CFB: Player Matchups Week 4
Week 4 feels like the true start of the season. Conference games come thick and fast. The schedule fillers fall to the wayside and results have major implications. With that, come some heavyweight matchups so let’s get stuck in.
Keon Coleman vs Nate Wiggins
- Colleges: Florida State v Clemson
- Position: Wide Receiver v Cornerback
- Height: 6'4 v 6'2
- Weight: 215lbs v 185lbs
You could argue that no player in the country has boosted their draft stock more this season than Florida State’s Keon Coleman. The Michigan State transfer has been a seamless fit in the Seminoles’ offense and hit the ground running. He had a big night against LSU that grabbed the attention of draftniks.
Since then, he has been more subdued. In a nerve-jangling win over Boston College this week, Coleman only got three targets and could not haul in any. He will be fired up to get back on track against ACC rivals Clemson.
That result will give confidence to Clemson, whose season hit a massive bump in the road with a Week 1 loss to Duke. Going against Coleman will be corner Nate Wiggins. He is smooth, long and can match up one-on-one with premier receivers. He grabbed an interception and earned a PFF grade of 86.5 against FAU last week.
If Coleman’s motor gets hot once more, he and Florida State may prove difficult to stop.
Beaux Limmer vs Maason Smith
- Colleges: Arkansas v LSU
- Position: Center v Defensive Tackle
- Height: 6'5 v 6'6
- Weight: 307lbs vs 315lbs
Coming into the season, we had two Arkansas offensive linemen in our All-SEC lineup, but it has been a tough start for the group. The Razorbacks suffered their first loss of the season against BYU, and guard Brady Latham had three brutal penalties in the 4th quarter.
The other NFL prospect on the line is center Beaux Limmer. He has been extremely efficient, not giving up even a pressure this year. His pass-blocking grade of 85.6 shows his ability, but they need to improve their run-blocking to allow back AJ Green to prosper.
Another player who has disappointed is LSU’s defensive tackle Maason Smith. He missed the season’s first game through suspension, but in the next two games, he failed to register a sack or QB hit. Coming into the year, he was expected to be a force; now would be the time to prove how difficult he is to block. Especially against the duo of Limmer and Latham.
Bo Nix vs Shedeur Sanders
- Colleges: Oregon v Colorado
- Position: Quarterback v Quarterback
- Height: 6'2 v 6'2
- Weight: 217lbs v 215lbs
Nobody has received more media attention than the Colorado Buffaloes this season. The sports media companies are in dreamland now Deion Sanders has made it undefeated to their first high-profile conference matchup.
The headline battle is between the quarterbacks. There will be heavyweight contests between elite signal callers in the Pac 12 all this year, and Nix vs. Sanders kicks things off. While Nix was always expected to be in with a shout of QB3 status, nobody thought Shedeur Sanders would also be in the hunt.
He has been excellent in the first three games. He is athletic in the pocket, has a good deep ball and thrives under pressure. Meanwhile, Nix has been brutally efficient. Per PFF, he has yet to throw a pass deemed ‘turnover worthy’.
Interestingly enough both player’s nights will be effected by one player being missing through injury. Two-way starter Travis Hunter is out. That means the Buffs top corner won’t be around to try and pick off Nix. It also means Sanders will miss one of his top receivers.
Nix has the more talented supporting cast, meaning Sanders will have to play at another level to cause the upset.
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