The biggest names in the 2027 NFL Draft class will be missing from this weekend’s college football slate. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia all have the week off, so Jeremiah Smith, Leonard Moore, CJ Carr, Chris Cole, Ellis Robinson IV and KJ Bolden won’t play. Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons, a top-10 pick in every recent mock draft we tallied, has been ruled out of Saturday night’s game against No. 7 Ole Miss. That still leaves a full Saturday for scouts, from Indiana’s receivers at Michigan to Drew Mestemaker’s bounce-back chance against Colorado.
Here is where the first-round prospects play, with kickoff times in Eastern time.
| Game | Kickoff (ET) | 2027 prospects to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Friday: Duke at Virginia | 7 p.m. | Virginia LB Kam Robinson, Virginia OT McKale Boley |
| Friday: NC State at Stanford | 10:30 p.m. | NC State QB CJ Bailey; Stanford OT Niki Prongos, S Jay Green |
| Indiana at Michigan | Noon | Indiana WRs Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh, S Amare Ferrell, OT Carter Smith; Michigan cornerbacks Jyaire Hill and Smith Snowden, edge John Henry Daley |
| LSU at Auburn | Noon | LSU OT Jordan Seaton, edge Jordan Ross, TE Trey’Dez Green |
| Pittsburgh at Miami | Noon | Miami QB Darian Mensah |
| Rutgers at Northwestern | Noon | Rutgers WR KJ Duff |
| Oregon at Illinois | 3 p.m. | Oregon DT A’Mauri Washington, TE Jamari Johnson (QB Dante Moore out) |
| Tennessee at South Carolina | 3:30 p.m. | South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart, QB LaNorris Sellers, WR Nyck Harbor; Tennessee DT Xavier Gilliam |
| Texas A&M at Alabama | 3:30 p.m. | Alabama DT Devan Thompkins, edge Yhonzae Pierre |
| Iowa at Minnesota | 3:30 p.m. | Iowa G Kade Pieper, OT Trevor Lauck; Minnesota G Greg Johnson |
| Oklahoma at Mississippi State | 3:30 p.m. | Oklahoma DT David Stone; Mississippi State CB Kelley Jones |
| Colorado at Oklahoma State | 7 p.m. | Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker |
| Virginia Tech at Clemson | 7 p.m. | Clemson CB Ashton Hampton, LB Sammy Brown |
| Ole Miss at Texas | 7:30 p.m. | Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, DT Will Echoles, RB Kewan Lacy; Texas QB Arch Manning, OT Trevor Goosby, WR Cam Coleman, S Jelani McDonald (edge Colin Simmons out) |
| Houston at Utah | 10:15 p.m. | Houston QB Conner Weigman; Utah OT Zereoue Williams |
Ole Miss at Texas: Chambliss and Manning without Simmons
Texas listed Simmons as out on Thursday’s SEC availability report after he hurt his ankle in the fourth quarter of last week’s 27-24 loss to Florida. Reports this week described it as a high ankle sprain that could keep him out three to four weeks. He was leading the country with 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss, and his 31.5 career sacks are third in Texas history. Freshman edge rusher Richard Wesley, one of the players who might have replaced him, is also out.
Without Simmons, the game turns into a quarterback evaluation. Trinidad Chambliss threw Ole Miss past Missouri 31-3 last week, and his stock has been climbing all month. Lance Zierlein ranked him ninth among Senior Bowl-eligible prospects in his midseason update and compared his build and play style to Russell Wilson. Arch Manning has gone the other direction: Texas has lost two straight, and Manning is a first-round pick in only 12 of the 17 recent full mocks in our latest consensus tally.
Ole Miss defensive tackle Will Echoles, the Jets’ most common pick in those mocks, will be across from Texas tackle Trevor Goosby’s line. Paul Emery also flagged Texas’ other tackle, Melvin Siani, as a rising name and said Simmons’ absence puts more attention on safety Jelani McDonald. Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy left the Missouri game in the second quarter before returning, so whether he plays a full game is worth watching.
Dylan Stewart meets Xavier Gilliam
The best one-on-one trench matchup of the afternoon is in Columbia, where South Carolina hosts No. 11 Tennessee. Dylan Stewart has played only three games this season. He missed two with a back injury and one on a suspension, and he has one sack. His last game was his best: five tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles against Florida. Tennessee’s Xavier Gilliam is one of the breakout defensive tackles in the class and appears in eight of the 17 full first-round mocks we tallied.
South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and receiver Nyck Harbor are the other names for scouts here. Sellers played well against Florida but is still looking for a consistent run of games.
Indiana’s receivers, Mestemaker and the early games
Charlie Becker caught nine passes for 165 yards in Indiana’s 19-15 loss to Ohio State, a game Daire Carragher listed among his Week 7 stock risers. Becker and Nick Marsh now face a Michigan secondary with corners Jyaire Hill and Smith Snowden. Marsh could have won the Ohio State game late but landed out of bounds. Becker is sixth on Zierlein’s midseason list, and Marsh is in 15 of the 17 full mocks in our tally.
At Auburn, LSU tackle Jordan Seaton gets another SEC road test after a season that has pushed him into the top 10 of several boards. Edge rusher Jordan Ross, who had three sacks last week, is on the other side of the ball. In Miami, Darian Mensah and the unbeaten Hurricanes host Pittsburgh at noon.
Mestemaker, the quarterback most mocks now take first, is coming off a 35-32 loss at Houston. He gets Colorado at home in the evening window. Houston’s Conner Weigman, who beat him last week, closes the night at unbeaten Utah, where left tackle Zereoue Williams is a rising prospect.
Who is missing
Oregon ruled Dante Moore out for a third straight game because of the concussion he suffered at USC on September 26, and Dylan Raiola is expected to start at Illinois. Smith and Ohio State return at USC on October 31, the same day Notre Dame plays Navy and Georgia meets Florida in Jacksonville.
For how the board looked after last weekend, see our Week 7 stock report.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.