The College Football Playoffs begin tonight!
Good afternoon New York Giants fans!
Bowl season rolls on today with the StaffDNA Cure Bowl and the Union Home Mortgage Gasprilla Bowl.
The StaffDNA Cure Bowl will feature Jacksonville State vs. Ohio, while the Union Home Mortgage Gasprilla Bowl will see Tulane play Florida. I would definitely encourage everyone to watch both bowl games, particularly the game between Florida and Tulane. Gators’ QB D.J. Lagway won’t be draft eligible until 2027, but the true freshman is really impressive and we’ll be hearing a lot about him in the future.
The highlight of the day will obviously be the playoff game between Notre Dame and Indiana.
College Football Playoffs: (7) Notre Dame vs. (10) Indiana
ABC and ESPN – 8 p.m.
(10) Indiana
Kurtis Rourke (QB)
Rourke isn’t getting much recognition at the national level — he’s currently a 7th round pick on the Consensus Big Board — however a good performance tonight could start his ascent up draft boards.
Rourke is playing at an elite level and has engineered a historic 11-1 season for the Hoosiers. He’s the driving force behind one of the most prolific offenses in college football, and their 40.3 points per game only trails Miami’s 43.1. Most impressively, Rourke has been playing through a thumb injury on his throwing hand and is still able to attack deep with accuracy.
Despite taking a huge jump in competition from the MAC to Big10, Rourke is still having a career year, setting high-water marks in touchdowns, yards per attempt, and yards per completion.
Other players to know
I also want to give a shout-out to Indiana EDGE Mikail Kamara. Kamara transferred from JMU prior to the 2024 season and has been incredibly productive for Indiana with 10 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss this year. He’s undersized and has short arms, but reminds of Melvin Ingram coming out of South Carolina.
(7) Notre Dame
Xavier Watts (S)
Unfortunately, CB Benjamin Morrison was lost for the season with a hip injury back in October, otherwise he’d be the highlight here.
But the Giants might need safety help as well as another cornerback, so Watts is worth a look as well. The Notre Dame safety profiles somewhat similarly to Xavier McKinney as a good-sized (6-foot, 205 pounds) safety with the versatility to play deep or in the box and plays faster than he’ll time thanks to good instincts and a high football IQ.
Watts is at his best playing downhill, whether that’s from a deep coverage shell or in the box. He good recognition and a quick trigger to close on route concepts, screens, or the run. Likewise, he’s an efficient mover and reliable tackler who can get into position quickly and bring ball carriers down in space.
Watts might not have the raw athleticism or physical profile to excite scouts, but he’s a player coaches will love to work with.
Other players to know
Giants fans will surely want to keep an eye out for Howard Cross III, son of the former Giant of the same name. The younger Cross is a defensive lineman who could be intriguing depth next to Dexter Lawrence. It would be a great story for the Giants to draft Cross and have him earn a starting job. He’s probably a better pass rusher than run defender right now, but you can never have enough pass rushers.
He’s currently listed as questionable, and has been out since the beginning of November. However, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has said that Cross will make his return for this game.
