Every week during the college football season, NFL clubs deploy scouts to campuses all over the country to make in-person evaluations on draft prospects. Naturally, the bigger games featuring more top prospects tend to draw larger contingents of scouts. Each week, College Football 24/7 brings you a look at the teams credentialed to attend three of the biggest games in college football.
Stanford at Notre Dame
8 clubs attending:Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders.
Details: Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Three top players:Stanford (RB Christian McCaffrey, DE Solomon Thomas, LB Peter Kalambayi); Notre Dame (QB DeShone Kizer, OT Mike McGlinchey, DE Isaac Rochell).
Matchup to watch:Stanford DE Solomon Thomas vs. Notre Dame OT Mike McGlinchey. Scouts will get a chance to see McGlinchey protect Kizer against a smaller, quicker pass rusher in Solomon. Conversely, how will Thomas, at 256 pounds, hold up against the run when he's being blocked by the 310-pound McGlinchey?
Alabama at Tennessee
13 clubs attending:Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans.
Details: Saturday, Oct. 15 at 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Three top players:Alabama (LB Reuben Foster, OT Cam Robinson, WR Calvin Ridley); Tennessee (DE Derek Barnett, RB Jalen Hurd, QB Josh Dobbs).
Matchup to watch:Alabama OT Cam Robinson vs. Tennessee DE Derek Barnett. These are two of the top prospects on their respective teams, and both are juniors. Keeping Barnett away from freshman QB Jalen Hurts will be paramount for UA. Robinson has struggled at times in pass protection this season, and the struggles had more to do with technique than physical tools. Barnett is very much a technician as a pass rusher. He doesn't have the length and quickness of Texas A&M's Myles Garrett, but he'll bring a variety of pass rush moves and a relentless motor against Robinson.
Ohio State at Wisconsin
8 clubs attending:Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins.
Details: Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. ET (ABC)
Three top players:Ohio State (QB J.T. Barrett, C Pat Elflein, LB Raekwon McMillan); Wisconsin (RB Corey Clement, LB T.J. Watt, CB Sojourn Shelton).
Matchup to watch:Ohio State LB Raekwon McMillan vs. Wisconsin RB Corey Clement. With McMillan roaming the heart of the Buckeyes' front seven at middle linebacker, and Clement spearheading the Badgers' downhill rushing attack between the tackles, McMillan and Clement are certain to tangle quite a bit. It's a bigger challenge for Clement, who hasn't yet rushed for 100-plus yards against a Power Five opponent this season.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
