running back can overshadow issues behind center, too.
Looking ahead to the 2019 season, some of the nation's most impressive backfields are actually found at programs that don't have a top-tier signal-caller overseeing the offense.
While quarterbacks who add a mobile element are important and valuable, the list is strictly focused on star power and depth of a team's running backsu2015not the overall running game.