• Top QBs Shedeur Sanders and Connor Weigman have big matchups: While Sanders is looking to build off his strong Week 1 performance, Weigman will look to right the ship against a small-school foe after struggling mightily last week.
• Will Johnson and Isaiah Bond highlight Texas–Michigan: Big-time matchup between two well-regarded prospects.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
With one week of college football in the books, we now have some expectations to look for in Week 2.
Here are some of the top players and matchups to watch for from an NFL draft perspective.
Texas A&M QB Connor Weigman vs. Mcneese State
Weigman’s 2024 debut was, well, bad – his worst, actually. His 37.1 passing grade against Notre Dame was the worst single-game performance of his career, and a far cry from his 90.9 season passing grade in three and a half games last season. He threw for just 100 yards, going 12-for-30 with two interceptions (two turnover-worthy plays). He just did not look comfortable at all. Give Notre Dame’s defense credit — it will likely be one of the best in college football this season. Nonetheless, Weigman struggled mightily in ways that he could have controlled. He came into the season as my QB1, as I hoped he could build off of a very promising 2023, but that didn’t happen in Week 1. He needs to look much different against an opponent he should handle.
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders vs. Nebraska
Sanders put on another stellar performance in his 2024 debut against North Dakota State. He threw for 445 yards with four passing touchdowns and one interception while recording five big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays. The performance yielded a 90.4 passing grade, his seventh 90.0-plus passing grade performance in his career. This week, Colorado has a tough task on the road against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers team defense earned an 80.6 overall grade with an 85.4 coverage grade after allowing just 149 passing yards and recording two interceptions last week against UTEP. Tommi Hill is a draft prospect to know at cornerback. Another strong performance from Sanders on the road against the defense will make his QB1 case even louder.
USC QB Miller Moss vs. Utah State
There were a lot of names to know in the 2025 quarterback class this summer – we had 15 ranked on the PFF big board heading into the season. However, Moss wasn’t one of them. Moss was a four-star recruit in 2021 but played just 171 snaps over the last three years because he sat behind Caleb Williams. Nonetheless, in his fourth year, he looks worth the wait. Against LSU, Moss threw for 378 yards with one touchdown while recording five big-time throws in the game for a 93.5 passing grade. If he can keep that up, you know he will be a major riser on the big board.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe vs. USF
Alabama played USF last season. You may remember that as the game that followed the Texas loss where ‘Bama was tied with USF 3-3 at half. Many tried to do everything they could to bury the Tide’s season right there before, well, they remembered they were Alabama again and proceeded to not lose until the College Football Playoff. Notably absent from the statsheet from that game was quarterback Jalen Milroe, who was scratched from the starting lineup in order for Saban to give the other quarterback in game to prove themselves in an active in-season quarterback competition. College football fans know what happened after that; Milroe got the starting job back the next week and never looked back. This year, though the game is in Tuscaloosa, USF played the Crimson Tide tight in 2023. Against Bethun-Cookman last week, the Bulls defense earned a 90.0 overall grade with just three points and just 170 yards allowed. It will be interesting to see how Milroe plays against them for the first time.
Michigan CB Will Johnson vs. Texas WR Isaiah Bond
Johnson entered the season as the No. 2 overall prospect and No. 2 cornerback on PFF’s big board. His movement skill and savviness at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds give him true lockdown potential for the NFL level. Last week, he (and the Michigan team as a whole) struggled a bit versus Fresno State, but a pick-six in the fourth quarter elevated his coverage grade to a respectable level. He’ll have a tough task this week against one of the fastest players in the country in Texas’ Isaiah Bond. Johnson did see Bond last season when he was at Alabama in the Rose Bowl for the College Football Playoff. Bond had four catches for 47 receiving yards in that game. Three of those catches were on Johnson’s side of the field and he was in the area, but none were in single coverage against him.
Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins vs. Iowa CB Sebastian Castro
Higgins went under the radar last year as one of college football's most reliable receivers. In his first year with Iowa State (transferring from Eastern Michigan after two years), he recorded an 86.6 receiving grade. This year through one game, he already has 96 receiving yards and a touchdown. Higgins primarily plays as an outside receiver, but Iowa State will move him into the slot. He played 12 of his 37 receiving snaps in the slot last week and 170 of his 548 receiving snaps in the slot last year. This week, when he’s in the slot, he’ll see Iowa’s Sebastian Castro opposite him. As a nickel corner/safety hybrid player, Castro earned a 90.5 coverage grade. This will be a matchup pitting two intelligent players against each other.
Cincinnati DI Dontay Corleone vs. Pittsburgh
This week, we have a big welcome back party (maybe not the Pittsburgh offensive linemen) for Cincinnati defensive tackle Dontay Corleone – aka The Godfather. Corleone has not played yet this season as a precaution coming off a blood clot diagnosis from earlier this summer. The senior defensive tackle is a top-25 player on the PFF big board. He recorded a 94.7 run-defense grade in 2022 and an 80.4 run-defense grade last year. He’s an absolute house in the middle of the Bearcats defensive line. We are happy to see that he will be back out there and healthy.
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