Week 5 showcased several top-10 matchups and was a very exciting week of college football. Week 6 looks to be a solid week with several intriguing matchups. These are the games and players on which I will focus my Devy attention.
Tennessee at Texas A&M
Despite injuries to Texas A&M wide receivers Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones, there is still plenty to watch in the Aggies Passing game. 2018-eligible wide receiver Christian Kirk has had a relatively quiet season thus far, especially when you ignore the 5 receptions for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns against Prairie View in Week 2. Last week against South Carolina, A&M worked to get Kirk involved, with 12 catches and 2 carries. If Noil and Seals-Jones are out, I expect this to continue against Tennessee.
For Tennessee, I have been encouraged by the progression of junior wide receiver Josh Malone. Despite only 15 receptions on the year, he leads the Vols in catches yards (310) and touchdowns (5). With Malone not currently expected to declare for the draft, and sophomore Preston Williams developing, Tennessee has a solid group of weapons to build around.
Florida State at Miami (FL)
Miami’s offense has a solid group of talent at all positions. Brad Kaaya is expected to be a top-3 quarterback in the 2017 draft. Junior Joseph Yearby and sophomore Mark Walton have formed a solid 1-2 running back committee. Senior Wide Receiver Stacy Coley has largely been a disappointment since entering school as a 4-star recruit. Junior tight end David Njoku has been getting buzz as one of the top options at the position in the stacked 2017 draft class. I am looking to dive deep into all of these players.
On the Florida State side, I want to see how running back Dalvin Cook can do against a stout Miami defense. Cook has been very impressive this year and is solidifying his spot in the early 1st round of rookie drafts. He has done it all this year with 107 carries for 635 rushing yards and 19 receptions for 286 yards. I want to see how he fares against a tougher defense.
Washington at Oregon
Oregon has been one of the largest disappointments in college football this year. One bright spot has been Junior running back Royce Freeman. A solid game for Freeman against a Washington defense that shut down Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey a week ago will likely vault Freeman up draft boards.
Washington sophomore running back Myles Gaskin has been a steady contributor and is coming off his best game against the toughest opponent of the year. Look for Gaskin to build on the momentum of the Stanford Game.
