2027 NFL Draft: Games, matchups to watch in Week 10 of the 2026 college football season
By
Daire Carragher
Leonard Moore faces a test of his tackling: The Notre Dame cornerback must contend with Miami‘s yards-after-catch threats, even with Malachi Toney sidelined by a high-ankle sprain.
The 2026 college football season is entering its final stretch, but the picture of the 2027 NFL Draft class remains far from settled.
This week offers another opportunity to evaluate how prospects respond to the kinds of challenges they will face at the next level. Saturday delivers one of the most compelling slates of the college football season, with marquee matchups in every window and the stakes only growing now that the College Football Playoff committee has released its first rankings.
The quarterback class remains one of the biggest talking points, with speculation mounting over how many of the top prospects could return to college football for another season rather than enter the draft. Elsewhere, Notre Dame boasts a roster loaded with NFL talent but could see its playoff hopes evaporate without a home win over No. 1 Miami.
And then there’s the Holy War, which could be shaping up as the biggest rendition in the rivalry’s history.
Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore faces an unusual test against Miami, which will be without wide receiver Malachi Toney. Toney will undergo surgery for a high-ankle sprain, leaving the Hurricanes without one of college football's most dangerous receivers. Even without him, this Miami offense challenges defensive backs in ways that can be difficult to capture by looking only at how well a route is covered.
Much of Miami’s success comes after the catch. Wide receiver Cooper Barkage and running back Mark Fletcher force defenders to tackle in space before they can turn a short completion into a much bigger play. Miami’s passing game is predicated on that ability to create yards after the catch and make defensive backs miss.
Top cornerback prospect Ashton Hampton locked down Malachi Toney downfield but struggled to contain the rest of Miami’s attack on the ground. Hampton is usually a quality tackler who has missed only four tackles in his last seven games, but three of those came against Miami. Moore’s coverage skills will be tested, but the more pressing question is whether he can finish plays on the ground.
Tackling in space is the weakest area of Moore’s otherwise well-rounded game. Notre Dame’s secondary could have other options Miami prefers to target, but Moore may still be the player the Hurricanes look to challenge after the catch. Returning from a concussion against BYU a few weeks ago, Moore managed just a 44.2 PFF run-defense grade.
He should be well-rested after being a healthy scratch last week against Navy’s run-heavy attack, but even that decision may offer an indication of where Notre Dame believes his weakness lies. If Moore can limit Miami’s ability to create extra yardage, it would address one of the clearest concerns in his profile.
Power Four Cornerbacks
Weeks 1-9
The same players and metrics are available as a sortable table on each team's Leaders tab.
The quarterback class has been a roller coaster this season, with several prospects rising and falling as the weeks go by. Austin Simmons has been climbing steadily, and it is striking that his matchup with Arch Manning now feels like a discussion about which quarterback is the better prospect. That would have seemed unlikely at the start of the season.
Simmons has looked very promising so far. He is tremendous at avoiding sacks, having taken only two in his last three games. He gets the ball out rapidly (2.42 seconds on average) and has the arm to make top-quality throws, as we saw last weekend with one of the prettiest throws of the year into a tight window against Arkansas.
He does, however, face a difficult test in the next step of his journey. He is an underdog at home against a Texas defense that has been stingy against the pass. The Longhorns have already made life difficult for Trinidad Chambliss and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, holding the pair to a combined completion rate below 50% and snagging four interceptions across those two games.
There is some uncertainty around whether Texas edge defender Collin Simmons will be available. He has missed the past couple of games with an injury, but Texas remains loaded with talent even if he cannot go. Austin Simmons will need to find answers against a defense that can pressure the passer and make windows hard to find, with draft talent at every level up the middle, including linebacker Rasheem Biles and safety Jelani McDonald. The latter is excellent at rallying to the ball, having made 15 defensive stops after the catch.
Wins do not determine how NFL teams evaluate quarterbacks. Drew Mestemaker, the highest-rated passer in the class, is likely to miss the playoffs, which is a reminder that a team’s record cannot tell the whole story. Still, this feels like the kind of game neither Austin Simmons nor Manning can afford to come up short in.
It is rare for a matchup between two top-10 teams to feature so few players on PFF’s big board. Both BYU and Utah have plenty of talented underclassmen, though, and the rivalry still offers several draft prospects a chance to make an impression.
Utah offensive tackle Zereoue Williams should have an opportunity to put together another strong outing. BYU has not consistently generated pressure off the edge, and there’s little concern about Williams’ ability to protect the quarterback. He has an 87.7 PFF pass-blocking grade and hasn’t allowed a sack in his college football career.
Williams will be looking to keep Utah’s offense on schedule in a game where the Utes should be able to lean on their running game, which ranks eighth in the FBS in rushing yards. That rushing attack makes BYU linebacker Cade Uluave one to watch. The senior looks like a different player from the one who spent several seasons playing meaningful snaps at Cal. His 78.7 PFF grade over the first few weeks has fallen to 60.7 in the three games since, however, so he will be keen to rediscover his early-season form and preserve his mid-round draft status.
Uluave has a natural feel for passing lanes and has shown he can cause disruption in coverage. The next step for him is to show that same ability against the run. Utah will give him a chance to prove he can disrupt plays between the tackles and hold up when the offense tries to run through his area.
Power Four Offensive Tackles
Weeks 1-9
The same players and metrics are available as a sortable table on each team's Leaders tab.
Which defensive prospects will show up in Ole Miss vs. Georgia?
When Ole Miss and Georgia met in the Sugar Bowl, the game became a high-scoring affair with 73 points in total, albeit nine of those came courtesy of the defenses. Only three players on those defenses went on to get drafted in April. This time around, the defensive talent on the field feels much more prominent.
There are impact prospects at every level of the defense. Will Echoles has been causing problems up front for every Ole Miss opponent, while edge defender Suntarine Perkins is a perfect complement who can clean up when quarterbacks drift away from the interior pressure. He’s fresh off a multi-sack performance last weekend, when he registered five pressures for the first time this season. Gunner Stockton has looked elusive against the pass rush before, but Auburn showed he’s not immune to pressure when it sacked him three times.
Georgia linebacker Chris Cole, the top player at his position in the class, will have his hands full with Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacey. Cole’s coverage instincts and lateral range will be tested by a quarterback who has been dialed in when targeting the intermediate areas of the field. Chambliss’ 90.2 PFF passing grade on throws between 10 and 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage leads the SEC.
Finally, the Bulldogs’ secondary faces a difficult assignment, too. Cornerback Ellis Robinson IV could be one of the first cornerbacks selected, and the same can be said for safety KJ Bolden. They’ll have to manage the threat of Ole Miss wide receiver Deuce Alexander.
Alexander has been one of the fastest-rising offensive prospects in the class over the past couple of months, but after catching his first 35 catchable targets, he has dropped six of his last 20. Before this game, Georgia’s secondary has faced just one wide receiver on PFF’s 2027 big board this season.
PFF's Big Board for the 2027 NFL Draft offers three-year player grades, combine measurables, position rankings, and in-depth player analysis for all of the top draft prospects.
Available with
Subscriptions
Unlock the Fantasy Draft Kit, with Live Draft Assistant, Fantasy Mock Draft Sim, Waiver Wire, Rankings & PFF Grades
© 2026 PFF - all rights reserved.