The Great College Football Quarterback Shortage of 2015

Seemingly overnight, the abundance of enchanted, game-changing quarterbacks has gone missing—they're faces on a milk carton. This doesn’t apply to you at the moment, Notre Dame. Or you, UCLA. But many others will soon be seeking answers to a riddle that is growing increasingly more complex and harder to solve. Others can take the "soon" out of the equation entirely. 

The once-stocked cupboards have been emptied—not completely, but enough that things are noticeably different. The most important position in the most popular sport suddenly faces uncertainty in places that are not accustomed to this great unknown.

This much is apparent after watching hours upon hours of college football the last few days. The lack of sure things—the Mariotas, the Winstons, the Manziels—could result in pure, uncut chaos as the rest of the season unfolds.

That seems like a rather somber place to begin a recap of college football’s glorious return, although the possibility suddenly seems very real.

This theme gained traction throughout the offseason months. There’s a reason coaches threw multiple names on the depth chart as starters and kept practices under wraps. The deception and secrecy were not by choice; in many cases, it was by necessity.

Week 1 of the college football season helped confirm what we already knew: These days, great quarterbacks do not grow on trees. And if you’re one of the lucky programs to possess one of the few—or in the instance of Ohio State, two or three of the few—do anything you can to hold onto him and keep him upright. This is your College Football Playoff edge.

There were exceptions, of course, in Week 1.

Clemson's Deshaun Watson made his return from an ACL injury and looked healthy against Wofford. Yes, it was Wofford. But a healthy Watson will be a difficult-to-stop Watson. 

Seth Russell looked more than capable of being the next great captain of the Baylor ship against SMU. Yes, it was SMU, but Russell’s athleticism and supporting cast should make the Bears an incredible bear to slow down.

Malik Zaire’s regular-season debut against Texas was nothing short of spectacular. The Notre Dame quarterback's 313 yards passing and three touchdowns felt like a window into a bright future.

And Josh Rosen’s first start at UCLA miraculously surpassed already unreasonable expectations. Delivering footballs on straight lines with incredible accuracy, the true freshman threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns against Virginia.

It would be unfair to expect this kind of sharpness from a freshman each week, although Rosen did nothing to pour water on his own spectacular hype. After the game, he couldn’t bottle his euphoria.

"It was surreal,” Rosen told ESPN.com’s Kyle Bonagura. “It was really surreal. You should try it." 

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Ah, if only it were that easy. In fact, the simplicity of Rosen’s postgame commentary encapsulates this grand dilemma somewhat perfectly. On one end, there is the promising freshman who is coming off a spectacular introduction; on the other end, there is continued questions about whether this is the guy.

With each wayward throw, with each sack taken, with each camera shot on the sideline that focused on a backup getting ready to start warming up, the desperation at the position, collectively, became more apparent.

The position as a whole just lacks the usual giants. That's not to take anything away from TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, a larger-than-life difference-maker who struggled some against Minnesota.

He'll be fine. There are no worries here. This is more about the lack of giants he has to clash against.

Sleeping powers such as Michigan and Texas were undone by the position in their season debuts. Jake Rudock and Tyrone Swoopes didn’t get much help from the large men in front tasked with protecting them, either. Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg, after being sacked 10 times in a loss to Temple, knows the feeling well. 

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Even victorious teams struggled in that regard. Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson, while still possessing remarkable promise and upside, tossed three balls to Louisville defenders in stride. It wasn’t the debut he was hoping for, but it’s something he can build off despite the disappointment. Most importantly, Auburn won.

Elsewhere, Alabama and Texas A&M played multiple quarterbacks in games that were seemingly decided throughout the shuffling. Jake Coker and Cooper Bateman each took snaps for the Crimson Tide—looking fully functional at times—in a win over Wisconsin. It wasn’t always perfect from Coker, but it was a step in the right direction. 

Texas A&M showcased both Kyle Allen and true freshman Kyler Murray. Both had spectacular and unspectacular moments in a win over Arizona State, although the position—assuming Murray’s hip is healthy after it flared up in the game—seems somewhat unsettled moving forward. 

These situations, while still unresolved, are nevertheless more favorable than most. There are options, which makes this a game of musical chairs most are willing to play. 

Familiar powers that were playing FCS opponents out of the gate weren’t in a true position to showcase any QB weakness that might exist. LSU, battling a quarterback bug that's been around since well before this season, will have to wait until Week 2 after its game was canceled because of weather. Others, such as Ole Miss and Georgia, will showcase their signal-callers in full moving forward.

Ultimately, there will still be time for all of the indecision to be sorted out. Not just for LSU or Alabama or any other team mentioned above. But for everyone.

Some teams with a quarterback problem will somehow stumble upon a miraculous antidote—a J.T. Barrett or a Cardale Jones. Heck, Blake Sims would do just fine.

In many other instances, however, the outcome will not be nearly as favorable. A lack of star power at one position—the position—will ultimately be the undoing of talented and deep rosters. If any season was seemingly constructed to breed weirdness, it's this one.

The lack of established quarterbacks could ultimate deliver some wild weeks. That feels like where we are. More importantly, with the competition set to improve in the coming weeks, thankfully, and the pressure poised to reach a boiling point, it feels like that's where we’re headed.