NFL Draft: Allar vs. Egbuka, 3 CFB games you should watch this weekend

Quarterbacks, wide receivers and cornerbacks to keep tabs on this Saturday

With the Las Vegas Raiders sitting at 2-6 heading into Week 9, it’s time to start thinking about the NFL Draft and checking out a few prospects who could become future Raiders. So, let’s dive into a few College Football matchups to check out on Saturday.

4 Ohio State vs. 3 Penn State

• Time: 9:00 a.m. PST
• Network: FOX
• OSU Prospects: WR Emeka Egbuka, CB Denzel Burke, EDGE J.T. Tuimoloau
• PSU Prospects: QB Drew Allar (questionable), EDGE Abdul Carter, S Kevin Winston Jr.

Allar is a game-time decision for Penn State but is worth taking a look at if he’s playing. Right now, he’s firmly behind Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, but Allar is very much in the QB3 discussion and could build some draft stock with a big performance against Ohio State. On the other side of the ball, Carter is an intriguing off-ball linebacker/edge prospect while Winston could be an option to replace Tre’von Moehrig and/or Marcus Epps.

For the Buckeyes, Egbuka is more of the slot type than a potential Davante Adams replacement, but Egbuka is an impressive route-runner who would boost the Raiders’ receiving corps. Tuimoloau is a big defensive end with athletic upside to be a good second-round target and potential Malcolm Koonce replacement. Meanwhile, Burke lost some steam with a bad game against Oregon so he’ll need a bounce-back performance.

1 Oregon vs. Michigan

Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images

• Time: 12:30 p.m. PST
• Network: CBS
• UO Prospects: WR Evan Stewart, DL Derrick Harmon, CB Jabbar Muhammad
• UM Prospects: CB Will Johnson (questionable), DL Kenneth Grant, EDGE Josaiah Stewart

Hopefully, Johnson will return this week so we can see him and Stewart go back and forth. The Wolverine will be one of the top corners in the draft while the Duck is a potential second-round option unless Stewart can put together a big performance against Johnson to boost his stock.

In the trenches, Harmon or Grant could be good run-stuffers in Las Vegas to help replace and find an upgrade from John Jenkins. Then there’s Muhammad who is a versatile corner, and Josaiah Stewart who has 6.5 sacks in seven games this season.

Kentucky vs 7 Tennessee

• Time: 4:45 p.m. PST
• Network: SEC Network (ESPN)
• UK Prospects: DL Deone Walker, CB Maxwell Hairston, LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson
• UT Prospects: EDGE James Pearce Jr., DL Omarr Norman-Lott, WR Bru McCoy

This a more underrated matchup as it isn’t getting much national attention but does have a handful of future pros.

Walker got some love this summer because he’s massive (6-foot-6 and 344 pounds) and can move. However, he has been a little disappointing this season and his stock has fallen. Harrison is an interesting corner prospect as he’s long (6-foot-1) and had five interceptions this season but just one so far in 2024. Dumas-Johnson transferred from Georgia and is an athletic, coverage type of linebacker who will likely be an early Day 3 pick.

On the other sideline, Pearce is a toolsy pass-rusher that a lot of people have as the top edge defender in the class. Norman-Lott was at Arizona State with Antonio Pierce for two years before transferring to Tennessee last season and has logged eight sacks since switching schools.