College Football Primer Week 7: Major Playoffs and Draft, Implications

Good morning New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to Week 7 of the college football season.

The college football schedule is really starting to heat up, and we have several games against ranked opponents that will have a significant impact on the College Football Playoff. This week will also give us a few games that should serve as a scouting tape for the 2025 draft process.

So without further ado, let’s get to the games!

(7) Alabama vs. South Carolina

ABC – Noon

The college football landscape was thrown into chaos in Week 6 by Alabama's loss to Vanderbilt. No one expected this, especially after the dominant first half against Georgia the week before. And the top of the college football rankings is up for grabs.

Scouts across the NFL will be eager to see how Alabama recovers from a massive upset. In particular, the way Jalen Milroe reacts after his pick-six played a crucial role in Alabama's loss could play a role in his draft stock.

This is also a great opportunity for South Carolina, which is coming off a tough loss – a 27-3 loss to Ole Miss. The Gamecocks have some intriguing players on offense and defense. Defensive linemen Tonka Hemmingway and TJ Sanders have potential as rotating DTs at the NFL level, while DB Nick Emmanwori should be a starter at the NFL level.

On offense, running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders has a justifiably rare mix of size (6-foot-1) and athleticism (reportedly 4.4-second 40 time) and thanks to that, he flies under Aston Jeanty’s radar absurd season at Boise State.

(18) Oklahoma vs. (1) Texas

ABC – 3:30 p.m

I could be talking about Penn State at USC here, and I think that's a great, solid option with some very intriguing players. However, the Red River Rivalry is always an entertaining watch, and these are also two good teams that could both make it to the expanded 12-team playoffs.

Oklahoma receiver Deion Burks is still waiting for a breakout game against top competition since transferring from Purdue. He had three touchdowns against Temple on August 30, but things have been pretty quiet since then. A big game against Texas could put him on the national radar. Linebacker Danny Stutsman has been a tackling machine for the Sooners, while safety Billy Bowman is a player to keep an eye on in the middle.

Texas now has one of the most talented teams in the country. Quarterback Quinn Ewers remains in the running for the top spot on the quarterback depth charts in April, although he may be more concerned with stopping Arch Manning right now. Wide receiver Isaiah Bond is one of the most explosive receivers in the country, while tackle Kelvin Banks should be drafted in the top half of the first round. His linemate Cameron Williams may have disappeared from the field at the end of the third round. Cornerback Jahdae Brown could be of interest to the Giants in the second round if they don't sign a cornerback in the first round.

One quick note before we get to the evening time slot. We have two games in the spotlight here and I'm not going to choose between them. Choose what you want or change the channel. Either way it could be great games with a lot of guys playing on Sunday.

(3) Oregon vs. (2) Ohio State

NBC – 7:30 p.m

Last week there was a match between the top two teams from Georgia and Alabama. This week there will be a showdown between the second and third place teams in the country.

The Ducks have a bevy of potential Day 2 players on their roster, including receivers Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson, OL Josh Conerly, CB Jabbar Muhammed and DL Derrick Harmon. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel won't be drafted particularly high due to his size (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) and age (24 on draft day), but he is a very experienced and capable passer. I viewed Gabriel as a potential sleeper in last year's draft class and compared him favorably to the top quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class before returning to school and transferring from Oklahoma to Oregon. I still have him as a potential sleeper who could be a Brock Purdy-like find if he lands in the right situation.

We've already talked about Ohio State and I'm not going to go into all the future NFL players on their roster. But suffice to say, the Consensus Big Board currently lists them with 11 potential top-100 picks on their roster, including four in the top 35.

(13) Ole Miss vs. (9) LSU

ABC – 7:30 p.m

We've talked about Ole Miss quite a bit. Eli's alma mater has put together a great squad through recruiting and the transfer portal.

If Princely Umanmielan and Walter Nolan make it to the second day, they won't have to wait long to be called up. Likewise receivers Tre Harris and Antwane Wells Jr. Both are major threats that should influence which teams draft them. QB Jaxson Dart is currently second on my QB board behind Cam Ward and ahead of Jalen Milroe. Dart is having a phenomenal season and has already thrown for 2,100 yards (350 per game, 12.1 per attempt) while completing 73.4 percent of his passes. To put things into perspective, Jayden Daniels threw for 317.7 yards per game, 11.7 per attempt, and completed 72.2 percent of his passes last year. It's still very early in the process, but if Dart can maintain this pace throughout the schedule, his physical attributes and performance level could see him being called up very early.

On the LSU side, we find Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr., two of the best offensive linemen in the entire draft. The LSU bookends could both be drafted in the first 20 picks of the draft, Campbell might not make it into the top 10 – or even the top 5.

WR Kyren Lacy gets his chance to star in the NFL with Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. He doesn't lead LSU in receptions – he's 19 yards behind sophomore Aaron Anderson – but is averaging 14.1 yards per reception and has scored 5 touchdowns this season.

QB Garrett Nussmeier is in his first season as a starter after being QB 2 behind Jayden Daniels the last two seasons. He's had a strong campaign so far and has turned heads as a potential first-round pick after being considered a developmental prospect earlier in the year.

Nussmeier is a bit lean for a 200-pound NFL quarterback, but he has the frame to add some bulk as he matures. However, he has true NFL arm talent and is able to get the ball to all areas of the field with precision and speed. Nussmeier also has a reputation as a high-IQ player and a natural leader in the LSU locker room. He is far from an elite athlete like Jayden Daniels and is more like Joe Burrow. Teams that prefer skilled pocket passers might be intrigued by Nussmeier if he declares for the 2025 draft.