College Football Officially Begins This Week And a Couple of Ranked Teams are in Action
Week one of the college football season kicks off this week. Oddly enough week one technically includes games that are being played this week and the ones being played next week.
There aren’t many that look like they will be super exciting until next week, however there are still some teams worth checking out that play this weekend. Of the five games being played this week all but one will feature one player that is on the NFL draft radar.
The one game that doesn’t feature a current draft prospect is Hawai’i at UMass. It’s also the only game that won’t be on T.V.
Here are the other four games going on this weekend and where you can watch them:
Oregon State at Colorado State, August 26 at 2:30 pm, CBS Sports Network
Oregon State struggled to a 4-8 record last season while Colorado State finished a respectable 7-6. Both teams will look to improve on that record this season.
The one player to watch for the 2018 draft is Colorado State wide receiver Michael Gallup (pictured above). Gallup, a 6’1” 200 lbs. senior, was one of the most productive receivers in college football in 2016. He totaled 76 receptions for 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns. Another year like that and he will be heading to the NFL.
Portland State at BYU, August 26th at 3:00 pm, ESPN
Portland State finished 2016 with a disappointing 3-8 record. BYU performed well last season and finished with a record of 9-4.
Again there is one player in this game currently on the NFL radar and that’s BYU QB Tanner Mangum (pictured above). Up to this point Magnum has been a back up who has played sparingly. He has been pretty impressive while on the field. This season he will get a shot to start and show what he can do.
#19 South Florida at San Jose State, August 26th at 7:30 pm, CBS Sports Network
South Florida had a great season in 2016, finishing with a record of 11-2. San Jose State didn’t perform quite as well, they went 4-8 last year.
There are a couple of payers on South Florida who look like NFL prospects. One is 5’10” 189 lbs. senior cornerback Deatrick Nichols. Nichols finished each of the last two seasons with four interceptions and combined for 13 pass breakups. He’s been productive and at this point in the scouting process he is viewed as one of the better corners in the draft class.
The main attraction in this game is South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers (pictured above). Flowers, a 6’0” 210 lbs. senior, is one of the most exciting players to watch in all of college football. He put up huge stats last season, throwing for 2,812 yards, 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions and rushing for 1,530 yards and adding 18 scores on the ground.
If you could only watch one game on this list I would suggest this one just to watch Flowers rip San Jose State’s defense apart.
#14 Stanford vs Rice, August 26th at 10:00 pm, ESPN
Stanford is one of more consistent programs in college football. They finished 10-3 last season. Rice finished 3-9.
There are a handful of Stanford players who are potential draft prospects. Three of them are offensive lineman. One is senior tackle Casey Tucker. Another is David Bright who has started at right tackle and left guard in his career. The last Stanford offensive line prospect in guard Brandon Fanaika. None of them are elite prospects as of now but they could work their way up this season.
The other two Stanford prospects, and probably the most intriguing, are cornerbacks Quenton Meeks (pictured above) and Alijah Holder. Meeks is a 6’2” 197 lbs. junior. Holder is a senior and is listed at 6’2” and 191 lbs. Both posses the size that NFL teams love at corner.
Meeks is probably the more talented of the two. He has five interceptions and 10 pass breakups so far in his Stanford career.
Holder was limited to just four games last season due to injuries. He has a lot of upside and could break out and become a very sought after player on draft day.
