- CJ Carr strengthens his draft stock: The Notre Dame quarterback delivered his fifth game without a turnover-worthy play this season and has 21 passing touchdowns against one interception.
- Trinidad Chambliss faces growing concerns: The Ole Miss quarterback earned a 52.0 PFF overall grade against Georgia, continuing a stretch of six consecutive games with a turnover-worthy throw.
- Defensive prospects make their case: Texas Tech's A.J. Holmes Jr. owns a 90.3 overall PFF grade, while Notre Dame edge defender Boubacar Traore recorded seven pressures against Miami.Texas Tech's A.J. Holmes Jr. owns a 90.3 overall PFF grade, while Notre Dame edge defender Boubacar Traore recorded seven pressures against Miami.
One of the best slates of the college football season largely lived up to its billing. We saw talent-on-talent clashes across the country, with Oregon defeating Ohio State and Georgia destroying Ole Miss.
Elsewhere, Notre Dame vs. Miami featured two of the best quarterback prospects in the upcoming draft, with CJ Carr emerging as the decisive winner in terms of draft stock.
A similar matchup between Missouri and Texas left more room for interpretation. Arch Manning came away with the win and a 123.0 passer rating, but Austin Simmons showed promising signs, too. Neither quarterback committed a turnover-worthy play, and both displayed plenty of raw talent. It remains unclear whether both will declare for the upcoming draft.
Stock Up: QB CJ Carr, Notre Dame
This was the biggest game of CJ Carr‘s career to date, and although he had the luxury of playing in front of a home crowd, the spotlight was firmly on him to carry a Notre Dame squad missing several defensive pieces. Carr stepped up and showed scouts why he's still considered a first-round pick.
His physical traits are nothing special. We already knew that. However, a lack of elite arm talent shouldn't lead anyone to mistake Carr for merely a passenger on a top team. A few glimpses of his ability to improvise in this game will help NFL teams feel confident in his ability to win outside of structure.
This was Carr's fifth game of the season without a turnover-worthy play. He has 21 passing touchdowns and just one interception on the season. Carr's average depth of target currently sits at 10.0 yards. He brings a great blend of in-system fluidity and downfield aggression.
Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Faison deserves a mention, too. He was one of the most pivotal players on a field packed with talented prospects. Faison dropped two passes in this game, so his PFF grade took a hit, but scouts will notice the natural separation he can create through his route running. This marked Faison's third consecutive game with nine or more targets.
Stock Down: QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
Chambliss played arguably his worst game as a college quarterback Saturday night, as Georgia‘s high-flying defense completely demolished the Ole Miss offense.
The same Kirby Smart defense that surrendered a 91.8 overall PFF grade to Chambliss in the playoffs last year held the quarterback to a 52.0 overall PFF grade at home on Saturday. Of course, the rest of the Rebels' offense isn't blameless. His receivers dropped three passes, and his offensive line allowed three sacks.
That said, Chambliss was largely left without an answer in this game. This was his first SEC start without a touchdown pass and his second with fewer than 200 passing yards. If it were one miserable performance in an otherwise Heisman-level season, it could be excused, but Chambliss' play has quietly stalled over the past month.
He has recorded at least one turnover-worthy throw in each of his past six games, and his completion percentage since Week 7 is just 54.1%. It was 69.5% before this stretch. For an older prospect with less-than-ideal physical tools, these production drops are ones Chambliss can ill afford.
Stock Up: T Trevor Lauck, Iowa
The offensive tackle class has undergone some reshuffling throughout the season. Lauck entered the year as an expected Day 2 pick but is quickly rising up the ranks and entering first-round consideration, perhaps even in the top half of the round.
Saturday marked Lauck's third game of the season with an overall PFF grade above 80.0. He has put together four consecutive strong performances in conference play after struggling against Ohio State six weeks ago.
Lauck hasn't been impenetrable in pass protection this year. In fact, a miscommunication on a stunt led his side of the Iowa offensive line to allow a sack on Saturday against Northwestern. It's in run blocking where Lauck, like many Iowa linemen before him, looks utterly dominant.
Iowa runs an outside zone-heavy scheme, and Lauck absolutely mauls defenders when the team runs toward his side. He has excellent lateral agility and ballerina-like footwork to maintain his balance at the point of attack. There isn't an NFL team that won't be tempted by his blend of polish and physicality.
Stock Down: WR Anthony Evans III, Mississippi State
In a draft class jam-packed with big-bodied wide receivers, Evans is a smaller player who may appeal to NFL teams seeking an intricate route-runner from the slot who can win closer to the line of scrimmage.
However, his recent form has not done his draft stock any favors. Evans was extremely unfortunate to lose his talented quarterback, Kamario Taylor, to a season-ending injury, but his struggles in Taylor's absence cannot be blamed solely on poor quarterback play.
Evans earned an 87.2 PFF receiving grade over the first five weeks of the season, emerging as an attractive Day 2 draft target. In the four games since, Evans' PFF receiving grade is just 54.6. Over the past month, Evans has been outgained by teammates Marquis Johnson and Sanfrisco Magee despite comfortably outsnapping both.
Evans started the year averaging 115 receiving yards per game over his first five matchups but hasn't surpassed 50 yards in a single game since. Drops aren't a huge issue — he has just four all season. It's his lack of success as a route-runner and after the catch that is rightfully raising questions about his game.
Stock Up: DI A.J. Holmes Jr., Texas Tech
Holmes was excellent last year as a key member of Texas Tech‘s ferocious defensive front but still entered this season with questions about whether he'd retain his role following several more transfer portal acquisitions.
Holmes has looked better than ever this season and is playing his way into top-50 consideration. As a fifth-year senior, age is not on his side. NFL teams may feel Holmes is already approaching the ceiling of his football potential. That doesn't change the fact that he's already a very good football player.
Holmes has a 90.3 overall PFF grade this season. Saturday marked his fifth consecutive game with five or more pressures. He has six sacks in his past four games, more than he recorded all of last season, although David Bailey's ability to reach the quarterback first may partially explain his low 2025 total.
Listed at 300 pounds, one of the most interesting questions surrounding Holmes' future is which alignment suits him best. He has slimmed down throughout his career, having previously played extensively over the center during his time at Houston. Holmes can now be seen lining up anywhere from 3-technique to a wide edge rusher alignment.
Stock Down: CB Chris Peal, Syracuse
Peal hasn't had his name mentioned in this series all season. Currently ranked 96th on PFF's 2027 NFL Draft big board, Peal is CB11 in what is shaping up to be a deep class at the position.
Peal looked excellent last year, earning an 87.0 PFF coverage grade, and deserves credit for sticking to his guns at Syracuse rather than entering the transfer portal for a second time. The former Georgia commit hasn't enjoyed the same level of success this year, however.
He has dropped more interceptions (two) than he has recorded (one), and opponents don't appear overly concerned by his presence. He was targeted nine times against North Carolina, while UConn and Virginia each recorded more than 50 receiving yards against Peal in back-to-back weeks.
With a deep crop of cornerback prospects performing well across the country, somebody is going to have to lose their place. Peal, along with Utah‘s Jackson Bennee, has yet to truly make an impression during the 2026 season.
Stock Up: Edge Boubacar Traore, Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish defense was missing talented starters at every level on Saturday, but its top available draft prospects stepped up to stall the Hurricanes‘ offense. Traore missed practically the entire loss to BYU after sustaining an early injury, but he has picked up right where he left off upon his return.
Traore has an 87.0 overall PFF grade this season, and each of his past six games, excluding BYU, has featured a grade ranging from above average to elite. Saturday wasn't his best performance on paper, but it came against perhaps the most difficult offense in the country to generate pass-rushing success against.
Traore recorded seven total pressures against Miami, the second time he has reached that mark in 2026. He has done so while displaying an array of effective pass-rushing moves. While Traore's raw tools are plenty appealing, he also has a deep repertoire of clubs, spins and swims to get around offensive tackles, and his technique only seems to be improving with each passing week.
If Notre Dame can take care of business for the remainder of the regular season, we should see Traore square off against some of college football's best in the playoffs. However, he must deliver a strong performance against SMU‘s towering left tackle PJ Williams in a few weeks to help get the Irish there.
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