2015 NFL Draft, Buffalo Bills prospects: Week 8 college football chat

The thing you have to love about college football is just how diverse it is. You can have teams like Washington State, who throw seventy passes in a game on any given Saturday, and the ground and pound rushing attacks in the military academies and Georgia Tech. You get offensive storms and defensive struggles, often on the same day. There's something for everyone; hopefully this week you find something you want to watch.

No. 4 Baylor at West Virginia

12:00 PM
Fox Sports 1

Who loves points? You love points? You came to the right place. Baylor-WVU games are always ridiculous displays of offensive juggernauts. The winner usually scores 70-plus points. Last year Baylor scored 56 points in the first half.

How do they do it? For Baylor, start with the left tackle, #58 Spencer Drango. The 6'5" 315 pounder has shown a definite NFL skillset, now in his third season as a starter, but he had to miss the end of last season recovering from back surgery. #14 Bryce Petty is the quarterback directing the offense, and while he puts up videogame numbers, people will need to evaluate him against his offense to decide if he's the next Colt Brennan or the next RG3 (it's probably more of the former). #5 Antwan Goodley is the reliable receiver, and #32 Shock Linwood the star running back, but Linwood won't be draft eligible for another year.

Oh, and discussion of Baylor must include their freak defensive end, #2 Shawn Oakman. He measures around 6'8" 285 pounds and is right in the Mario Williams/Jadeveon Clowney/Julius Peppers spectrum of athletic talent. Watch him on Sunday (WVU already gives up a good amount of pressure) - he'll be around the ball a ton.

West Virginia brings plenty of firepower to the game on their end. #11 Kevin White is the star attraction. He's a 6'3" 210 pound receiver who has managed to outproduce Amari Cooper this season, of whom I am a big fan. White is averaging 10.2 catches, 148 yards, and 0.83 touchdowns per game this season. In six games he has put up nearly 900 yards receiving. He is a super smooth runner and is incredibly dangerous on slants and middle screens, but he also does well shaking coverage on the outside. White lines up predominantly wide to the right in this offense, and you'll want to watch him, even though Buffalo doesn't need more receivers.

There's a player I'd like to keep tabs on, but not following the Mountaineers it has been kind of hard. #17 Shaquille Riddick is a 6'6" 250 pound defensive end who transferred to WVU after being awarded first team All-American FCS at his previous school. But defensive stats aren't kept for college, and I haven't been able to follow him once the season began. Either he'll be out there starting, or he never made it off the bench after transferring. #67 Quinton Spain is the left guard who has received some NFL buzz, but I think he's lacking in core strength despite his large size.

UCLA at Cal

3:30 PM
ESPN2 (ABC in the western US)

If a quarterback duel is your thing, this is a game worth watching. Brett Hundley was a trendy preseason pick for a potential first round quarterback in 2014, and UCLA's #17 has shown flashes - but mostly he's struggled behind a depressing offensive line. UCLA has lost two straight games - can he bring them back up to speed against a porous defense? Speaking of players with flashes - DL #90, Ellis McCarthy, sometimes looks like a Marcell Dareus type on film. But it's still very inconsistent. Linebacker #6, Eric Kendricks, is built like a hybrid LB/S, but hits pretty hard. He isn't draftable yet, but LB/RB Myles Jack (#30) is a great watch.

Cal's talent pool isn't quite as large, but there are a couple names worth watching. Jared Goff is only a sophomore, but #16 has already put up 2179 yards at 9.9 YPA to go along with an excellent 22:3 TD:INT ratio this season. It's lucky that he's played so well, because his defense has done the team no favors this season. OLB #7, Jalen Jefferson, might be the only worthwhile prospect there. He's fast and a good tackler, but prone to overpursue. G/C #73, Jordan Rigsbee, is a potentially draftable lineman for the Golden Bears.

No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 2 Florida State

8:00 PM EST
ABC and ESPN3

It seems odd considering how much of a powerhouse Florida State was last season, but they're really not as strong as their poll placement and 6-0 record indicate. #5 Jameis Winston has struggled at times in his second season, his completion percentage under pressure dropping from the 60's into the 30's this year. Oh, and off the field his career is one agonizing trainwreck. Winston aside, let's go down the other list of prospects you should know for FSU: Left tackle #75 Cameron Erving hasn't been progressing as well as scouts were hoping this season. CB #26 PJ Williams looks like a potential first rounder. DE #15 Mario Edwards Jr suffered a concussion earlier this season but still looks like a day one or two prospect. TE #35 Nick O'Leary is the FSU career leader in receiving stats for tight ends, and looks like a great prospect, except for his 6'3" 247 pound size. Just need to keep him off his motorcycle. WR #80 Rashad Greene has put up good stats this season, but he's a bit below average in the size department, and I'm not sure how well he'll hold up in the NFL.

So that's a long list of talent. What does Notre Dame have to bring to the table? The biggest name is probably quarterback #5 Everett Golson. He's putting up big numbers in the air and has lots of pocket mobility, but being inexperienced and on the small side, it's tough to project him to the NFL. #18 Ben Koyack is the latest product of the tight end factory, but the 6'4" 250 pounder is hardly being utilized in the passing game, as his 16 receptions for 150 yards can attest. CB #2 Cody Riggs is a smaller defensive back who transferred to Notre Dame for his final season of eligibility. DT #91 Sheldon Day is on the smaller side at only 290 pounds, but he's the type of pass rushing defensive tackle that is en vogue right now with the NFL. Looking for an offensive guard? Pay attention to RG #74, Christian Lombard.