Good morning, New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to Week 1 of the 2025 college football season.
Well, at least the calendar says it’s Week 1. It feels more like the home stretch leading into the College Football Playoffs with three games between teams ranked in the top 10. The college schedule makers are taking advantage of the NFL’s bye week to dominate the weekend and spread the fun from Thursday through Monday night.
This weekend will almost certainly produce “must watch” scouting tape for some of the best prospects in the upcoming draft. Narratives will also abound, with Arch Manning making his long-awaited debut as the starting QB for the Texas Longhorns and Bill Belichick’s first game as the UNC head coach.
As usual, we’ll highlight some of the biggest and most interesting games of the weekend, as well as prospects to keep an eye on.
As an aside, I’ve been considering bringing back my old “Power Mocks”. For those of you who weren’t around when those were a weekly staple, I would run a weekly mock draft, inverting the consensus power rankings to determine the order. Personally, I liked that it gave us a way to assess how the media ecosystem as a whole view the Giants, a way to look at the team’s strengths, and a way to spotlight individual prospects. But I wanted to get your feedback. Is that something you’d be interested in seeing return, or would you prefer this format?
(3) Ohio State vs. (1) Texas
FOX – Noon
Let’s be real, this game is all about Arch Manning. The scion of the Manning family will be draft eligible after this season, though it’s a big question as to whether he’ll declare after just one season of starting experience. Even so, Arch will be the one pretty much everyone will be talking about, possibly to the exclusion of everyone else on the field.
But the Giants don’t expect to be in the market for a quarterback in 2026, and this game will be absolutely loaded with future NFL players. This is one of those games where my best advice is to just watch, enjoy the game, and take note of which players jump off the screen.
Players to watch
Ohio State
- Carnell Tate (WR, 17)
- Max Klare (TE, 86)
- Kayden McDonald (DL, 98)
- Kenyatta Jackson (DL/EDGE, 97)
- Sonny Styles (LB, 0)
- Davidson Igbinosun (CB, 1)
- Caleb Downs (S, 2)
Texas
- Arch Manning (QB, 17)
- Trevor Goosby (OT, 74)
- DJ Campbell (RG, 52)
- Quintrevion Wisner (RB, 5)
- CJ Baxter (RB, 4)
- DeAndre Moore Jr. (WR, 0)
- Trey Moore (LB/EDGE, 8)
- Anthony Hill Jr. (LB, 0)
Florida State vs. (8) Alabama
ABC – 3:30 p.m.
For our purposes, this game is pretty much all about the Alabama offensive line. The Giants expect their offensive line to pick up where it left off before Andrew Thomas was lost for the season. They should be a league-average unit with the potential to ascend into the top half of the offensive line ranks with the continued development of John Michael Schmitz.
But this is about the future of the unit. If Evan Neal isn’t able to wrest the starting right guard job away from Greg Van Roten over the course of the year (and secure a contract extension in the process), the Giants could need a right guard of the future. Likewise, Jermaine Eluemunor will be a 31-year-old free agent after this year and the Giants could decide they want competition at that position as well.
Giants fans might want to keep an eye on Florida State offensive tackle Micah Pettus, who transferred from Ole Miss this year. He was Jaxson Dart’s right tackle for three years, so he’s likely on the Giants’ radar.
Players to watch
Florida State
- Squirrel White (WR, 4)
- Micah Pettus (OL, 57)
- Darrell Jackson Jr. (iDL, 6)
Alabama
- Kaydn Proctor (OT, 74)
- Parker Brailsford (OC, 72)
- Jaeden Roberts (OG, 77)
- Germie Bernard (WR, 5)
- Tim Keenan III (iDL, 96)
- L.T. Overton (DL, 22)
- Deontae Lawson (LB, 0)
- Domani Jackson (CB, 1)
- Keon Sabb (S, 3)
(4) Clemson vs. (9) LSU
ABC – 7:30 p.m.
This is a potentially explosive matchup. Clemson is expected to have one of the — if not the — best defenses in college football. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, meanwhile, could be the first player drafted in 2026. Nussmeier is an undersized quarterback, but he flashed high-level ability as well as the kind of sky-high football IQ you’d expect from a coach’s kid in his first year as a starter.
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is Nussmeier’s primary competition for the mantle of QB1 (Arch Manning and LaNorris Sellers notwithstanding). Klubnik has more traditional measurables and it will likely be neck-and-neck between the two should Klubnik declare. Clemson could have three players drafted in the Top 10 if everything goes according to pre-season projections. That’s always a massive “IF”, but still puts the level of talent on their squad in context.
Players to watch
Clemson
- Cade Klubnik (QB, 2)
- Blake Miller (OT, 78)
- Tristan Leigh (OT, 71)
- Antonio Williams (WR, 0)
- Peter Woods (DL, 11)
- DeMonte Capehart (DL, 19)
- T.J. Parker (DE, 3)
- Aveion Terrell (CB, 8)
LSU
- Garrett Nussmeier (QB, 18)
- Braelin Moore (iOL, 61)
- Nic Anderson (WR, 4)
- Patrick Payton (EDGE, 6)
- Harold Perkins Jr. (LB, 7)
- Whit Weeks (LB, 40)
- Mansoor Delane (CB, 4)
- Asthon Stamps (CB, 1)
(10) Miami vs. (6) Notre Dame
ABC – 7:30 (Monday, 8/31)
That’s right, we have Monday night football in the college ranks! I’d also strongly suggest everyone who’s able to check out the afternoon game between (13) South Carolina and Virginia tech (3pm on ESPN) do so. That game will have plenty of future NFL players as well.
This will be Carson Beck’s debut at quarterback for the Hurricanes as he tries to rehabilitate his stock after a forgettable 2024 at Georgia. The Hurricanes have potential first rounders on their offensive and defensive lines, but otherwise we’ll be watching to see who steps up.
On the Notre Dame side of things, the prospect to watch is running back Jeremiyah Love. A cursory search didn’t turn up whether he is related to former Giant and Notre Dame alum Julian Love. Regardless, he’s expected to be among the best offensive players in football this year, and could be the next rookie sensation running back. Of course, Notre Dame also continues to produce intriguing offensive linemen, which should always be of interest to the Giants.
Players to watch
Notre Dame
- Jeremiyah Love (RB, 4)
- Amil Wagner (OT, 59)
- Charles Jagusah (OT, 56)
- Boubacar Traore (DL, 5)
- Drayk Bowen (LB, 34)
- Christian Gray (CB, 6)
Miami
- Carson Beck (QB, 11)
- Francis Mauigoa (OT, 61)
- Rueben Bain Jr. (EDGE, 4)
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