Week 8 of the college season saw #2 fall and saw some enormous games. Leonard Fournette got twitter talking with 16 carries for 284 yards and showcased his physicality in a highlight run, trucking a defensive back. The Oklahoma-Texas Tech game featured a 734-yard passing performance from Patrick Mahomes II, a 263-yard rusher in Joe Mixon, and a 202 receiving yard performance from breakout player Dede Westbrook. All four wide receivers featured in last week’s preview put up either 10 catches or 100 scrimmage yards. This week’s preview features small school running backs and a heavyweight battle full of high-end devy talent.
San Diego State at Utah State
Senior running back Donnel Pumphrey is the nation’s leading rusher, having put up 1246 yards through seven games. This includes a ‘disappointing’ 21 carry, 98-yard performance in week 1. Pumphrey does have 20 catches for the season, but these numbers are boosted by a 7-catch performance against UNLV. Though the production is impressive, Pumphrey is undersized at 5-9, 180lbs. I struggle to see what role he would hold for an NFL team.
Boise State at Wyoming
Junior running back Brian Hill is second in rushing yards behind Pumphrey with 1010 yards this year. Hill is an intriguing prospect, listed at 6-1, 219lbs. The data I have found on Hill shows him running a 4.34 40-yard dash. I am very interested to see Hill play against a talented Boise State defense. His metric profile and solid production put him on the radar for a late round flyer in rookie drafts when he comes out.
Clemson at Florida State
These two teams feature elite prospects in running back Dalvin Cook and receiver Mike Williams. While I will enjoy watching these players, watch the ‘secondary’ talents of Clemson running back Wayne Gallman and Florida State receiver Travis Rudolph.
Gallman is coming off of a concussion in Clemson’s last game but is expected to play. Last season’s production put him on the devy map but Gallman has largely disappointed this year. A solid performance in a primetime game would boost his draft stock.
Coming into the season, I expected junior wide receiver Travis Rudolph to dominate the passing game. Whether it has been due to a low volume passing attack, or the development of Dalvin Cook, Rudolph has not separated himself from the rest of the pass catchers this year. I want to see if Rudolph can show up in a game where Clemson is likely to focus on slowing down Dalvin Cook, leaving opportunities in the passing game.
