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Well, today isn't the optimal schedule for college football, for fans of that level specifically or from a draft perspective.
That certainly sets the stage for some interesting upset opportunities. If you're asking me what I prefer? The marquee matchups coming in the Saturdays ahead will do nicely, thanks.
In any case, I've got three on the watchlist today after the first runs. You can take your pick there between Tennessee at #12 Georgia or throw Van some TST love for Wyoming trying to undo #9 Michigan St.
After that, here's what I've got.
| Arkansas at #6 Texas A&M* (CBS, 3:30pm) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trey Flowers | DE | Sr. | Arkansas | 3rd-5th |
| Darius Philon | DT | RS Soph. | Arkansas | 3rd-5th |
| Jonathan Williams | RB | Jr. | Arkansas | 4th-7th |
| Jared Collins | CB | RS Soph. | Arkansas | 5th-7th |
| Brey Cook | OL | Sr. | Arkansas | 6th-UD |
| Rohan Gaines | FS | RS Jr. | Arkansas | 6th-UD |
| Brandon Allen | QB | RS Jr. | Arkansas | 6th-UD |
| Cedric Ogbuehi | LT | RS Sr. | Texas A&M | 1st |
| Mike Matthews | C | Jr. | Texas A&M | 2nd-3rd |
| Germain Ifedi | OL | RS Soph. | Texas A&M | 2nd-4th |
| Deshazor Everett | CB | Sr. | Texas A&M | 3rd-5th |
| Jarvis Harrison | G | RS Sr. | Texas A&M | 3rd-5th |
| Tra Carson | RB | RS Jr. | Texas A&M | 5th-7th (↑) |
| Alonzo Williams | DT | Jr. | Texas A&M | 5th-UD |
| Malcolme Kelly | WR | RS Sr. | Texas A&M | 6th-UD (↑) |
| De'Vante Harris | CB | Jr. | Texas A&M | 6th-UD |
| Joseph Cheek | OL | Jr. | Texas A&M | 6th-UD |
| Drew Kaser | P | RS Jr. | Texas A&M | 6th-UD (↓) |
| Julien Obioha | DE | Jr. | Texas A&M | 7th-UD |
It's in AT&T Stadium, so this one gets a bit more heft. Arkansas has slipped from SEC competitiveness, so they'll be scratching for this. On the other hand, A&M is just too damn talented. There is a risk of a trap here. Of the Aggies' next seven games, five are against teams ranked 17th or higher. Suffice to say they'll on the watchlist again, but this is a chance to see how they deal with some mid-tier talents before going in on the heavyweights (Kenny Trill reference)...
| #8 Notre Dame at Syracuse* (ABC, 8:00pm) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Day | DT | Jr. | Notre Dame | 2nd-3rd |
| Ronnie Stanley | OT | RS Soph. | Notre Dame | 2nd-3rd |
| Jarrett Grace (i) | ILB | RS Jr. | Notre Dame | 2nd-4th |
| Nick Martin | C | RS Jr. | Notre Dame | 3rd-4th |
| DaVaris Daniels (s) | WR | RS Sr. | Notre Dame | 3rd-4th |
| Jarron Jones | DT | RS Soph. | Notre Dame | 3rd-4th |
| Ben Koyack | TE | Sr. | Notre Dame | 3rd-5th |
| Matt Hegarty | OL | RS Jr. | Notre Dame | 3rd-5th |
| Cody Riggs | CB | RS Sr. | Notre Dame | 4th-6th |
| Christian Lombard | OL | RS Sr. | Notre Dame | 4th-6th |
| KeiVarae Russell (s) | CB | Jr. | Notre Dame | 4th-7th |
| Kyle Brindza | K | RS Sr. | Notre Dame | 6th-UD |
| Everett Golson | QB | RS Jr. | Notre Dame | 6th-UD |
| Elijah Shumate | SS | Jr. | Notre Dame | 6th-UD |
| Ishaq Williams | DE | Sr. | Notre Dame | 7th-UD |
| Durrell Eskridge | FS | RS Jr. | Syracuse | 1st-3rd |
| Sean Hickey | OT | RS Sr. | Syracuse | 2nd-3rd |
| Dyshawn Davis | OLB | Sr. | Syracuse | 4th-6th |
| Ashton Broyld | WR | Jr. | Syracuse | 5th-7th |
| Jarrod West | WR | RS Sr. | Syracuse | 6th-UD |
| Cameron Lynch | OLB | Sr. | Syracuse | 6th-UD |
| Ron Thompson | DE | RS Soph. | Syracuse | 6th-UD |
| Prince-Tyson Gulley | RB | RS Sr. | Syracuse | 7th-UD |
Again, I'm leaning on the neutral site option here. Notre Dame heads east to MetLife to take on Syracuse. It's not a great matchup, as Syracuse's offense is subpar and the Irish have too much talent. But like A&M, this is a chance to get a look in before the schedule gets strong. #16 Stanford, #1 Florida St., #15 Arizona St. (dropping after a UCLA los on Thursday though) and #18 USC all remain.
| Oregon St. at #18 USC (ESPN, 10:30pm) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Seumalo | C | Jr. | Oregon St. | 2nd-3rd |
| Sean Mannion | QB | RS Sr. | Oregon St. | 3rd-4th |
| Steven Nelson | CB | Sr. | Oregon St. | 3rd-5th |
| Connor Hamlett | TE | RS Sr. | Oregon St. | 6th-UD |
| Ryan Murphy | S | RS Sr. | Oregon St. | 6th-UD |
| Jabral Johnson | ILB | Sr. | Oregon St. | 6th-UD |
| Storm Woods | RB | RS Jr. | Oregon St. | 6th-UD |
| Caleb Smith | TE | Jr. | Oregon St. | 6th-UD |
| Leonard Williams | DL | Jr. | USC | 1st |
| Nelson Agholor | WR | Jr. | USC | 1st-2nd |
| Josh Shaw (s) | CB | RS Sr. | USC | 1st-3rd |
| Aundrey Walker | G | Sr. | USC | 3rd-4th |
| Max Tuerk | OL | Jr. | USC | 3rd-5th (↓) |
| Hayes Pullard | ILB | RS Sr. | USC | 3rd-5th |
| Antwuan Woods | DT | RS Jr. | USC | 3rd-5th |
| Chad Wheeler | OT | RS Soph. | USC | 3rd-5th |
| J.R. Tavai | OLB | Sr. | USC | 4th-6th (↑) |
| Javorius Allen | RB | RS Jr. | USC | 4th-6th (↑) |
| Kevon Seymour | CB | Jr. | USC | 5th-7th |
| Anthony Sarao | OLB | RS Jr. | USC | 5th-7th |
| Cody Kessler | QB | RS Jr. | USC | 5th-7th |
| Zach Banner | OT | RS Soph. | USC | 5th-7th (↑) |
| Scott Felix | OLB | RS Soph. | USC | 6th-UD (↑) |
| Darreus Rogers | WR | RS Soph. | USC | 6th-UD (↑) |
A pretty fun nightcap on ESPN here as Oregon St. QB Sean Mannion tries to pull off the upset in LA. Plenty of talent here.
So if you're going deep on your college football today, let us know what you're seeing. After today. Saturdays are going to get a lot more intense...
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