College Football Today: Can Ohio State Remain Undefeated?
There’s no better WR in the 2024 NFL Draft than Marvin Harrison Jr. (Yahoo Sports)
Georgia coach Kirby Smart says his team remains focused on being the first school to threepeat in 87 years; the tensions remain high between MSU and its suspended coach Mel Tucker; and Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough (broken fibula) will have surgery and miss the rest of the regular season. Let’s take a look at a few other stories we’re following in the world of college football…
Buckeyes Face Biggest Test Yet
The undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) are off to a great start, but on Saturday we’ll definitely find out more about just how good this team is when it faces its first ranked opponent this year in Notre Dame. This contest is shaping up as one of the most intriguing matchups of Week Five.
We’re fascinated to see how Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. fares in this game. Projected as a top five pick in the NFL Draft next year, this 6’4″ receiver is a nightmare to match up against, but in Kyle McCord — who just bagged the starting QB for the Buckeyes last week — he has a pretty inexperienced signal caller trying to get him the ball.
The last time we thought the next Marvin Harrison was coming down the pike was when Amari Cooper was a draft prospect, but Harrison Jr. literally is the next Marvin Harrison (or at least the next Randy Moss, see video below). Will he be as good as the Indianapolis Colts legend that sired him?
Well, we wouldn’t want to put that kind of pressure on the kid, but he is averaging 21.7 YPR in college, and that’s damned impressive. And realistically, Harrison Jr. could easily be the most talented prospect available on draft day next year.
Michigan Has Been Steamrolling Opponents
So if Georgia can’t threepeat, which program could get in its way? The Michigan Wolverines are currently ranked second and +600 favourites to win the National Championship as per Fanduel, so offer an obvious alternative.
How dominant have the Wolverines been? Well, Week Four’s margin of victory over Rutgers (31-7) marked the closest game the team has been involved in so far this season. Nice way for Michigan to open its Big 10 schedule, right?
Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy had a nice bounce back effort against Rutgers after struggling mightily in Week Three vs. Bowling Green. He’s gotten better each season, and with 915 yards passing already in 2023, small wonder he’s a projected top 10 pick for the 2024 draft.
By the way, Wolverine fans best hope that McCarthy stays healthy, as it’s not really clear who would take the reins if he was sidelined.
Penn State’s Stud OT
Another undefeated Big 10 powerhouse is the Penn State Nittany Lions. This team boasts the top offensive tackle prospect in the country, Olu Fashanu.
Projected as a top five pick next year (after he turned down a chance to enter the 2023 draft), he tied for the most snaps played by any Nittany Lion offensive lineman in Week Four, and ranks third for the season with 235 total.
Fashanu was so good last week against Iowa that he bagged the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week, handed out to the best offensive/defensive lineman in the country.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
British-American rock icons Fleetwood Mac have been active in one form or another since 1967, with the the exception of a two-year break from 1995 to 1997. In 1977, they released their 11th and most successful album, Rumours, which kicks off with “Second Hand News,” written by Lindsey Buckingham, one of several extremely talented songwriters to have graced the band, especially in this era.
