Good morning New York Giants fans! Happy New Year and welcome to the second round of the College Football Playoffs!
We only have three games today, each with a four-hour block of the day. That’s fitting considering each of the three games is chock full of future NFL players.
Capital One Orange Bowl: (4) Texas Tech vs. (5) Oregon
ESPN – noon
This game promises to be an exciting one, and a potentially crucial one for the Giants. The story of the game is going to be whether Oregon quarterback Dante Moore ultimately declares for the NFL Draft. There are some
draft analysts operating under the assumption that he will, but the red-shirt sophomore has plenty of eligibility left, and only has one year of starting experience.
If the Giants get the second overall pick, they’ll certainly hope he does declare — if only to facilitate a trade down.
Moore won’t have it easy this game, as Texas Tech boasts the best pass rushing duo in college football.
I’d also like to call attention to Oregon safety Dillon Theineman. The Giants could lose Dane Belton to free agency, and the 6-foot, 205 pound Theineman has plenty of experience in both deep zones as well as the box. He also leads all active players in tackles-per-game over the length of his career.
Player to watch
(4) Texas Tech – Jacob Rodriguez (LB, 10) – It’s difficult to ignore Texas Tech’s duo of David Bailey and Romello Height, who might be the two best EDGEs in college football. But the Giants are pretty well stocked at the position at the moment. So instead I’ll focus on TTU’s Butkus AND Nagurski Award winning linebacker, Jacob Rodriguez.
(Yes, he was voted the best linebacker and the single best defender in the country.)
Rodriguez has good (but not great) size at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, but is an ELITE run defender, an excellent coverage linebacker, and an absolute tackling and turnover machine. He finished the season 13th among all linebackers in run stops, 3rd in coverage stops, has had 244 tackles over the last two years, and has generated 11 turnovers this year (4 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles).
(5) Oregon – Isaiah World (OT, 76) – World is a big, long offensive tackle at 6-foot-8, 320 pounds, but has surprising agility for a man his size. The Ducks’ left tackle has all the power you’d expect from such a large tackle, but is also more nimble than you’d expect, allowing him to match speed off the edge. That will be of paramount importance this game against Texas Tech’s fantastic pass rushers. There are two main questions with World. First is whether he can polish his technique to the point where he can match NFL pass rushers without having to rely solely on this physical tools. The second is whether he is simply too big to be a tackle in the NFL, as failures to play with proper leverage will be exacerbated by his rare height. He could be a real target for the Giants as a tackle to develop behind Jermaine Eluemunor.
Rose Bowl presented by Prudential: (1) Indiana vs. (9) Alabama
ESPN – 4:00 p.m.
This is another game where the quarterbacks are the focus.
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is generally considered a lock to declare for the draft once his season is over, but there’s significant speculation regarding Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson’ draft intentions.
As with Dante Moore, the Giants will likely be in the position of hoping Simpson declares for the draft (particularly if Moore doesn’t), even if staying in college could be in the young man’s best interest.
Elsewhere, each of these teams is stacked with talent at just about every position. This should be a game where my best advice is to watch, enjoy, and take note of whichever players jump off the screen. Oh, and hope just enough quarterbacks declare that the Giants can work a lucrative trade down come April.
Player to watch
(1) Indiana – Elijah Sarratt (WR, 13) – Sarratt has emerged as a good, versatile, and dependable target for Mendoza. He has prototypical size at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds with good length and very strong hands. Sarratt has 3 drops on the season (per PFF) while also being able to win contested catches thanks to his size and ball skills. Sarratt might not be an elite athlete, but he excels thanks to his route running, body control, and versatility. He has the potential to be an X, Z, or Big Slot receiver at the next level and could fill a variety of roles based on team need.
(9) Alabama – Deontae Lawson (LB, 0) – Lawson is a slightly lean (6-foot-2, 228 pounds) but highly athletic off-ball linebacker who could be a good value pick for a linebacker-needy team. Lawson has improved each year and has improved over the course of the 2025 season, yet still has untapped potential. He has room on his frame to add muscle without compromising his athleticism, and could also stand to continue to improve his post-snap processing.
Teams may also have some medical concerns about Lawson after a quad injury forced him to miss 3 games in 2023 and a torn ACL ended his season in 2024.
Allstate Sugar Bowl: (3) Georgia vs. (6) Ole Miss
ESPN – 8:00 p.m.
This is going to be a fascinating game, both because of the players on the field, but also the fact that this is Pete Golding’s second game as Ole Miss’ head coach after Lane Kiffin departed for LSU.
Georgia certainly has the talent advantage in this game, but we shouldn’t ignore Ole Miss either. They’re a highly competitive team who have solid depth and talent, not to mention a gamer in QB Trinidad Chambliss. While Georgia has more talent and a head coach used to playing for championships, they’re only 6.5 point favorites in this game.
Player to watch
(3) Georgia – Christen Miller (iDL, 52) – Miller is a long (6-foot-4, 310 pound) defensive lineman who bears a certain resemblance to a young Leonard Williams. Like Williams, Miller is athletic and disruptive behind the line of scrimmage, as well as a stout run defender. He’s also able to play as an A or B gap defender, as well as spend some time as a 5-technique defensive end. But also like a young Williams, Miller is more adept at applying pressure than finishing his rushes. He’s credited with 16 hurries on 224 pass rush snaps, but has 0 sacks and just 2 QB hits this year, with just 2 sacks and 1 hit the previous two years combined.
At this point in his career, Miller should probably be considered a rotational defensive lineman who could be a starter with some development. However, he does have enough upside to warrant a second round pick if a team has a good environment to develop him.
(4) Ole Miss – Zxavian Harris (iDL, 51) – Staying on the defensive line, Harris is a big, powerful defensive tackle at 6-foot-8, 330 pounds. He’s generally regarded as more of a run stuffer than a pass rusher, however he does have 3 sacks, 3 QB hits, and 15 hurries to his credit. Harris has primarily been a B-gap player for Ole Miss, which would fit nicely with both Dexter Lawrence and Darius Alexander, and is able to take on guard-tackle double teams as well as collapese the pocket in the passing game.
Teams will want to investigate some potentially serious off-field red flags with Harris, but he has the potential to be a good Day 3 investment in the mold of Deone Walker.
