Leonardfan
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College Football Week 9
Last week was a bit of letdown from Week 7 in terms of big game matchups.
Tuesday
Delaware vs Western Kentucky - Nick Minicucci returned last week and the Blue Hens won their 3rd game of the season. For WKU it seems that QB Brock Glenn has secured the QB spot and is more of a dual threat. For the Hilltoppers freshmen LB Westen Ard has emerged as a playmaker.
Sam Houston vs Missouri St - Bears RB Connor Lair has emerged midseason as a viable threat at the RB position. Not much going in the Bearkats favor in what appears to be a lost season. With one more loss they are out of bowl eligibility for whatever that means in the NIL era.
Wednesday
Kennesaw St vs Middle Tennessee - For the Owls be on the lookout for WR Brayden Munroe and for the Blue Raiders look for another good game from under the radar QB Roman Gagaliano.
Jacksonville St vs New Mexico State - QB Caden Creel sits at 500 rush yards with 5 games left. Hopefully he has a few big games to ensure hitting the 1k rushing mark. TE Luke Gilbert and wigger extraordinaire Dylan Gentry are two players to look out for on offense. DB Caleb Nix is having a very good season and should be getting on the draft radar. I've got noting for NMSU.
Thursday
FAU vs North Texas - WR Easton Messer had a rare performance last week - 3 rush 18 yards 2 TDs, 12 rec 162 yds 2 TDs, 1 PR 82 YARDS 1 TD - an all around great and dominant performance. At the same time we have been aware of Messer since 2023 and everyone else is catching up. His draft stock should certainly be climbing. I am going to be throwing out Welker comps tirelessly for him. Messer has a shot at 300 career receptions which according to my quick research has only been achieved 25 times. QB Caden Veltkamp is no slouch either and should be getting looked at closely by the NFL as he should eclipsed 10k passing yards by season's end. Not much on defense for either team.
Troy vs JMU - The Dukes lost last week and probably ruined their chances to crash the playoff. The Dukes are still a solid team to root for, QB Camden Coleman has been very good but Napier seems intent to install his magical upsider. WR Braeden Wisloski finally had a big game last week, 500 yards receiving looks like a possibility. TE Cole Keller has emerged as a solid option and is the 2nd leading receiver. RB Nick Herman has not gotten many carries so hopefully he will get more usage down the stretch. For the Trojans QB Goose Crowder kind of went quiet after the one big game. WR Jace Petty is third leading receiver on the team. Not much defensively at first glance.
Friday
Baylor vs UCF - UCF scored a big upset over BYU last week but Frost's issues at the one position make me hesistant to put much support behind them. LB Tackett Curtis is having a standout season and pulled an INT last week. DB Ty Bartrum has been solid as well transferring from Harvard. For Baylor they will be without their fired coach Dave Aranda. RGKnee is now campaigning to be coach of Baylor. First thing the interim coach should do is replace Lagway with Bennett at QB. Pendergrass has really fallen off as of late but WR Gavin Freeman is having a breakout season.
Kent St vs Sacramento St - Sac St should have stayed in FCS and never been allowed to join the MAC. For Kent St Dru DeShields had a good game last week. LB Hayden Dawahare has been quietly great leading the team in tackles and sacks.
Saturday
Notre Dame vs Navy - The Irish return after a bye week and their controversial loss to BYU. I would expect them to come out and make a statement. Carr remains one of the top tier signal callers in the land and I expect Bowen and Talich to tally up some tackles against Navy's option offense. For the Midshipmen QB Jackson Gutieerez might be a White Hispanic and has been dominant in the rushing game.
Arizona vs Texas Tech - The Red Raiders lost a game that the should have won last week again Cincinatti. I'd expect the defense to bounce back this week and hopefully Hammond plays a little more steady and throws to Eakin. For Arizono their poly manlet QB seems to have been around forever. Would be nice to see him get knocked around by the snow patrol.
SMU vs Syracuse - QB Steve Angeli returned last week and delivered an upset over UNC. Would like him to do it again this week against an odious SMU team. LB Chris D'Appolonia has been a bright spot on the Orange's otherwise bad defense.
Wisconsin vs Iowa - The Hawkeyes lost their offensive output last week with the upset against Minnesota. Wiscsonin's offense showed up in a big way dominating the soft USC Trojans team and exposing their QB. Should be an entertaining defensive game. It's good to see Wisconsin back and dominating even if they aren't as White as they used to be - the pieces are still there - Catalano, Posa and Jung are still the top 3 tacklers on the team. Hawkeyes should probably go back to Hank Brown if healthy, he was the steadier QB. A very palatable early game.
Boston College vs Duke - BC has become more intriguing as the season has gone on - QB McKenzie may be able to hit 1k yards rushing and with their leading RB out for the rest of the season both McKenzie and RB Bo MacCormack should benefit and get more carries. LB Anthony Palano remains the leader in tackles and CB Charlie Comella has emerged as a playmaker in the secondary. Duke is solid with LB Nick Morris leading the team in tackles. S Andrew Pelicciotta may return after missing last weeks game. Another entertaining and palatable game in the early slate.
Illinois vs Maryland - RB Aidan Laughery has done alot with limited carries. Maryland is in disarrary after the firing of their coach (they were probably in disarray during his tenure). Hopefully Laughery can break some big runs, he has an outside shot at 1k rushing yards.
Michigan vs Rutgers - QB Dylan Lonergan was knocked out early on a play that should have been a penalty last week. Unsure of his status here. At least QB Tommy Carr will get an easier matchup.
Auburn vs Ole Miss - Best player on each defense is a White athlete - DL Cody Sigler for the Tigers and LB Luke Ferelli for Ole Miss. They are not the reason both defenses suck.
Marshall vs Old Dominion - Judah Price watch
UCONN vs Air Force - QB2 Evan Medders is out with injury which unfortunately means a black quarterback will be starting for the Falcons. They still have a stable of White RBs that should get plenty of carriers. UCONN is pretty much irredeemable.
Temple vs ECU - The Pirates seem to be a bit of a mess at QB. WR Landon Sides had a big game last week. The Pirates also have JD Lampley and Preston Carr on the DL. Temple has a sleeper TE Peter Clarke and WR Colin Chase is the team's leading receiver.
La Tech vs South Alabama - The Bulldogs are a sleeper team with a good offense. QB Blake Baker has been great since returning from injury and Andrew Burnette seems to be their bellcow at RB. TE Eli Finley is also an ascending NFL prospect and should get to 700 yards receiving on the season. The Jaguars have S Cole Blaylock as their leading tackler. Otherwise it's an SEC Jr. squad.
Stanford vs Louisville - Should be an exciting game. QB Davis Warren has led the Cardinal to respectability as @Phall pointed out last week. QB Lincoln Kienholz has been magnificent all season as well. I am expecting a shootout type game here.
Florida vs Georgia - The Gators are refusing to name a starting QB, if they make the incorrect choice then the Bulldogs will be the team to root for.
Minnesota vs Indiana - The Hoosiers offense has sputtered the past 2 weeks and QB Josh Hoover seems to be under fire. It may be wise for Indiana to open up the playbook and throw in some schemes that Hoover ran with great success at TCU, it would also get Becker more involved in the passing game. Minnesota is a fun team especially on defense. Seems like they have a White playmaker making a pivotal play every week. A good matchup.
Northwestern vs Oregon - Hope Koi Perich picks off Chip Kelly's latest pet. The overrated Moore is out for the season so it's Mahomes Jr. WR Griffin Wilde is finally getting some NFL buzz.
Colorado St vs Utah St - Uber talented QB Hauss Henjy returned last week and led the offense to 56 points and got WR Tommy Maher involved. Utah St has WR Eli Wood and huge S Brevin Hamblin.
FIU vs Liberty - Liberty is an odious coal team, FIU will need to have the Kohl to Anderson connection make some big plays this game.
Utah vs Cincinatti - The Bearcats pulled off a huge upset last week of Texas Tech. Utah needed a 4th quarter comeback against Houston. I can't find anything on Cade Wolford. DE Patrick Bauer has been making an impact for the Bearcats at least. For Utah hopefully Pegan and Whittemore get a decent number of looks and their defense is anchored by WTM Trey Reynolds, dynamic DB Jackson Bennee and S Nate Ritchie.
UVA vs Wake Forest - This could be an upset if the Cavaliers are able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball. Not sure if S Ethan Minter will return for this game after missing last's week game against Duke. Obligatory Jack Foley mention to hope he gets some receptions. The Demon Deacons have some players on defense that have been mentioned in previous weeks.
New Mexico vs San Jose St - New Mexico has been impressive despite mediocre QB play. Moga has been benched in favor of an unreliable poly, they are a bit like the Vikings of the NFL. For San Jose St QB Luke Weaver should return after missing last week with an injury. Not sure if WR Cooper Hoch is injured.
Nevada vs UCLA - I'd say the Bruins for the time being are a band wagon CF can jump on. QB Ty Dieffenbach has been just as good as the former 5 star NIL transfer swindler poly. The handful of Whites on defense make the Bruins not completely terrible as well.
South Carolina vs Oklahoma - The Sooners defense has been their strength all season. Mateer cut down on boneheaded plays, the running game still needs to be more traditional rather than running on designed QB runs so often.
Purdue vs Penn St - The Boilermakers have a great QB in Ryan Browne and a pourous defense. Hopefully that means 20 carries for Carson Hansen.
Oklahoma St vs Iowa State - The lack of balance for Iowa State has resulted in the dynamic Aiden Flora being bottled up. Would be great to see him spring some big runs in this game against the most exciting QB in the country Drew Mestemaker. The Pokes are one of the more enjoyable teams to watch - Wesloski and Romney are all over the field on defense and WR Wyatt Young gives flashbacks of Jordy Nelson.
Clemson vs FSU - Rooting for the Tigers easily in this one. DE Will Heldt has really come on in recent weeks and Sammy Brown remains a tackling machine. Reynolds is still developing but the experience is valuable.
Miami vs UNC - It can be stated that the Hurricanes have played a very easy schedule. I'll be reverting to 2012 Genius fan mode in hoping that Bellichek can pull the upset here. If it happens the optics are solid enough and it will derail the Heisman talk for the annoying QB.
Ohio St vs USC - Hopefully the wheels come off for the Buckeyes
Miss St vs Texas - The Longhorns won a must win game last week after the knives started coming out for Arch Manning. He responded playing mostly well. The defense played better without their supposed best play Simmons and the running game was better without Smothers. Coleman and Wingo both have dropped passes this year. TE Michal Masunas got involved in the offense last week, might be a good idea to incorporate him more like they used Jack Endries last year. In doing a bit of a deep dive on Manning - his struggles and criticism don't seem as warranted upon closer inspection.
The adjusted completion percentage is another interesting stat for Manning as well:
Arch Manning's PFF adjusted completion percentage stands at 75.3% for the 2026 college football season when drops, throwaways, spikes, and batted balls are removed from his statistics. This adjusted rate is substantially higher than his traditional 63.3% completion percentage (124 completions on 196 attempts), demonstrating a major gap caused by external factors like drops and intentional throwaways under heavy pressure.
Washington vs Nebraska - Sounds like Anthony Colandrea might be around college for another year with some whispers that SEC teams are targeting him in the portal.
Army vs Memphis - Should be an entertaining game as QB Cale Hellums closes in on 1k rushing yards. He will be facing off against QB Marcus Stokes who had a bounce back game last week. 2 different styles of play from the QBs but should be a good matchup.
Texas St vs Boise St - Beau Sparks needs to get more involved for the Bobcats offense. Boise St is a quiet 6-1 and is as palatable as a Boise State team can be so far removed from their glory years.
Northern Illinois vs UNLV - I'd expect Jackson Arnold to have a monster game against a bad NIU team. Look for Jake Pope to lead the team in tackles again.
Oregon St vs Fresno St - The nation's leader in passing returns after a bye week. Look for another huge game from Braden Atkinson. TE Eric Olsen is second on the team in receptions.
Last week was a bit of letdown from Week 7 in terms of big game matchups.
Tuesday
Delaware vs Western Kentucky - Nick Minicucci returned last week and the Blue Hens won their 3rd game of the season. For WKU it seems that QB Brock Glenn has secured the QB spot and is more of a dual threat. For the Hilltoppers freshmen LB Westen Ard has emerged as a playmaker.
Sam Houston vs Missouri St - Bears RB Connor Lair has emerged midseason as a viable threat at the RB position. Not much going in the Bearkats favor in what appears to be a lost season. With one more loss they are out of bowl eligibility for whatever that means in the NIL era.
Wednesday
Kennesaw St vs Middle Tennessee - For the Owls be on the lookout for WR Brayden Munroe and for the Blue Raiders look for another good game from under the radar QB Roman Gagaliano.
Jacksonville St vs New Mexico State - QB Caden Creel sits at 500 rush yards with 5 games left. Hopefully he has a few big games to ensure hitting the 1k rushing mark. TE Luke Gilbert and wigger extraordinaire Dylan Gentry are two players to look out for on offense. DB Caleb Nix is having a very good season and should be getting on the draft radar. I've got noting for NMSU.
Thursday
FAU vs North Texas - WR Easton Messer had a rare performance last week - 3 rush 18 yards 2 TDs, 12 rec 162 yds 2 TDs, 1 PR 82 YARDS 1 TD - an all around great and dominant performance. At the same time we have been aware of Messer since 2023 and everyone else is catching up. His draft stock should certainly be climbing. I am going to be throwing out Welker comps tirelessly for him. Messer has a shot at 300 career receptions which according to my quick research has only been achieved 25 times. QB Caden Veltkamp is no slouch either and should be getting looked at closely by the NFL as he should eclipsed 10k passing yards by season's end. Not much on defense for either team.
Troy vs JMU - The Dukes lost last week and probably ruined their chances to crash the playoff. The Dukes are still a solid team to root for, QB Camden Coleman has been very good but Napier seems intent to install his magical upsider. WR Braeden Wisloski finally had a big game last week, 500 yards receiving looks like a possibility. TE Cole Keller has emerged as a solid option and is the 2nd leading receiver. RB Nick Herman has not gotten many carries so hopefully he will get more usage down the stretch. For the Trojans QB Goose Crowder kind of went quiet after the one big game. WR Jace Petty is third leading receiver on the team. Not much defensively at first glance.
Friday
Baylor vs UCF - UCF scored a big upset over BYU last week but Frost's issues at the one position make me hesistant to put much support behind them. LB Tackett Curtis is having a standout season and pulled an INT last week. DB Ty Bartrum has been solid as well transferring from Harvard. For Baylor they will be without their fired coach Dave Aranda. RGKnee is now campaigning to be coach of Baylor. First thing the interim coach should do is replace Lagway with Bennett at QB. Pendergrass has really fallen off as of late but WR Gavin Freeman is having a breakout season.
Kent St vs Sacramento St - Sac St should have stayed in FCS and never been allowed to join the MAC. For Kent St Dru DeShields had a good game last week. LB Hayden Dawahare has been quietly great leading the team in tackles and sacks.
Saturday
Notre Dame vs Navy - The Irish return after a bye week and their controversial loss to BYU. I would expect them to come out and make a statement. Carr remains one of the top tier signal callers in the land and I expect Bowen and Talich to tally up some tackles against Navy's option offense. For the Midshipmen QB Jackson Gutieerez might be a White Hispanic and has been dominant in the rushing game.
Arizona vs Texas Tech - The Red Raiders lost a game that the should have won last week again Cincinatti. I'd expect the defense to bounce back this week and hopefully Hammond plays a little more steady and throws to Eakin. For Arizono their poly manlet QB seems to have been around forever. Would be nice to see him get knocked around by the snow patrol.
SMU vs Syracuse - QB Steve Angeli returned last week and delivered an upset over UNC. Would like him to do it again this week against an odious SMU team. LB Chris D'Appolonia has been a bright spot on the Orange's otherwise bad defense.
Wisconsin vs Iowa - The Hawkeyes lost their offensive output last week with the upset against Minnesota. Wiscsonin's offense showed up in a big way dominating the soft USC Trojans team and exposing their QB. Should be an entertaining defensive game. It's good to see Wisconsin back and dominating even if they aren't as White as they used to be - the pieces are still there - Catalano, Posa and Jung are still the top 3 tacklers on the team. Hawkeyes should probably go back to Hank Brown if healthy, he was the steadier QB. A very palatable early game.
Boston College vs Duke - BC has become more intriguing as the season has gone on - QB McKenzie may be able to hit 1k yards rushing and with their leading RB out for the rest of the season both McKenzie and RB Bo MacCormack should benefit and get more carries. LB Anthony Palano remains the leader in tackles and CB Charlie Comella has emerged as a playmaker in the secondary. Duke is solid with LB Nick Morris leading the team in tackles. S Andrew Pelicciotta may return after missing last weeks game. Another entertaining and palatable game in the early slate.
Illinois vs Maryland - RB Aidan Laughery has done alot with limited carries. Maryland is in disarrary after the firing of their coach (they were probably in disarray during his tenure). Hopefully Laughery can break some big runs, he has an outside shot at 1k rushing yards.
Michigan vs Rutgers - QB Dylan Lonergan was knocked out early on a play that should have been a penalty last week. Unsure of his status here. At least QB Tommy Carr will get an easier matchup.
Auburn vs Ole Miss - Best player on each defense is a White athlete - DL Cody Sigler for the Tigers and LB Luke Ferelli for Ole Miss. They are not the reason both defenses suck.
Marshall vs Old Dominion - Judah Price watch
UCONN vs Air Force - QB2 Evan Medders is out with injury which unfortunately means a black quarterback will be starting for the Falcons. They still have a stable of White RBs that should get plenty of carriers. UCONN is pretty much irredeemable.
Temple vs ECU - The Pirates seem to be a bit of a mess at QB. WR Landon Sides had a big game last week. The Pirates also have JD Lampley and Preston Carr on the DL. Temple has a sleeper TE Peter Clarke and WR Colin Chase is the team's leading receiver.
La Tech vs South Alabama - The Bulldogs are a sleeper team with a good offense. QB Blake Baker has been great since returning from injury and Andrew Burnette seems to be their bellcow at RB. TE Eli Finley is also an ascending NFL prospect and should get to 700 yards receiving on the season. The Jaguars have S Cole Blaylock as their leading tackler. Otherwise it's an SEC Jr. squad.
Stanford vs Louisville - Should be an exciting game. QB Davis Warren has led the Cardinal to respectability as @Phall pointed out last week. QB Lincoln Kienholz has been magnificent all season as well. I am expecting a shootout type game here.
Florida vs Georgia - The Gators are refusing to name a starting QB, if they make the incorrect choice then the Bulldogs will be the team to root for.
Minnesota vs Indiana - The Hoosiers offense has sputtered the past 2 weeks and QB Josh Hoover seems to be under fire. It may be wise for Indiana to open up the playbook and throw in some schemes that Hoover ran with great success at TCU, it would also get Becker more involved in the passing game. Minnesota is a fun team especially on defense. Seems like they have a White playmaker making a pivotal play every week. A good matchup.
Northwestern vs Oregon - Hope Koi Perich picks off Chip Kelly's latest pet. The overrated Moore is out for the season so it's Mahomes Jr. WR Griffin Wilde is finally getting some NFL buzz.
Colorado St vs Utah St - Uber talented QB Hauss Henjy returned last week and led the offense to 56 points and got WR Tommy Maher involved. Utah St has WR Eli Wood and huge S Brevin Hamblin.
FIU vs Liberty - Liberty is an odious coal team, FIU will need to have the Kohl to Anderson connection make some big plays this game.
Utah vs Cincinatti - The Bearcats pulled off a huge upset last week of Texas Tech. Utah needed a 4th quarter comeback against Houston. I can't find anything on Cade Wolford. DE Patrick Bauer has been making an impact for the Bearcats at least. For Utah hopefully Pegan and Whittemore get a decent number of looks and their defense is anchored by WTM Trey Reynolds, dynamic DB Jackson Bennee and S Nate Ritchie.
UVA vs Wake Forest - This could be an upset if the Cavaliers are able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball. Not sure if S Ethan Minter will return for this game after missing last's week game against Duke. Obligatory Jack Foley mention to hope he gets some receptions. The Demon Deacons have some players on defense that have been mentioned in previous weeks.
New Mexico vs San Jose St - New Mexico has been impressive despite mediocre QB play. Moga has been benched in favor of an unreliable poly, they are a bit like the Vikings of the NFL. For San Jose St QB Luke Weaver should return after missing last week with an injury. Not sure if WR Cooper Hoch is injured.
Nevada vs UCLA - I'd say the Bruins for the time being are a band wagon CF can jump on. QB Ty Dieffenbach has been just as good as the former 5 star NIL transfer swindler poly. The handful of Whites on defense make the Bruins not completely terrible as well.
South Carolina vs Oklahoma - The Sooners defense has been their strength all season. Mateer cut down on boneheaded plays, the running game still needs to be more traditional rather than running on designed QB runs so often.
Purdue vs Penn St - The Boilermakers have a great QB in Ryan Browne and a pourous defense. Hopefully that means 20 carries for Carson Hansen.
Oklahoma St vs Iowa State - The lack of balance for Iowa State has resulted in the dynamic Aiden Flora being bottled up. Would be great to see him spring some big runs in this game against the most exciting QB in the country Drew Mestemaker. The Pokes are one of the more enjoyable teams to watch - Wesloski and Romney are all over the field on defense and WR Wyatt Young gives flashbacks of Jordy Nelson.
Clemson vs FSU - Rooting for the Tigers easily in this one. DE Will Heldt has really come on in recent weeks and Sammy Brown remains a tackling machine. Reynolds is still developing but the experience is valuable.
Miami vs UNC - It can be stated that the Hurricanes have played a very easy schedule. I'll be reverting to 2012 Genius fan mode in hoping that Bellichek can pull the upset here. If it happens the optics are solid enough and it will derail the Heisman talk for the annoying QB.
Ohio St vs USC - Hopefully the wheels come off for the Buckeyes
Miss St vs Texas - The Longhorns won a must win game last week after the knives started coming out for Arch Manning. He responded playing mostly well. The defense played better without their supposed best play Simmons and the running game was better without Smothers. Coleman and Wingo both have dropped passes this year. TE Michal Masunas got involved in the offense last week, might be a good idea to incorporate him more like they used Jack Endries last year. In doing a bit of a deep dive on Manning - his struggles and criticism don't seem as warranted upon closer inspection.
| Player |
| Receptions | Targets (Est.) | Drops | Drop Rate (% of Targets) | ||
| Cam Coleman | WR | 21 | 37 | 7 | 18.9% | ||
| Ryan Wingo | WR | 33 | 48 | 4 | 8.3% | ||
| Emmett Mosley V | WR | 21 | 30 | 3 | 10% | ||
| Jermaine Bishop Jr. | WR | 13 | 19 | 2 | 10.5% | ||
| Hollywood Smothers | RB | 10 | 13 | 1 | 7.7% | ||
| Nick Townsen | TE | 4 | 6 | 1 | 16.7% |
The adjusted completion percentage is another interesting stat for Manning as well:
Arch Manning's PFF adjusted completion percentage stands at 75.3% for the 2026 college football season when drops, throwaways, spikes, and batted balls are removed from his statistics. This adjusted rate is substantially higher than his traditional 63.3% completion percentage (124 completions on 196 attempts), demonstrating a major gap caused by external factors like drops and intentional throwaways under heavy pressure.
Washington vs Nebraska - Sounds like Anthony Colandrea might be around college for another year with some whispers that SEC teams are targeting him in the portal.
Army vs Memphis - Should be an entertaining game as QB Cale Hellums closes in on 1k rushing yards. He will be facing off against QB Marcus Stokes who had a bounce back game last week. 2 different styles of play from the QBs but should be a good matchup.
Texas St vs Boise St - Beau Sparks needs to get more involved for the Bobcats offense. Boise St is a quiet 6-1 and is as palatable as a Boise State team can be so far removed from their glory years.
Northern Illinois vs UNLV - I'd expect Jackson Arnold to have a monster game against a bad NIU team. Look for Jake Pope to lead the team in tackles again.
Oregon St vs Fresno St - The nation's leader in passing returns after a bye week. Look for another huge game from Braden Atkinson. TE Eric Olsen is second on the team in receptions.
