CFB DeptHITS: Friday, November 22
Let's get caught up on the biggest news impacting depth charts heading into and all-important week 13. Friday slate has three games and we have 'Game Cards' for you...
We make hundreds of tweaks and adjustments to our 134 live depth chart pages at CFBDepth.com — this feature is designed to pull out the ones you really should know (and more) with a little context around them. Today, as we are on the eve a large slate Saturday, we’ll provide Friday evening game cards (and Model plays, two of them).
Kansas State ::: RB Dylan Edwards is said to be 'begging' to get back out there against Arizona State and offensive coordinator Conor Riley says that he does look better in practice but it's still too early to say he will play week 13 against the Sun Devils. The good news is that the player has the 'want to' and that goes a long way.
Pittsburgh ::: QB Eli Holstein has been cleared and will make his return to the field for the Panthers if they choose to start him over Nate Yarnell. He was banged up in week 10 and gave way to Yarnell in week 11's narrow loss to Clemson. If it were our call, we'd stick with Yarnell as he's a whole 1.5 points higher on our ratings.
Oklahoma ::: No WR Deion Burks for the Sooners in week 13 after an injury suffered at the end of the Mizzou game two weeks ago. This wide receiver room just can't buy a break.
South Carolina ::: We don't have the benefit of the SEC Availability Report for the Gamecocks this week. HC Shane Beamer is 'optimistic' on two tight ends being ready in Joshua Simon and Michael Smith. Fellow TE Brady Hunt is out for a couple of weeks. WR Jared Brown is back on the radar as a "we'll see" and CB Judge Collier is good to go against FCS Wofford in week 13.
Georgia Tech ::: The Jackets got both RB Jamal Haynes and QB Haynes King out on the field for week 13 on Thursday night against NC State. For Jamal Haynes, it was tough sledding against a motivated NC State defensive front, getting 13 carries for just 36 yards in the one-point win. King played a limited role as he continues to work back from injury. He was 3/3 for 7 yards passing and ran it nine times for 18 yards and an early touchdown.
Nebraska ::: Huskers updates include CB Tommi Hill will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury. RB Rahmir Johnson missed week 12 and was very limited prior to as injuries slow him. HC Matt Rhule mentioned that he will return but have a limited role in week 13.
In other news, there appears to be a bit of a flu outbreak with the Huskers and Matt Rhule says it was passed along by the Trojans in their last game. We have seen this impact performance before. Something to make note of.
Michigan ::: CB Will Johnson has flirted with coming back many times for the Michigan to rejoin the secondary and provide a little star power. Since his injury in week eight, he has not been able to do so. That will remain the case even after the bye week and heading into week 13.
Toledo ::: QB Tucker Gleason was injured in the week 13 game and did not return for the final two drives. This injury could cost him the season finale in week 14 against at Akron. We'll keep an eye on any news that breaks before then. John Alan Richter came in for those waning moments and went 5/9 for 37 yards and ran 4 times for just 5 yards. He would get the call if Gleason's injury is longer-term.
Ohio ::: WR Coleman Owen was hurt at some point in the week 13 game and did not return. He is (by far) the leading receiver for the Bobcats. We'll keep an eye on this going forward.
Colorado ::: We don't do a whole lot of updates that don't impact current depth charts, but this one is worth noting. Recent USC de-commit and top QB target in the 2024 class, Julian Lewis has committed to Colorado. With Shedeur Sanders moving on to the next level, this opens the door for the talented player to see the field right away for Coach Prime and the Buffs.
Wisconsin ::: Current third-string QB Cole LaCrue announced his plans to enter the portal when it opens in December. He is a redshirt-freshman who doesn't see a line to playing time and will look for a place to get on the field. He was a 3-star recruit in the 2023 class out of Broomfield, Colorado. He likely will move down to the G5 or even FCS level to find that playing time.
|||||| WEEK 13 FRIDAY GAME CARDS + MODEL PLAY(S)
We have a three-game slate tonight and our (CFBDm) Model likes a couple of plays tonight. Let’s take a look.
Temple travels to take on the suddenly rolling (but now more injured) Roadrunners in San Antonio. The Roadrunners suffered some injuries last Friday night against North Texas so they are a little depleted. The biggest edge is in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball for UTSA. Temple’s offensive line is not expected to hold up. The problem for UTSA is that both starting tackles - Jaylen Garth and Kamar Missouri - both went down last week and are questionable to play tonight. The Model comes up with a 35-18 UTSA win.
Purdue has been a train wreck this season and it doesn’t seem to be getting much better. The weather in East Lansing tonight will be cool with a chance of some precipitation. The Spartans were not impressive in their loss at Illinois last week but Jonathan Smith should have them up for tonight. Michigan State has a distinct advantage on the offensive line, particular run blocking and should be able to control the ball on the ground as they typically run a relatively balanced attack. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams and Nate Carter should continue to split carries and they should lean on them to a 28-13 win. The only lean here would be on the UNDER 47.5.
Rain is expected in San Jose tonight and it could muck this one up a bit. The Model does suggest a lean on the UNDER 60. It has dropped a few points since the weather started to come into question. Both offenses are capable of explosive plays, but both also run slow(er) paces and if they choose to keep the ball on the ground and the clock moving, the script would allow for it to stay under. As far as the matchups go, the Rebs have a distinct advantage on offense over the Spartans’ defense. Yet, the biggest one to keep an eye on is the UNLV pass rush going up against a really poor pass protection unit for SJSU. The Rebs front seven should live in the backfield. Though, Spartans QB Walker Eget is no stranger to this and does get the ball out quickly - mainly to Nick Nash, who has 151 targets (!!) already this season. Ultimately, the simulation has UNLV prevailing 31-21. The spread lean would be UNLV laying 7.5, but not a suggested play.
That’s our show for today. We’ll get back to prepping these game cards for the full slate of action taking place on Saturday and will be back with both HITS and Model Plays for tomorrow. Please subscribe and share!