Post by Uncle on Oct 7, 2022 15:40:37 GMT -6
We're coming up on the halfway point of the 2022 College Season and 4 more Saturday's of College Football until the first CFP rankings are released on Tuesday, 11/1.
There are some reallly strong matchups early this Saturday, with a bit of a weak evening and late-night slate and really nothing worth watching on Friday evening. And there are a few games involving teams that you wouldn't normally expect to be ranked that could be worth paying close attention to.
Saturday, 10/8 - Early Afternoon Games
#8 Tennessee @ #25 LSU - Noon ET (ESPN)
I think this should be the Saturday evening primetime game on either ESPN or ABC as this one could be good. Not only is this a battle of 2023 QB prospects (Tennessee's Hendon Hooker vs LSU's Jayden Daniels), but the winner is still alive for the SEC Championship and a CFP playoff spot. Hooker has already won a solid road game @ Pitt, but winning at Death Valley will be something else, and this LSU game is coming off a big win at Auburn last week. Outside of the QB's, the 2023 prospect to watch is LSU EDGE/OLB BJ Ojulari (younger brother of NYG EDGE Azeez Ojulari, who played for Georgia) - he's having a terrific year and is rapidly climbing up EDGE/OLB rankings. If you're going to watch just 1 college game this weekend, I would make it a point to watch either this one, or Utah @ UCLA.
#17 TCU @ #19 Kansas - Noon ET (FS1)
I don't think many fans at the beginning of the season would have guessed that the BIG XII matchup to watch during Week 6 would have been this one. Both teams are undefeated and the winner will share the BIG XII lead with Oklahoma St (assuming the Cowboys win, too). TCU is built on speed as they showed last weekend when they blew the doors off of Oklahoma, and Kansas is led by duel-threat QB Jalon Daniels who I have yet to see in-action. The Jayhawks undefeated run could be coming to an end at some point soon - they have back-to-back road games coming up @ Oklahoma and @ Baylor, so they need this one to stay in the BIG XII hunt as Oklahoma St doesn't figure to lose many games this year. It's just too bad that the Tennessee/LSU matchup is on at the same time - they really should have put the Vols and Tigers in primetime so fans across the nation could watch this game.
Texas @ Oklahoma - Noon ET (ABC) - "Red River Rivalry" Game
Normally this game is the BIG XII game of the week and it was just last year during this game that the Sooner pulled off an epic comback when Spencer Rattler was pulled for Caleb Williams (who followed Lincon Riley to USC). I think the Longhorns will be looking to avenge last year's collapse and their highly touted QB who was hurt in the Alabama game, Quinn Ewers, should be making his return here. Oklahoma will be looking to stop their losing streak at 2 after a home loss to Kansas St and an embarrassing loss @ TCU in Week 5 - I'm just not sure they have all the firepower to keep up if Ewers picks up where he left off in that Week 2 'Bama game. The game is always played at a "neutral" site: the Cotton Bowl.
Saturday, 10/8 - Mid-Afternoon Games
#11 Utah @ #18 UCLA - 3:30PM ET (FOX)
This game - and the Tennessee/LSU matchup - are the two "big" games with significant ramifications this weekend. After losing a close Week 1 game at The Swamp, Utah has been on a mission to get back to the Top 10. I continue to be intrigued by their 2023 QB prospect, Cam Rising, as he has really good mobility outside the pocket and he's really efficient inside of it. The only thing I haven't seen as much of from him is downfield passing so I'll be watching for that on the road in the Rose Bowl. On the other side, UCLA's 2023 QB prospect, D. Thompson-Robinson, put up a great game last weekend in their big win vs Washington, outplaying Michael Penix, Jr. The Bruins and Chip Kelly get to stay at home for this one and the winner get to stay at the top of a really loaded PAC12 Conference. Utah has a massive game next weekend vs USC so they could be caught looking ahead, but I get the feeling they are focused to get back inside the Top 10 and I can see them putting up a much better test vs UCLA than Washington did last week.
Saturday, 10/8 - Evening Games
Washington State @ #6 USC - 7:30PM ET (FOX)
The Cougars have been somewhat of a surprise team this season and they still only have that 1 loss to an Oregon team they should have beat. Wash St QB Cameron Ward had a bit of a bounceback game vs Cal last weekend, but a win over a Top 10 USC team would really start turning some heads. Lincoln Riley teams are always vulnerable to an unranked opponent it seems and they could be overlooking this solid Cougars team and looking ahead to next weekend's massive PAC12 game @ Utah. The Trojans could be on upset alert this weekend if they're not careful.
#16 BYU @ Notre Dame - 7:30PM ET (NBC Peacock)
2023 BYU QB prospect Jaren Hall has looked solid so far this season, and he'll need to look even better if the Cougars are going to win at South Bend. BYU's problem isn't on offense and I suspect Hall will give the Fighting Irish problems, but it's their defense which has looked real suspect this year, giving up a bunch of points last weekend at home to a 1-win Utah St team. Notre Dames recipe to success is back to playing solid defense and controlling the balll on offense (ie, rushing) so if BYU can stop limit the Irish to mediocre success on the ground, they should have a good shot at winning this. Make no mistake though, this game is pretty much all about Jaren Hall and I'm sure there will be plenty of NFL scouts on hand for this one.
Florida St @ #14 NC State - 8PM ET (ACC Network)
This is a sneaky-good evening game between two ACC teams that lost tough ACC games last weekend. The winner gets to try to climb the mountain in the ACC again behind Clemson and Syracuse (and stay with Wake Forest with only 1 Conference loss) while the loser will be pretty much knocked out of the ACC Championship game. NC State's Drew Leary needed a bigtime game last weekend @ Clemson and he didn't get it (although he didn't look too bad) so he'll be looking to get back on track, while FSU will need to find a way to limit the damage through the air after Wake Forest reall aired-it out in their win last weekend at Doak Campbell.
2023 QB Matchups to Watch:
Saturday, 10/8 - Early Games
Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) @ Jayden Daniels (LSU)
KJ Jefferson (Arkansas) @ Will Rogers (Miss St) - KJ is banged-up so not 100% certain he'll play
Aidan O'Connell (Purdue) @ Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland)
Saturday, 10/8 - Afternooon Games
Cam Rising (Utah) @ Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA)
Saturday, 10/8 - Evening Games
DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson) @ Phil Jurkovec (Boston College)
Cameron Ward (Wash St) @ USC
Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) @ Will Levis (Kentucky)
Jaren Hall (BYU) @ Notre Dame
There are some reallly strong matchups early this Saturday, with a bit of a weak evening and late-night slate and really nothing worth watching on Friday evening. And there are a few games involving teams that you wouldn't normally expect to be ranked that could be worth paying close attention to.
Saturday, 10/8 - Early Afternoon Games
#8 Tennessee @ #25 LSU - Noon ET (ESPN)
I think this should be the Saturday evening primetime game on either ESPN or ABC as this one could be good. Not only is this a battle of 2023 QB prospects (Tennessee's Hendon Hooker vs LSU's Jayden Daniels), but the winner is still alive for the SEC Championship and a CFP playoff spot. Hooker has already won a solid road game @ Pitt, but winning at Death Valley will be something else, and this LSU game is coming off a big win at Auburn last week. Outside of the QB's, the 2023 prospect to watch is LSU EDGE/OLB BJ Ojulari (younger brother of NYG EDGE Azeez Ojulari, who played for Georgia) - he's having a terrific year and is rapidly climbing up EDGE/OLB rankings. If you're going to watch just 1 college game this weekend, I would make it a point to watch either this one, or Utah @ UCLA.
#17 TCU @ #19 Kansas - Noon ET (FS1)
I don't think many fans at the beginning of the season would have guessed that the BIG XII matchup to watch during Week 6 would have been this one. Both teams are undefeated and the winner will share the BIG XII lead with Oklahoma St (assuming the Cowboys win, too). TCU is built on speed as they showed last weekend when they blew the doors off of Oklahoma, and Kansas is led by duel-threat QB Jalon Daniels who I have yet to see in-action. The Jayhawks undefeated run could be coming to an end at some point soon - they have back-to-back road games coming up @ Oklahoma and @ Baylor, so they need this one to stay in the BIG XII hunt as Oklahoma St doesn't figure to lose many games this year. It's just too bad that the Tennessee/LSU matchup is on at the same time - they really should have put the Vols and Tigers in primetime so fans across the nation could watch this game.
Texas @ Oklahoma - Noon ET (ABC) - "Red River Rivalry" Game
Normally this game is the BIG XII game of the week and it was just last year during this game that the Sooner pulled off an epic comback when Spencer Rattler was pulled for Caleb Williams (who followed Lincon Riley to USC). I think the Longhorns will be looking to avenge last year's collapse and their highly touted QB who was hurt in the Alabama game, Quinn Ewers, should be making his return here. Oklahoma will be looking to stop their losing streak at 2 after a home loss to Kansas St and an embarrassing loss @ TCU in Week 5 - I'm just not sure they have all the firepower to keep up if Ewers picks up where he left off in that Week 2 'Bama game. The game is always played at a "neutral" site: the Cotton Bowl.
Saturday, 10/8 - Mid-Afternoon Games
#11 Utah @ #18 UCLA - 3:30PM ET (FOX)
This game - and the Tennessee/LSU matchup - are the two "big" games with significant ramifications this weekend. After losing a close Week 1 game at The Swamp, Utah has been on a mission to get back to the Top 10. I continue to be intrigued by their 2023 QB prospect, Cam Rising, as he has really good mobility outside the pocket and he's really efficient inside of it. The only thing I haven't seen as much of from him is downfield passing so I'll be watching for that on the road in the Rose Bowl. On the other side, UCLA's 2023 QB prospect, D. Thompson-Robinson, put up a great game last weekend in their big win vs Washington, outplaying Michael Penix, Jr. The Bruins and Chip Kelly get to stay at home for this one and the winner get to stay at the top of a really loaded PAC12 Conference. Utah has a massive game next weekend vs USC so they could be caught looking ahead, but I get the feeling they are focused to get back inside the Top 10 and I can see them putting up a much better test vs UCLA than Washington did last week.
Saturday, 10/8 - Evening Games
Washington State @ #6 USC - 7:30PM ET (FOX)
The Cougars have been somewhat of a surprise team this season and they still only have that 1 loss to an Oregon team they should have beat. Wash St QB Cameron Ward had a bit of a bounceback game vs Cal last weekend, but a win over a Top 10 USC team would really start turning some heads. Lincoln Riley teams are always vulnerable to an unranked opponent it seems and they could be overlooking this solid Cougars team and looking ahead to next weekend's massive PAC12 game @ Utah. The Trojans could be on upset alert this weekend if they're not careful.
#16 BYU @ Notre Dame - 7:30PM ET (NBC Peacock)
2023 BYU QB prospect Jaren Hall has looked solid so far this season, and he'll need to look even better if the Cougars are going to win at South Bend. BYU's problem isn't on offense and I suspect Hall will give the Fighting Irish problems, but it's their defense which has looked real suspect this year, giving up a bunch of points last weekend at home to a 1-win Utah St team. Notre Dames recipe to success is back to playing solid defense and controlling the balll on offense (ie, rushing) so if BYU can stop limit the Irish to mediocre success on the ground, they should have a good shot at winning this. Make no mistake though, this game is pretty much all about Jaren Hall and I'm sure there will be plenty of NFL scouts on hand for this one.
Florida St @ #14 NC State - 8PM ET (ACC Network)
This is a sneaky-good evening game between two ACC teams that lost tough ACC games last weekend. The winner gets to try to climb the mountain in the ACC again behind Clemson and Syracuse (and stay with Wake Forest with only 1 Conference loss) while the loser will be pretty much knocked out of the ACC Championship game. NC State's Drew Leary needed a bigtime game last weekend @ Clemson and he didn't get it (although he didn't look too bad) so he'll be looking to get back on track, while FSU will need to find a way to limit the damage through the air after Wake Forest reall aired-it out in their win last weekend at Doak Campbell.
2023 QB Matchups to Watch:
Saturday, 10/8 - Early Games
Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) @ Jayden Daniels (LSU)
KJ Jefferson (Arkansas) @ Will Rogers (Miss St) - KJ is banged-up so not 100% certain he'll play
Aidan O'Connell (Purdue) @ Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland)
Saturday, 10/8 - Afternooon Games
Cam Rising (Utah) @ Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA)
Saturday, 10/8 - Evening Games
DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson) @ Phil Jurkovec (Boston College)
Cameron Ward (Wash St) @ USC
Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) @ Will Levis (Kentucky)
Jaren Hall (BYU) @ Notre Dame
... and neither is this Chris guy.