Scout's Eye - College Football Week Five Preview
- John B. Everett
- Sep 25
- 9 min read
The first Saturday of the fall brings on one of the best days of conference action on the schedule as three key match-ups in the Big Ten and SEC figure to go a long way in determining conference titles – (6) Oregon at (3) Penn State, (4) LSU at (13) Ole Miss, and (17) Alabama at (5) Georgia. These games feature several top 2026 NFL Draft prospects including QBs Drew Allar (Penn State) and Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), EDGEs Dani Dennis-Sutton (Penn State), Matayo Uiagalelei (Oregon), and Patrick Payton and Jack Pyburn (LSU), athletic freaks like LBs Suntarine Perkins (Ole Miss) and Harold Perkins (LSU), and CBs Daylen Everette (Georgia), Mansoor Delane (LSU), and Domani Jackson (Alabama), all of whom could earn first round grades for next April’s draft. This Saturday is an important day that scouts will be referencing in the ramp up to the 2026 NFL Draft next year.
Game of the Week
(6) Oregon at (3) Penn State
Saturday, September 27. 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT
Oregon Prospects to Keep an Eye On:
· QB Dante Moore
· TE Kenyon Sadiq
· OT Isaiah World
· EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei
· S Dillon Thieneman
Penn State Prospects to Keep an Eye On:
· QB Drew Allar
· RB Nicholas Singleton
· RB Kaytron Allen
· EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton
· CB AJ Harris
Oregon travels for one of the premiere games of the 2025 season as they take their 12-game Big Ten Conference winning streak to Happy Valley for Penn State’s annual “White Out” game on Saturday night. Oregon is loaded with a ton of former 5-star recruits and high-level NFL prospects that will play on Sundays in the near future. QB Dante Moore was the number one QB recruit in the nation when he signed with UCLA out of high school but transferred after one season in LA, backed up Dillon Gabriel last year, and is in his first year as the starting QB in Eugene. Moore (6’3” / 206 lbs) is a fantastic athlete with a great arm and mobility and is surrounded by NFL-caliber talent on Oregon’s loaded offense. Moore has completed 74.7% of his passes for 962 yards, 11 TDs, 1 INT through the air and has gained 87 yards (6.2 YPC) on the ground through four games this season. Moore will be facing a talented Nittany Lion defense on Saturday night and his ability to take care of the ball will be a huge factor in determining the winner. TE Kenyon Sadiq is still relatively inexperienced but may be the most purely talented TE prospect in the nation. Sadiq (6’3” / 245 lbs) is a smooth athlete with rare explosiveness for a TE and has recorded 9 receptions for 155 yards (17.2 YPR) and 3 TDs on the season. How Penn State attempts to neutralize Sadiq will be fascinating to watch. OT Isaiah World is Oregon’s highest rated offensive draft prospect per SNS entering the season and looks like a potential franchise OLT at the NFL level. World (6’8” / 318 lbs) is a massive prospect with a gigantic wingspan and he comes to Oregon with 35 career starts at Nevada, splitting time at ORT (10 games) and OLT (25 games) and earning Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference honors the last two seasons. When World is lined up across from Penn State EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton, it will be a preview of their match-ups that are likely to take place in the NFL for years to come. EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei is coming off a 10.5 sack season last year and has started the 2025 campaign strong with three sacks recorded so far. Uiagalelei (6’5” / 272 lbs) is a former 5-star recruit with premium size for a 4-3 DE and is well-rounded – he sets a strong edge in the run game and possesses a powerful bull rush to pressure the QB. Penn State has a veteran OL and how they decide to handle Uiagalelei will be a major factor in determining the winner of Saturday’s game. Safety Dillon Thieneman, a transfer from Purdue, goes from one of the worst programs in college football to playing an important role on a national championship contending team. Thieneman (6’0” / 205 lbs) burst onto the national scene as a true freshman in 2023 when he recorded six INTs on his way to earning Freshman All-American honors. The junior has not recorded an INT since his freshman season, but has developed into a well-rounded safety who is effective as a free safety in coverage and in run support when he is deployed closer to the line of scrimmage (LOS).
Penn State is fully committed to winning the national championship after a number of NFL Draft hopefuls decided to return to State College for another run at the title after losing the national semifinal to Notre Dame last January. Drew Allar, SNS’ #1 ranked QB prospect for the 2026 NFL Draft, is in his third year as starter in Happy Valley and is a candidate to go first overall next April. Allar (6’5” / 235 lbs) has every physical tool it takes to succeed in the NFL and has over two dozen career starts entering this season. The biggest concern regarding Allar is that he needs to elevate his performance against better competition – he is 0-4 all-time against Big Ten heavies Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon. This Saturday gives Allar his first chance to prove he is worthy of being the first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. The best set of RBs in college football reside in State College. Nicholas Singleton was the top ranked RB in his high school class and has the rare combination of premium size (6’0” / 224 lbs) and elite sprinter’s speed where he can take it all the way on any touch. Singleton has yet to be tested this year and only has 41 carries for 179 yards (4.4 YPC) and 5 TDs. Penn State needs a top-level performance from Singleton and Kaytron Allen if they hope to knock off the Ducks on Saturday night. Allen (5’11” / 217 lbs) is a powerful inside runner with excellent contact balance and serves as the perfect complement to Singleton in the Nittany Lions backfield. Allen has gained 273 yards on 34 carries (8.0 YPC) and 3 TDs on the year. EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton, a former 5-star recruit, is finally the featured pass rusher in Happy Valley after the matriculation of Abdul Carter to the NFL. After recording 12 sacks and 4 forced fumbles combined over the previous two seasons, DDS has already recorded 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles through three games this season. It will be appointment viewing whenever DDS is lined up across from fellow first round candidate OT Isaiah World on Saturday night. CB AJ Harris is in his second year as a starter for the Nittany Lions and his coverage skills will be under the spotlight against the potent Oregon offensive attack. Harris (6’1” / 191 lbs) has ideal length and the movement skills for an outside CB who works best in press coverage, a dangerous proposition considering the speed and skill of the Oregon receiving corps.
Other Noteworthy Games
(4) LSU at (13) Ole Miss
Saturday, September 27. 3:30 pm ET / 12:30 pm PT
LSU is headed into their third game against a ranked opponent so far this season and it is likely to be their biggest test yet as they visit Oxford, Mississippi to play a loaded Rebels team. QB Garrett Nussmeier has a talented WR corps that goes legitimately six deep with legit NFL-caliber prospects. WR Barion Brown is the second leading receiver on the Tigers with 20 receptions (199 yards / 1 TD) and serves as the team’s return specialist where he is an NFL level returner. Brown (5’11” / 185 lbs) has enough size to line up both out wide and in the slot at the college level but looks likely to be a slot receiver as a pro. Ole Miss’ secondary may be the biggest question mark on the Rebels and Brown’s agility and explosiveness could make the difference in what figures to be a close game. CB Mansoor Delane transferred to Baton Rouge from Virginia Tech for a chance to win a championship and improve his profile for the NFL Draft. Delane (6’0” / 190 lbs) has the size and length that NFL teams desire in their CBs with an impressive closing burst on the ball in the air – he attacks the ball like he is the intended target – and is a fine ball athlete with seven career INTs, including four picks last season in Blacksburg. Delane also has 20 pass break ups in his career. Delane looks like a potential first round pick next spring. Ole Miss has a high-octane offense but to be fair, not quite as explosive as last year’s team led by Jaxson Dart (Giants). But one area in which the offense is noticeably improved this year is the quality of the rushing attack, led by Missouri transfer RB Kewan Lacy. No slight to last year’s lead RB Ulysses Bentley, but Lacy looks like a future starting NFL RB with the contact balance, lateral agility, and burst desired from a lead back. Lacy (5’11” / 200 lbs) has gained 358 yards rushing (4.5 YPC) and seven TDs on the season and gives the Rebels a RB they can lean on with the uncertainty surrounding the health of starting QB Austin Simmons. Defensively, it all starts up front where the Rebels have a potential first round pick anchoring the defense in Zxavian Harris, a premium run stuffer with rare size for the position (6’7” / 320 lbs). Harris has elevated his game as a senior – he has improved significantly as a pass rusher and has already recorded a career high two sacks so far this year. Harris’ best attribute is his strength and run stuffing ability where he regularly requires double teams or he wrecks the inside running game. For LSU to win, they need to neutralize Harris.
(17) Alabama at (5) Georgia
Saturday, September 27. 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT
After Alabama lost to Florida State, the heat got turned up on coach Kalen DeBoer and the kitchen gets even hotter this week as the Crimson Tide travel to Athens to play the Bulldogs. While the heat is turned up on DeBoer, fans should realize that QB Ty Simpson has not been an issue. In fact, Simpson (6’2” / 208 lbs) has been a very pleasant surprise in his first season as the starter in Tuscaloosa after waiting his turn after backing up Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe. Simpson has completed 71.9% of his passes through three games for 862 yards, 9 TDs, and zero INTs. Simpson is still raw and learning the position but he displays natural leadership skills that his teammates respond well to and his athleticism and mobility must be planned for by the Georgia coaching staff or it could be a long night for the Bulldogs. CB Domani Jackson, a transfer from USC, is a former blue-chip recruit who will have his hands full with the deep and talented Georgia WR corps. Jackson (6’1” / 196 lbs) is physically gifted and flashes elite play making skill but consistency has always been an issue. Jackson has only 2 career INTs and has not been aided by an ineffective pass rush so far this year. If Alabama is to avoid a shootout, Jackson and the DBs have to contain the Georgia passing attack. Georgia WR Dillon Bell is a powerful WR who becomes a bull in a China shop with the ball in space – he has a great burst, runs behinds his pads, and seems to relish contact. Bell (6’1” / 210 lbs) plays like Deebo Samuel, all the way down to untimely dropped passes, a consistent issue for the past three seasons in Athens. CB Daylen Everette looks the part of an NFL CB – tall with very long arms – and will be most highly valued by teams that like to deploy a lot of press coverage. Everette (6’1” / 190 lbs) started to put it all together in the latter half of the season and finished the 2024 season strong with a two-interception performance in Georgia’s SEC Championship victory over Texas. Everette and fellow CBs Daniel Harris and Joenel Aguero will be tasked with containing Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard, and the explosive Crimson Tide passing attack.
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