Good morning New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to Week 12 of the 2025 college football season.
This is our first Saturday with the knowledge that the Giants will look different in 2026. We don’t know exactly how different or what will change, but we do know that change is coming now that Brian Daboll is the Giants’ former head coach.
There are a few real holes on the Giants roster, most notably at wide receiver, linebacker, and right guard. There may also be needs at offensive tackle, cornerback, defensive tackle, and safety, but those really depend on how the remainder of 2025 and free agency unfold. So for now, we’ll try to concentrate on the definite needs, while taking note of players who could fill potential needs.
(22) Pittsburgh vs. (9) Notre Dame
ABC – noon
Both of these teams have sizable injury reports. But we also haven’t looked at either, so this is a good chance to look at both.
Starting on the Pittsburgh side of things, linebackers Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles could both be interesting mid-late round picks who could develop into useful pieces. Louis is — at this point — the better coverage ‘backer and is even used as a slot defender at times, while Biles is more of a down-hill box player.
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah is the best player in the game, but the Giants probably shouldn’t be looking at a running back in the first round. Wide receiver Malachi Fields, however, is a big and sure-handed target who could be a really good value in the middle rounds.
Players to watch
(22) Pittsburgh
- Ryan Baer (OT – 70)
- BJ Williams (iOL – 55)
- Desmond Reid (RB – 0) *questionable
- Kyle Louis (LB – 9)
- Rasheem Biles (LB – 3) *questionable
(9) Notre Dame
- Jeremiyah Love (RB – 4)
- Jadarian Price (RB – 24)
- Malachi Fields (WR – 0)
- Boubacar Traore (EDGE – 5)
- Jalen Stroman (S – 7)
(17) USC vs. (21) Iowa
Big Ten Network – 3:30 p.m.
I usually prefer to highlight games that are on the “basic” channels like ABC or NBC, as opposed to conference channels like Big Ten Network or SEC Network. Not everyone has access to those channels, and I don’t like to highlight games and players folks won’t get to watch. But in this case, I feel the need to make an exception because we haven’t really had the chance to talk about USC or Iowa yet this year.
We’ll start with USC and wide receiver Makai Lemon. Lemon might be redundant with Malik Nabers, as the two share a similar body type (Lemon is listed at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds), playing with great quickness and agility, high football IQ, savvy route running, and great hands. But… That’s not a bad skill set to have multiples of. The Giants need another wide receiver, and the type of receiver will likely be determined by their offensive scheme in 2026. We shouldn’t dismiss Lemon simply because he’s too similar to the star receiver the Giants already have.
On the Iowa side of things, we have OT Gennings Dunker. Dunker is a career right tackle who could wind up going anywhere from the second half of the first round to the top of the second round. He has solid size at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds, is a powerful run blocker, and a dependable pass protector. We don’t know whether the Giants will be in the market for a right tackle when the draft rolls around, but adding offensive linemen from Iowa is usually a safe bet — at least.
Players to watch
USC
- Jayden Maiava (QB – 14)
- Makai Lemon (WR – 6)
- Ja’Kobi Lane (WR – 8)
- Anthony Lucas (DL/EDGE. – 6)
- Kamari Ramsey (S – 7)
Team
- Logan Jones (OC – 65)
- Kade Pieper (iOL – 58)
- Gennings Dunker (OT – 67)
- Max Llewellyn (EDGE – 48)
- Xavier Nwankpa (S – 1)
(7) Ole Miss vs. Florida
ESPN – 7 p.m.
One of the big questions in this game is whether Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks will make his return from injury. Banks is a massive tackle at 6-foot-6, 330 pounds, yet has historically been a B-gap defender and not a nose tackle and had 4.5 sacks and 21 hurries last year for the Gators. He could be an interesting fit next to Dexter Lawrence if he lasts to the top of the second round — and the Giants are interested in drafting a defensive tackle highly.
Banks has been dealing with a foot injury, which he re-injured in September and needed surgery to repair. He’s listed as doubtful for this game, but he’s also been medically cleared to return to football activities.
Assuming Banks is out, Giants fans might want to watch Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris. Harris is a mammoth lineman at 6-foot-8, with 4 sacks and 3 QB hits while also being a formidable run defender. He also plays all over the Ole Miss front, taking most of his snaps in the B-gap, as well as A-gap and defensive end (over and outside the tackle).
Players to watch
(7) Ole Miss
- Trinidad Chambliss (QB – 6)
- De’Zhuan Stribling (WR – 1)
- Zxavian Harris (iDL – 51)
- Suntarine Perkins (EDGE – 4)
- Princewill Umanmielen (EDGE – 1)
Florida
- Jake Slaughter (OC – 66)
- Austin Barber (OT – 58)
- Tyreak Sapp (DL/EDGE – 94)
- Devin Moore (CB – 28)
- Jordan Castell (S – 14)
See More:
