Good morning New York Giants fans! Happy Saturday and welcome to Championship Weekend!
Wait? The final week of the 2025 college season? What’s all this white stuff doing on the ground… Wasn’t it just September a minute ago? It’s safe to say that this season has flown past us, but here we are at the final week of college football. The annual Army-Navy game will wrap things up next weekend, then we’re on to Bowl Season.
For today, we have the top teams in their respective conferences battling it out for the championships, including a rare matchup between the first and second ranked teams in the country.
Today will be absolutely littered with future NFL players, and there will be future Giants on the field. So without further ado, let’s get to the games!
Big 12 Championship
(4) Texas Tech vs. (11) BYU
ABC – Noon
Giants fans are going to want to watch the Texas Tech defensive front. The Red Raiders boast the most dangerous pass rushing duo in the nation, and both of them could (or will) be first round picks come draft night. But I want to call fans’ attention to linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was something of an unknown earlier in the season and is 108th on the Consensus Big Board, but he’s excellent in both run defense and pass coverage. Pro Football Focus credits him with 39 run stops (15th in the country) and 19 coverage stops (ninth in the country), and he’s notched twice as many interceptions (4) as touchdowns allowed in coverage (2).
At 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, Rodriguez is rugged enough to live in the tackle box, but he’s athletic enough that Texas Tech uses him as a slot defender on occasion. It seems unlikely that Rodriguez will stay a late-third or early fourth-round pick, particularly if he has a strong showing in All-Star games and the Scouting Combine.
Players to watch
(4) Texas Tech
- Lee Hunter (iDL – 2)
- David Bailey (EDGE – 31)
- Romello Height (EDGE – 9)
- Jacob Rodriguez (LB – 10)
(11) BYU
- Weylan Lapuaho (OG – 61) *questionable
- LJ Martin (RB – 4)
- Chase Roberts (WR – 2) *questionable
- Keanu Tanuvasa (iDL – 57)
SEC Championship
(9) Alabama vs. (3) Georgia
ABC – 4 p.m.
On any other weekend, in probably any other year, this would be the marquee matchup of the week. But while this game is overshadowed by the Big10 championship, this game is still Must Watch for anyone with an eye toward the draft.
The big question is with regards to Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Simpson is a red-shirt junior but only a 1-year starter, but he’s also among the best quarterbacks in college football, and would likely be one of the top two or three quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. Staying in school might be the best thing for the young man’s development, but it would probably be better for the Giants if he enters the draft.
This game is simply loaded with future NFL players, and my usual advice for these sorts of games is in full effect: Watch and enjoy, but take note of which players jump off the screen. This is a matchup of “Good against Good” and I can already promise that I’m going to be wearing out the tape over the next several months.
Yes, I know it’s digital not actual tape, but the sentiment applies.
Players to watch
(9) Alabama
- Ty Simpson (QB – 15)
- Kadyn Proctor (OT – 74)
- Jaeden Roberts (OG – 77)
- Parker Brailsford (OC – 72)
- Josh Cuevas (TE – 80)
- Germie Bernard (WR – 5)
- Tim Keenan III (iDL – 96)
- LT Overton (DE – 22)
- Deontae Lawson (LB – 0)
- Bray Hubbard (S – 18)
- Keon Sabb (S – 3)
(3) Georgia
- Earnest Green III (OT – 71)
- Monroe Freeling (OT – 57)
- Lawson Luckie (TE – 7)
- Oscar Delp (TE – 4)
- Zachariah Branch (WR – 1)
- Noah Thomas (WR – 5)
- Christen Miller (iDL – 52)
- CJ Allen (LB – 3
- Daylen Everett (CB – 6)
Big 10 Championship
(1) Ohio State vs. (2) Indiana
FOX – 8 p.m.
We have the rare treat of getting to watch the top two teams in the country meet in a conference championship before the College Football Playoffs even start.
Ohio State is pretty much universally considered the best team in the country and they have future NFL players at pretty much every position. Indiana are upstarts, but they’ve earned their ranking as the No.2 team in the country. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is expected to be one of the first players off the board in the 2026 NFL Draft and could prove to be trade bait for the Giants.
OSU wide receiver Carnell Tate has been pretty frequently linked to the offensively-depleted Giants, and safety Caleb Downs might be the best players in the draft at any position. But this is another game where I can only recommend that everyone watch, enjoy, and take note of the players who stand out.
One player I’d like to note is Indiana kicker Nicolas Radicic. He isn’t a big guy at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, but he is simply automatic. He hasn’t attempted a kick longer than 46 yards, but the former 5-star recruit has only missed one kick in his college career. Radicic is currently 24 of 25 in field goals and 70 for 70 on extra point attempts. Drafting a kicker is always a risk, as good kickers are incredibly hard to find, but Radicic should definitely get consideration from the Giants.
This should be a great game, and both of these teams deserve to be in the hunt for the College Football Championship.
Players to watch
(1) Ohio State
- Austin Siereveld (OT – 67)
- Ethan Onianwa (OG – 78)
- Max Klare (TE – 86)
- Carnell Tate (WR – 17)
- Kayden McDonald (iDL – 98)
- Arvell Reese (EDGE – 8)
- Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (EDGE – 97)
- Sonny Styles (LB – 0)
- Davison Igbinosun (CB – 1)
- Caleb Downs (S – 2)
(2) Indiana
- Fernando Mendoza (QB – 15)
- Pat Coogan (OC – 78)
- Carter Smith (OT – 65)
- Elijah Sarratt (WR – 13)
- Omar Cooper Jr. (WR – 3)
- Mikail Kamara (EDGE – 6)
- Aiden Fisher (LB – 4)
- D’Angelo Ponds (CB – 5)
- Nicolas Radicic (K – 15)
ACC Championship
(17) Virginia vs. Duke
ABC – 8 p.m.
I feel sorry for the players in this game. They’ve worked hard to get to this spot, but almost the entire country will be focused on the Big 10 championship being played at the same time.
There won’t be nearly as much draftable talent on the field in this game as there will be on either team in the other game, but I still want to give the players the respect they’ve earned. And from that perspective, I want to take the time to highlight Duke Cornerback Chandler Rivers, who has the upside to play in both the slot and out wide. Where he lines up in the NFL might be up to the scheme into which he’s drafted, but he’s a reliable cover corner who’s only given up 5 touchdowns in the last three years (38 games).
Players to watch
(17) Virginia
- McKale Boley (OT – 52)
- J’Mari Taylor (RB – 3)
- Jahmal Edrine (WR – 7)
- Hunter Osborne (iDL – 15)
- Fisher Carmac (EDGE – 14)
Duke
- Brian Parker II (OT – 53)
- Jaquez Moore (RB – 9)
- Anthony Vincent Jr. (EDGE – 7)
- Chandler Rivers (CB – 0)
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