The National Football Foundation estimates that 5.33 million players have suited up for college football in 150 years, which places the odds of any one athlete appearing on this list of the 150 greatest players in the history of the game at 35,533-1.

Unless you're Deion Sanders (No. 26). Or Jim Plunkett (No. 43). Or Steve McNair (No. 110). Then you're pretty much a shoo-in. Not to mention that your chances doubled if you're Adrian Peterson (Nos. 45 and 84).

The top 11 players in college football history will be unveiled at halftime of the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App), with the rest of the top 25 revealed here on this page. Yes, we are saving the best for last; maybe it is better to say that the best talent reveals itself as the clock is winding down.

The panel's selections spanned across 111 of the 150 seasons, across 51 colleges and universities. Forgive us for not counting the number of conferences; given the manner in which schools have hopped from league to league, from independent to member, and how leagues have formed and folded, we will defer to someone more gluttonous for punishment.

Approximately two-thirds of the 150 greatest players took the field from the 1960s through the 1990s. It could be that the voters succumbed to nostalgia, hearkening to their youth to find their true heroes. It might have more to do with how televising the sport came into its own in the 1960s and blossomed in the mid-1980s, after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the restrictions placed on television appearances by the NCAA.

The voters selected only 16 players from the 21st century. Perhaps perspective is best achieved at a distance. Full disclosure: The vote had to be taken before the 2019 season was completed. That said, 2019 actually is the 151st season of college football, so the likes of LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Wisconsin tailback Jonathan Taylor will have to wait for College Football 151. Or maybe College Football 200. -- Ivan Maisel

84. Adrian Peterson (RB, Georgia Southern, 1998-2001)
Rushing yards: 6,559 | Rushing TDs: 84 | Points: 524
The original A.P. set the NCAA record for rushing yards by a freshman with 1,932 in 1998 and finished his four-year career with 6,559, the most in Division I history. He ran for 100 or more yards in 48 consecutive games, leading the Eagles to three national championship appearances, including back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000. The four-time FCS All-American holds Georgia Southern and Southern Conference records for career rushing attempts (996), rushing touchdowns (84) and points (524), among others. He was the first sophomore to win the Walter Payton Award as the FCS Player of the Year.

For the rankings of players 26-150, click here.