#4 Florida State (3-0) at Clemson (2-1); Noon ET; ABC … One of the key questions in college football to be answered this fall was ‘Are the Seminoles indeed back?’ And so far, the returns have been mostly positive, although the ‘Noles did almost let last week’s win over lowly Boston College get away from them. However, Saturday’s huge ACC encounter with Clemson, which has pretty much dominated the conference the past few years should answer some of those questions. Florida State certainly has the talent to get it done including star DE Jared Verse (#5, 6-4, 260), an explosive edge rusher with top 5-10 potential, although he only has a ½ sack to date so far this season. Meanwhile, WR Keon Coleman (#4, 6-4, 215) could join Verse in the top half of next April’s opening round as he has emerged as one of the hottest receivers in this year’s draft class; like Verse, though, he hasn’t really put up big numbers in the ‘Noles 3 games to date (12 catches, 170 yards), although he has 4 TDs. The ‘Noles also have a number of other players with late first/early second round potential in WRs Johnny Wilson (#14, 6-2, 240) and CB Fentrell Cypress (#23, 6-0, 190), while QB Travis Jordan (#13, 6-1, 215), RB Trey Benson (#3, 6-0, 225), TE Jaheim Bell (#6, 6-3, 240), DTs Fabian Lovett (#0, 6-3, 320) and Braden Fiske (#55, 6-4, 300), OT Robert Scott (#52, 6-5, 315) and S Akeem Dent (#1, 6-0, 190) are all solid veterans with mid-to-late round grades.
These are somewhat uncharted waters for Clemson as the Tigers are no longer the automatic top dog in the ACC. In fact, the Tigers were only the 5th highest ranked team in the conference in this week’s AP poll. However, one should never sleep on sleeping Tigers as Clemson is still very talented, especially on defence. Indeed, the Tigers may have the best MLB combo in college football in Jeremiah Trotter (#54, 6-0, 230) and Barrett Carter (#0, 6-1, 230), both of whom should get first-round consideration next April. The Tigers also have a solid defensive front anchored by veteran DTs Tyler Davis (#13, 6-2, 300) and Ruke Orhororo (#33, 6-3, 290), along with DE Xavier Thomas (#3, 6-4, 245). For the record, both DTs are solid late second-day prospects, while Thomas, once the top recruit in the country who has battled injuries throughout his Clemson career, is something of a wild card.For good measure, Clemson also features a deep secondary including safeties RJ Mickens (#9, 6-0, 210) and Jalyn Phillips (#25, 6-1, 205) and corners Nate Wiggins (#2, 6-2, 185), Andrew Mukuba (#1, 6-0, 195) and Sheridan Jones (#6, 6-0, 190). Wiggins is the star of the unit and pro scouts are anxious to see him match-up against the talented FSU wideouts. On the other hand, RB Will Shipley (#1, 5-11, 210) is the Tigers only real prospect on the other side of the ball; however, he’s a good one who is also a major threat catching the ball out of the backfield, while veteran C Will Putnam (56, 6-4, 310) and OG Walker Parks (#64, 6-4, 310) could get some later round looks. How the Tigers fare against the Noles, at least from an offensive perspective, will depend largely on sophomore QB Cade Klubnik (#2, 6-2, 205) stepping up.
#19 Colorado (3-0) at #11 Oregon (3-0); 3:30 PM ET; Fox … Resurgent Colorado has been the talk of college football since the arrival of new head coach Deion Sanders; however, we’ll find out on Saturday whether the Buffalos are just a feel good story or whether they can in fact compete for conference and national honors as they’ll play at Oregon, one of the favorites in the very competitive Pac-12 this fall. And coach Prime is not the only Sanders creating a buzz in Colorado as his son Shedeur is arguably the early season leader in the race for the Heisman Trophy as the younger Sanders has shown that he can play with the big boys after tearing up the FCS ranks the past couple of years at Jackson State. Needless to say, Sanders (#2, 6-2, 205), the QB, has also caught the attention of pro scouts as he is currently on pace to throw for almost 5,000 this fall as he has completed 79% of his passes to date including 10 for TDs against just one pick. Unfortunately, Sanders won’t have his favorite target against the Ducks as sophomore WR/CB Travis Hunter, a leading candidate to be a high pick in 2025, is out for several weeks after he was hit late after an incompletion in last week’s in-state rivalry game with Colorado State.
While Colorado has been grabbing all the headlines, the Ducks have been quietly piling up the points with an explosive offence led by veteran QB bo Nix (#10, 6-2, 220), who has some legitimate Heisman aspirations of his own; indeed, Nix, who started his career at Auburn before transferring the Northwest, has posted numbers pretty close to the Buffs’ Sanders including a 78% completion rate and 8 TDs with no picks. Nix also figures to get some serious opening round consideration of his own next April. Nix, though, is the Ducks only real first-round prospect, although it is still a veteran team with a number of second-day candidates including scatback Bucky Irving (#0, 5-10, 195), big-play WR Troy Franklin (#11, 6-2, 180), and DEs Brandon Dorius (#3, 6-3, 290) and Jordan Burch (#1, 6-6, 275), while G/T Ajani Cornelius (#55, 6-4, 320), LB Jestin Jacobs (#4, 6-3, 245), WR Tez Johnson (#15, 5-10, 170), and safety Evans Williams (#33, 6-1, 205) are later round prospects.
#6 Ohio State (3-0) at #9 Notre Dame (4-0); 7:30 PM ET; NBC … Of course, any time these two are scheduled to meet on the football field it’s going to be a red-circle date. However Saturday’s encounter in South Bend takes on added meaning as both are unbeaten and ranked in the top ten. Pro scouts have certainly red-circled this game as it should feature one of the most intriguing individual match-ups of the early season when Notre Dame OT John Alt (#76, 6-7, 325), one of the top prospects in this year’s draft class period, goes up against Ohio State DE J.T. Tuimoloau (#44, 6-4, 275), who has some top ten aspirations of his own, although he is still looking for his first sack of the year. In fact, the Buckeyes have arguably the top overall draft class for 2023 with prospects at just about every position including WR where they have the consensus top non-QB candidate overall in Marvin Harrison (#18, 6-4, 205), who is averaging almost 22 yards per catch to date this fall. Indeed, the Ohio State WR room, which also includes Emeka Egbuka (#2, 6-1, 210), who has some top 10-15 potential of his own, and veteran Julian Fleming (#4, 6-2, 210), may be the best in the country. Same story for the Buckeyes’ defensive line which features three possible first rounders including Tuimoloau, along with fellow DE Jack Sawyer (#33, 6-4, 265) and DT Michael Hall (#51, 6-2, 290). Meanwhile, CB Denzel Burke (#10, 6-1, 195), yet another mid-to-late first round candidate, along with veteran safeties Luther Ranson (#8, 6-1, 210) and Josh Proctor (#41, 6-1, 205) head the secondary, while Tommie Eichenberg (#35, 6-2, 240) cleans up MLB. Back on offence, RB Tre’Veyon Henderson (#32, 5-10, 215) should be one of the first RBs off the board next April if he is healthy after missing most of the 2022 campaign with a broken foot, while Cade Stover (#8, 6-4, 255) is a reliable TE. The Buckeyes have had to replace both starting OTs, but return one of the best OG tandems in the country in Donovan Jackson (#74, 6-4, 320) and Matt Jones (#55, 6-4, 315).
Notre Dame doesn’t necessarily have the same draft talent as Ohio State, but along with Alt the Irish do have a couple of rising stars in QB Sam Hartman (#10, 6-1, 215) and RB Audric Estime (#7, 5-11, 230). Hartman, in fact, may be the top Heisman candidate playing east of the Mississippi these days as he has completed 71% of his pass attempts including 13 for TDs versus zero picks since transferring over from Wake Forest, while Estime has been something of a revelation as he is on pace to run for over 1,500 yards and 15 TDs this fall. Also, along with Alt, the Irish have one of the best sets of bookend OTs in the country as RT Blake Fisher (#54, 6-6, 315) is also a good one, while LB Jack Kiser (#24, 6-2, 240), safety Xavier Woods (#0, 6-0, 205) and CB Cam Hart (#5, 6-2, 210) head the defence, although sophomore CB Ben Morrison (#20, 6-0, 190), who won’t be draft eligible until 2025, may be the unit’s best player. In fact, Morrison may the Irish’s best prospect period other than Alt.
