CFB: Player Matchups to watch in Week 11
Plenty of marquee games await in Week 11 of College Football. Georgia face another tough SEC foe, Texas have an in-state battle without Quinn Ewers again and Michigan face their first real test of the season.
Let’s examine the key battles from each of those fixtures.
Tre Harris vs Kamari Lassiter
- Colleges: Ole Miss vs Georgia
- Position: Wide Receiver vs Cornerback
- Height: 6'2 vs 6'0
- Weight: 205lbs vs 180lbs
Georgia survived a tough test against Missouri last week. Things certainly got easier for them when sophomore receiver Luther Burden III exited the game with an injury. The Bulldogs secondary is a talented group but hasn’t been as lockdown as previous incarnations.
The star at outside corner is junior Kamari Lassiter. He has allowed only 13 receptions out of 31 targets and has had four pass breakups during the year. With a 78.6 pass coverage grade in 2023, Lassiter could declare early and be an early-round selection.
Ole Miss will provide a stern test for Lassiter in the shape of receiver Tre Harris. Harris has been Jaxson Dart’s primary target and was near-on unstoppable against Texas A&M. He accrued 213 receiving yards and one touchdown. His physical play style and jump-ball ability will be a handful for Lassiter. Can the Rebels take Georgia close? Harris will need to have another monster game to make it happen.
Adisa Isaac vs LaDarius Henderson
- Colleges: Penn State vs Michigan
- Position: Edge Rusher vs Offensive Tackle
- Height: 6'4 vs 6'4
- Weight: 254lbs vs 315lbs
Michigan’s sign-stealing saga couldn’t have come at a much worse time. The Wolverine’s soft schedule has a couple of bumps in the road in the next few weeks. The first is Penn State on Saturday. While the Nittany Lions are unlikely to cause many problems on offense, their defense is frisky enough to give JJ McCarthy some pause for thought.
Coming into the season, all the hype on Penn State’s defensive line centred around Chop Robinson. While he remains a strong draft prospect, his running mate Adisa Isaac, has stacked up more production. He has 26 pressures, including eight sacks, and is a consistent thorn in offenses’ sides. His length and speed should translate to the NFL.
The much-vaunted Michigan o-line is laden with NFL potential. Left tackle LaDarius Henderson will be on NFL radars since his transfer from Arizona State. He has transitioned from guard to tackle and only conceded one sack. Chop Robinson and Isaac will be a lot better opposition than Henderson has faced all year. It will give teams at the next level a good indication of his ability.
Adonai Mitchell vs Josh Newton
- Colleges: Texas vs TCU
- Position: Wide Receiver vs Cornerback
- Height: 6'4 vs 6'0
- Weight: 196lbs vs 190lbs
Texas could remain without quarterback Quinn Ewers due to injury this week. So far his understudy Maalik Murphy has led the Longhorns to two victories even though his performances haven’t been stellar. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue when Texas take on an underperforming TCU this week.
His favourite target has been Georgia transfer Adonai Mitchell. Mitchell has eight touchdowns this year, and his size and speed make him difficult to cover. He has had a lot more opportunity in Texas and is threatening to be a top 50 selection this year.
On the opposite side will be the much more experienced Josh Newton. Now in his fifth year and second as a Horned Frog, Newton is enjoying another successful season. While the team has failed to live up to expectations after a college playoff berth last year, Newton hasn’t been the issue. He has a career reception percentage of under 50 and has four pass breakups and one interception in 2023. Mitchell v Newton should be one of the most intriguing battles of the week.
Rory-Joe Daniels
Cfb contributor
formerly writing for the inside zone, rory will be breaking down college tape and keeping you up-to-date with all things CFB for the touchdown. an avid bengals fan, you can also find some of rory’s work at stripehype.com