Week seven of the college football season starts off with an intriguing matchup between two Pac-12 playoff contenders late Thursday night that have had some ups and downs this season. Also, the showdown in Columbus, Ohio will be filled with scouts and next-level talent in an upset alert game. Here are some players to watch and match-ups to highlight this weekend with a focus on draft-eligible players.
By Christian Page
Saturday, No. 7 Michigan State at No. 12 Michigan, 3:30 EST on ESPN
No team is currently hotter than the Michigan Wolverines in college football, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Wolverines have shut out their opponents in three consecutive weeks with solid play from Mario Ojemudiae (#53). Ojemudiae had a solid stretch with multiple sacks and tackles for loss but is now sidelined for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury. Senior linebackers Desmond Morgan (#3) and Joe Bolden (#35) continue to play on a high level being the anchors on this dominating defense. Bolden has taken over leadership responsibilities within the defense this season. Bolden is an attacking defender with significant instinct that will be key versus the cat and mouse style game Connor Cook likes to play with defenses.
Shilique Calhoun (#89) was a hot name last season but faltered some with no reason given. Calhoun is Sparty’s best pro prospect on the defensive side of the ball and has been playing solid defense. Calhoun is excellent at setting the edge and containing outside leverage continuing to do the little things to make this defense go. Calhoun also provides great push up front being effective at the point of attack with good first step quickness.
Saturday, No. 8 Florida at No. 6 LSU, 7:00 EST on ESPN
A little more drama has been added to this matchup with the news of Florida quarterback Will Grier now out for the rest of the season. Fortunately, backup quarterback Treon Harris has SEC experience, so the concern of underwhelming play from the position should not be stressed as much. Regardless of who is playing quarterback the focus for the Gator offense is finding consistency in the running game, more now than ever. Kelvin Taylor (#21) has had three strong consecutive performances in SEC play toting the ball 74 times with 284 yards and four touchdowns. Taylor is a powerful inside runner with the ability to bust the seam for the homerun ball at times. Taylor is an important piece to the offense this weekend pending on what he is able to do on first and second down giving Harris something to work with on third down.
Leonard Fournette, I mean LSU, is frequently in the news this season with big performances in the run game. Problem is that Fournette gets all the spotlight, deservingly so, with many highlight runs and his high quality talent, but his spotlight takes away the attention of how dominant this LSU front has been in the run game. Left tackle Jerald Hawkins (#74) has been dominant opening up plenty of passages for the all-star running back. Hawkins had a knock on him in the preseason not being the most effective run blocker, but he has improved every week on being able to control defenders with strong hands to create constant push in the run game.
Saturday, Penn State at No. 1 Ohio State, 8:00 EST on ABC
Surprisingly enough, this game is being highlighted as a top game of the week with a potential upset written all over it. Ohio State has underperformed compared to its national title billing in the preseason and Penn State started out slow but now have built confidence with better showings in the past two weeks.
I’m sure many of you are sick and tired of reading about Christian Hackenberg’s draft stock report but this game is his the chance to really boost his status with an impressive showing versus an Ohio State defense filled with next-level talent. Hackenberg (#14) is constantly under pressure and the run game hasn’t helped much in recent memory but the offense is progressing and so is the highly touted quarterback.
Something Penn State can hang its hat on this season is its defense. The Nittany Lions allow just 275 yards per game with only an average of two touchdowns given up a game. Carl Nassib (#95) has been lights out this season taking advantage of every one-on-one matchup he gets with more attention focused on defensive tackle prospect Anthony Zettel (#98) from opposing offenses. Putting initial pressure on the Ohio State quarterbacks has been key to its quarterback struggles so far this season, which is exactly what Penn State will do on a consistent basis.
Cardale Jones (#12) is known for his excellent play in the spotlight but has mightily underperformed this season against just average defenses. Jones struggles to get into a rhythm and finding any type of consistency forcing too many throws and not at all taking what the defense is giving him which is completely different from the Cardale we witnessed a year ago in the championship run.
Expecting a heavy dose of passing from Hackenberg and the Penn State offense some key components in the stingy Ohio State secondary need to be highlighted. Junior safety Vonn Bell (#11) has been an effective pass defender since his freshman season in Columbus. Bell leads the team in passes broken up and is by definition the ball hawk of this secondary always present at the end of the play. Cornerback Eli Apple (#13) will be a top five preseason prospect next season, but the game Saturday night can already serve as a good measuring stick for the young talented corner.
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