College football primer: Round 1 of the College Football Playoffs

Good morning New York Giants fans!

College football is interrupting our regularly scheduled bowl games to bring us the first ever first round of the expanded College Football Playoffs.

We got our first taste of the new playoffs last night with the game between Notre Dame and Indiana. Today features three games between six of the top teams in all of college football. Today’s games feature a bevy of future NFL players, in addition to a trio of potentially excellent games.

So grab some refreshments, settle in, and let’s enjoy some football.

(6) Penn State vs. (11) SMU

TNT / Max – noon

SMU

Brashard Smith (RB)

If there’s a player to watch on the Mustangs it’s running back Brashard Smith. Smith transferred from Miami prior to the start of the 2024 season and has become the weapon on the Mustang’s offense. He has 217 carries for 1,270 yards (5.9 per carry) and 14 touchdowns. Interestingly, like Tyrone Tracy Jr, Smith is a converted receiver who only became a running back this year. That shows up in his receiving, and he has a career-high 35 catches for 303 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Smith isn’t a big back — he’s listed at 5-foot-10, 199 pounds — but makes up for that with some truly impressive quickness and agility. He’s deadly in space and a threat to create a big play any time he touches the ball.

Penn State

Abdul Carter (EDGE)

Carter transitioned from off-ball linebacker to edge defender for the 2024 season, and it was a great decision. He’s emerged as the top edge defender in the draft class thanks to his elite athleticism as well as his skill. Carter doesn’t quite have the rare length favored by most teams, but he has enough explosiveness and flexibility in his 6-foot-3, 259-pound frame to overcome that.

Carter has 10 sacks and two forced fumbles this year, but is still capable of playing in space. He has three passes defensed this year, as well as 9 (and an interception) over the previous two years. If the Giants, for whatever reason, don’t select a quarterback at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft, they could take a long look at Carter.

(5) Texas vs. (12) Clemson

TNT / Max – 4:00 p.m.

Clemson

DeMonte Capehart (iDL)

Clemson has been putting talented defensive linemen in the NFL for years now. Capehart might not be a dynamic pass rusher — he only has three sacks in his four seasons at Clemson. However, he’s a big defensive tackle at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, and is very powerful. His size and play strength make him a valuable rotational defender and a rock in the run game.

He can play from a variety of techniques and alignments, and play in both 1 and 2-gap schemes. Capehart (probably) won’t be able to ragdoll blockers in the NFL the way he can in college, but he’s able to shed blockers and make plays whenever the ball comes near him. He’ll be an intriguing mid-round prospect and a valuable piece for run defense as teams play with fewer defenders in the tackle box.

Texas

Quinn Ewers (QB)

We pretty much have to talk about the Texas quarterback. Ewers is pretty widely expected to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, and he could wind up being QB4 behind Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and Jalen Milroe (if he declares).

Ewers has been a very inconsistent quarterback over the last two seasons. He was considered one of the top two quarterbacks in his recruiting class — along side Caleb Williams — and he has some intriguing traits. Ewers is athletic without being a “dual threat”, solid arm strength and elasticity, and flashes good accuracy and precision. However, he is just frustrating to watch thanks to inconsistent processing and decision making.

Some teams will be intrigued by Ewers’ upside, but he’ll need to do some work under the bright lights to give confidence that he can grow beyond his lapses.

(8) Ohio State vs. (9) Tennessee

ESPN – 8:00 p.m.

Tennessee

James Pearce (EDGE)

While Carter is considered the top edge defender right now, Pearce was at the top of the depth chart.

Pearce is a long, lean defender with great burst and blend off the edge. He’s able to win with speed and can be incredibly disruptive off the edge thanks to his athletic upside. That said, he’s actually still just scratching the surface of his upside. Pearce still needs to improve his technique and hand usage as a rusher, allowing him to win with his moves when blockers are prepared for his speed. Improved technique will also allow Pearce to be in good position and finish his rushes more consistently.

He’ll be a first round pick, and right now the only question is how high he goes.

Ohio State

Donovan Jackson (OL)

Ohio State is, once again, stacked with NFL talent. There are players who will be plying their trade on Sunday pretty much everywhere you look.

But since we’re already looking at a Tennessee edge defender, we should also look at OSU’s left tackle. Jackson is going to be interesting to follow over the course of the draft process, particularly how the NFL labels him. At 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, he looks like a guard, however his feet are light enough that he’s handled the in-season move from left guard to left tackle well. Jackson’s explosive power is his calling card, and potential match-ups between his strength and Pearce’s speed could be must-watch scouting tape.