College Football Playoffs: Quinn Ewers and Dillon Gabriel among the players on display

Happy New Years New York Giants fans!

The expanded College Football Playoffs resume with three traditional New Years Day games. Last night we saw Penn State beat Boise State handily, winning 31-14 behind a great game from QB Drew Allar. Unfortunately for the Giants, Allar has announced that he’s returning to school for 2025.

Today we get Arizona State vs. Texas in the Peach Bowl, Oregon and Ohio State in the Rose Bowl Game, and Georgia vs. Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl

ESPN – 1:00 p.m.

(4) Arizona State vs. (5) Texas

We’ll start off by talking about Texas QB Quinn Ewers. We know that the Giants sent executives to scout Ewers at some point over the year, so we should definitely keep an eye on him. It isn’t a lock yet whether Ewers will enter the 2025 NFL Draft, and there’s some speculation swirling that he could enter the transfer portal rather than declare or lose his job to Arch Manning.

Ewers has many of the physical and athletic traits scouts look for with solid size, athleticism, and arm strength. That combination alone made him the top QB in his recruiting class and has kept him in the conversation among the top prospects at his position.

He does show the ability to throw with good touch and placement in the short-to-intermediate area, so he isn’t just a fastball pitcher. That said, his a relatively low average depth of target (7.4 yards downfield) while also having a high pressure to sack rate (22.8 percent) is a red flag. It’s a concern when a quarterback is operating in an offense based on quick-game, RPO, and screen concepts, but is still taking sacks at a high rate.

The question is whether an NFL team can unlock his physical upside and coach him past his issues.

Arizona State

• Cam Skattebo (RB) – It’s been “Ashton Jeanty and everyone else” when it comes to running backs this year, but the subset of “everyone else” has some really good players. Cam Skattebo, in fact, has been one of the top running backs in the country this year, and could appeal to a wide variety of teams.

Skattebo is a densely built power back who thrives between the tackles. He has very good vision and contact balance that have allowed him to be fourth in the country in yards after contact. He’s averaging an impressive 6.0 yards per carry with 19 rushing touchdowns, in addition to 37 catches (13.7 yards per catch) and 3 receiving touchdowns. He has a good short-area burst and is an incredibly physical runner. He seems to crave contact and should be a good counter-punch to a speedy back or a spread passing attack.

Texas

• Alfred Collins (iDL) – The Giants have gotten some really good play from their young defensive linemen since losing Dexter Lawrence to a dislocated elbow. However, the team could still look to add another presence to the middle of their defense with Rakeem Nunez-Roches on the wrong side of 30 and entering free agency after next year.

Texas’ Alfred Collins is a big defensive tackle at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds and has been a dominant presence on the Longhorns’ interior. He has plenty of power and plays with good technique to control interior offensive linemen. Collins is primarily a run defender who understands how to use his size and strength to shed blockers and make plays in the A and B gaps. He has limited upside as a pass rusher right now, but he can 2-gap or control blockers to allow pass rushers better matchups — or free runs.

Rose Bowl presented by Purdential

ESPN – 5:00 p.m.

(1) Oregon vs. (8) Ohio State

It’s somewhat ironic that we get a rematch between Oregon and Ohio State. The two teams met back on October

As far as we know, the Giants haven’t shown much interest in Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel. He’s been a productive and consistent quarterback for the Ducks, and is a big reason why they’re the top team in the country. However, he’s older, undersized, and left handed, all of which could knock him down draft boards. He’s still definitely worth watching and could continue to build momentum heading into the draft process.

Personally, Gabriel reminds me of Russell Wilson coming out of Wisconsin and he could be a good value pick in the middle rounds for a team that has an aging quarterback.

Ohio State

• Emeka Egbuka (WR) – Ohio State is one of the most stacked rosters in the country, and there will be NFL players pretty much everywhere you look on their offense and defense. The 2025 wide receiver class isn’t nearly as heralded as last year’s crop of pass catchers, but it has the potential to yield some good players.

Egbuka is a well-rounded receiver with solid size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds), good route running, and reliable hands. He doesn’t have blazing speed, but his skill has allowed him to be prolific when healthy. He was a 1000-yard receiver for C.J. Stroud and while he took a step back amidst an injury-plagued 2023, he rebounded this year. Egbuka should be able to find a fit in most offenses, and he should have a lot of upside in an offensive that’s based on West Coast principles and gives him catch-and-run opportunities.

Oregon

• Jabbar Muhammad (CB) – Muhammad is a smart and twitchy cornerback, but could slip down the draft board due to size concerns. Teams could view him as a “slot only” corner at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, but he has the skills to play on the outside in the right scheme. Whether or not Muhammad fits the Giants could depend on whether they change defensive schemes this offseason. He’ll be at his best in zone schemes, where he can use his instincts, football IQ, and quickness to close on receiving windows to make plays.

He’s an aggressive defender who’s willing to fly to the ball in run support, and is physical at the catch point. Muhammad hasn’t had any interceptions in 2024, but has had 25 passes defensed over the last two years.

Allstate Sugar Bowl

ESPN – 9:00 p.m.

(2) Georgia vs. (7) Notre Dame

This is where I would normally be talking about Georgia QB Carson Beck, but he suffered a UCL injury in the SEC Championship that required surgery. Beck has declared for the draft, though we don’t have a timeline for his return as of this writing.

Notre Dame

• Jack Kiser (LB) – Kiser is something of a throw-back at the linebacker position. He doesn’t quite have the size of linebackers of yore at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, but he plays hard and fast. Kiser is a versatile linebacker who can play both inside and outside, and is very effective coming downhill. He’s a very capable run defender thanks to his football IQ and instincts, and those translate to his pass rush as well.

Kiser isn’t lost in coverage, but he isn’t a coverage specialist like some other modern off-ball lineabackers. That said, he’s able to impact the pass as a blitzer thanks to his burst and how he times his rushes.

Georgia

• Mykel Williams (EDGE) – Williams is going to be a fun player to follow over the next few months. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound junior is the next in the line of freak defenders to come out of Athens. His production doesn’t yet matched his athletic upside, but he’s been remarkably consistent so far. Williams had 4.5 sacks in each of 2022 and 2023, and 5.0 (so far) this season. He has great size and athleticism, with plenty of bend to carry speed around the edge. That said, he’s still raw as a pass rusher and needs to learn the finer points of defeating blockers with technique to unlock his impressive athleticism.

The good news? Williams is already a solid run defender, and is just scratching the surface of his potential. He will only be 20-years old and won’t turn 21 until June 29th 2025. He’s practically dripping with upside and coaches will want to work with him.