A meaningless game, a random scramble play.

The end of a season.

Of all the painful, season-defining injuries this season to critical players, of all the damage done by those injuries, none was more impactful than what played out last weekend at Florida State.

Quarterback Jordan Travis was in the middle of a rare season, maybe even a Heisman Trophy finalist season. FSU was 3 wins from reaching the Playoff for the 1st time since 2014 — and then it happened.

There was Travis, laying on the field at Doak Campbell Stadium, his lower left leg broken and his college career over.

“It was something that nobody ever wants to see,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “It’s hard because this is a game that these guys, they just put so much into.”

Travis is 1 of 8 players who suffered key injuries this season that not only impacted their future, but their teams and championship potential. A season of serious injuries derailing seasons like we’ve rarely seen.

A look at the injuries, and their impact:

QB: Jordan Travis, FSU

The injury: broken leg vs. North Alabama, Nov. 18.

The fallout: FSU’s unbeaten season is in jeopardy, and more important, there’s uncertainty about its place in the Playoff.

With Travis, FSU would’ve been a lock for the Playoff had it won out. Now it gets tricky.

Never in the history of the 4-team Playoff has an unbeaten Power 5 champion been left out of the Playoff. Let that sink in.

But remember, this is a “best 4” scenario — not best 4 conference champions. The key is how the Playoff committee views FSU with backup QB Tate Rodemaker, and that means — despite what you’ve heard from talking heads — there is a path to the Playoff.

FSU can force the committee’s hand by playing so well at Florida on Saturday, and against top-10 Louisville in the ACC Championship Game, that there’s no alternative but to choose the Noles.

QB Riley Leonard, Duke

The injury: High ankle sprain, Oct. 1, vs. Notre Dame.

The fallout: Leonard hurt the ankle late in the final seconds of a 21-14 loss to the Irish. He then sat out the next 3 weeks in preparation for Duke’s game at No. 4 FSU.

He re-injured the same ankle midway through the 3rd quarter with Duke leading 20-17. FSU outscored Duke 21-0 the remainder of the game to stay unbeaten.

Leonard tried to play a week later against Louisville, and it was ugly. He re-injured the ankle again, and sustained a left toe injury that will likely keep him from playing the remainder of the season.

Duke’s season has gone from a 4-1 start, to losing 4 of its past 6 games and eliminating any hope of a rematch with FSU in the ACC Championship Game.

RB Raheim Sanders, Arkansas

The injury: Sprained knee, Sept. 2 vs. Western Carolina.

The fallout: One of the SEC’s best players, Sanders hurt the knee in the opener, and was scheduled to miss a couple of weeks.

The injury has been problematic all season and deeply impacted the way Arkansas operated offensively. The goal with new OC Dan Enos was run with Sanders, and throw off play-action with QB KJ Jefferson — pulling back on Jefferson in the QB run game and relying more on the passing game.

Once it was clear Sanders wouldn’t be the same player as 2022 — when he rushed for 1,443 yards and 10 TDs — the offense changed and the Hogs became predictable. And Jefferson had to carry the load in the run game.

Sanders has 62 carries this season for 209 yards, and Jefferson is the team’s leading rusher (432 yards). The Hogs are averaging 3.6 yards per carry, their worst average in nearly 2 decades.

Enos was fired earlier this month, and coach Sam Pittman has navigated a disastrous 4-7 season to get another shot in 2024 to make it work.

QB Jalon Daniels, Kansas

The injury: back injury during fall camp.

The fallout: Daniels missed the season opening win over Missouri State as a precaution, then played the next 3 games (all wins) before re-injuring his back and eventually being ruled to for the season.

KU has played 3 quarterbacks this season, and a promising 4-0 start has devolved into a team struggling to a 7-4 record going into this weekend’s game at Cincinnati.

Daniels announced earlier this month that he would return to Kansas for his final season.

WR Bru McCoy, Tennessee

The injury: dislocated right ankle, Oct. 2 vs. South Carolina.

The fallout: McCoy was Tennessee’s most consistent receiver and a physical presence among the group.

With McCoy, QB Joe Milton III had 9 TDs and 2 INTs. Since the injury, Milton has 7 TDs and 3 INTs — and more important, the Vols lost their No. 1 option on 2nd-level throws.

Without McCoy, the offense moved to quick throws to the perimeter, or deep throws — and became predictable. The Vols were 4-1 with McCoy and are 3-3- without him.

QB Conner Weigman, Texas A&M

The injury: broken bone in foot, Sept. 23 vs. Auburn.

The fallout: It’s not a stretch to say Weigman’s injury led to coach Jimbo Fisher’s firing. Weigman is that talented, and Texas A&M was that limited behind him on the roster.

The Aggies were 3-1 with Weigman, and are 4-3 without him. The key: losses to ranked teams Alabama, Tennessee and Ole Miss (by a combined 16 points) could’ve been different with Weigman.

Weigman had 972 yards passing (8 TDs, 2 INTs) when injured, and was primed for a big sophomore season. He’s now part of a talented Aggies roster that will start over in 2024 with a new coach.

QB Cade McNamara, Iowa

The injury: torn ACL, Sept. 23 vs. Penn State

The fallout: The struggling Iowa offense at least had hope with McNamara, who led Michigan to the Playoff in 2021. And although the Hawkeyes are 9-2 even with backup Deacon Hill, they’re averaging just 14.8 points per game vs. B1G teams and there’s virtually no chance this team beats Ohio State or Michigan in the Big Ten Championship Game.

It has won 9 games without having to play Michigan and Ohio State, and getting blown out by Penn State in its only difficult game of the season.

With McNamara running the offense, with new teammates and improving week after week, there was hope that Iowa could get to the Big Ten Championship Game and be in position to get the game to the 4th quarter with its defense and a smart, efficient offense.

Now the offense, again, is a wreck. And the Big Ten Championship Game will be, too.

QB Cam Rising, Utah

The injury: torn ACL, Jan. 1 vs. Ohio State.

The fallout: Rising sustained the injury in last year’s Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State, but the plan all offseason was Rising returning to lead a talented team with Playoff aspirations.

Then he missed the opening win over Florida. Then he missed the first month of the season. It wasn’t until Oct. 21 — after Utah moved to 6-1 with a win over USC — that coach Kyle Whittingham announced Rising wouldn’t play this season.

The Utes are 1-3 since, and their hopes of defending their back-to-back Pac-12 titles are gone. Rising announced Monday that he would return to Utah in 2024 for his 7th season of eligibility.