Devy Digest: Week 12 Preview                                           

Andy Pham

Week 12 Devy Games To Watch

(22)Utah at (17)Arizona
Arizona comes in with an exciting offense. Noah Fifita took over the Quarterback job due to injury and has not given up that job, his connection with Wide Receiver Tet McMillan goes back to their High School days. Another surprise has been Running Back Jonah Coleman, who is an electric runner and is a threat in the passing game as well.

Utah has a true Freshman Wide Receiver in Mikey Matthews, who is having a very good year, but is under the radar due to the Quarterback issues Utah has had the entire year.

(1)Georgia at (18)Tennessee
Carson Beck continues to make a strong case to be a top Quarterback in next year’s draft and he is doing everything right and getting more and more confidence by the week. Week 12 against the Vols will be another key game that could help elevate Beck next year. Brock Bowers coming back definitely helps.

Tennessee will need consistent play from Joe Milton and Wide Receiver Squirrel White will need to step up and make key plays to keep them in this game.

(20)North Carolina at Clemson
Clemson comes in as a (-7.5) favorite and should be a good rivalry game. The season hasn’t turned out the way Clemson has hoped, but they can salvage their season with a victory. Cade Klubnik must figure things out and we’re starting to see Beaux Collins get more involved in the receiving game, which is nice to see. Clemson must establish a true passing attack or else North Carolina will try to stack the box to contain Phil Mafah and Will Shipley.

North Carolina doesn’t have the best defense, Drake Maye will need to come out and get the offense going and score points. Tez Walker should be good to go for this game and Omarion Hampton has been putting up good numbers on the ground and is someone they can lean on if they get the lead late to run out the clock.

UCLA at USC
This could be the swansong for Caleb Williams and he could elect to opt out of the bowl game and prepare for the NFL combine. UCLA has been a mess and earlier this week it was reported Head Coach Chip Kelly would be fired after the game, does the program rally around their coach for a cross-town rivalry matchup or do they just throw it away like they have done for the entire season.

(5)Washington at (11)Oregon State
This is a clash of styles and should make for a fun game. Washington will want to get out and get tempo going and get in rhythm, while Oregon State will want to slow the game down, let their defense establish dominance, and then for their offense to take the big shot downfield. Washington will need to stay the course if they struggle early and just let the game come to them. Michael Penix has an arsenal of weapons and the emergence of Running Back Dillon Johnson has made Washington more balanced, which will help in this game.

Oregon State will want to run the ball and establish time of possession, they have Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick who bring a great 1-2 punch and both will need to have a good game to keep Oregon State from giving Washington too many possessions.

Kentucky at South Carolina
This is really a game with two programs that had higher expectations coming into the year, we’ll focus on the Wide Receivers. Kentucky has Barrion Brown who came into this season with lofty expectations, his role has changed, from a line of scrimmage/YAC role to a more boundary Wide Receiver with a deeper route tree and the season just has not gone his way, the Quarterback play hasn’t been great, but there comes a point where if he isn’t getting the targets, he might be someone that is just a gadget/gimmick option and not a true devy asset.

South Carolina has Xavier Legette and he has blossomed this year and continues to elevate his NFL stock, his problem isn’t the Quarterback, they have a team problem. The Offensive Line isn’t very good and neither is the defense. They’ve put together two wins in a row and will try to become bowl-eligible if they win out.  A win in Week 12 over a decent Kentucky team is imperative. 

                                             

Week 12 C2C Games To Watch

(24)Tulane at Florida Atlantic
Tulane’s Michael Pratt has not had the type of season most expected but someone who's been a nice surprise is Freshman Running Back Mekhi Hughes, he took over the job a few weeks in and has rushed for over 1,000 yards. Tulane has a nice balanced offense between the two.

LaJohntay Wester for Florida Atlantic is having a tremendous season and should top 100 receptions easily by the time the season is over, he’s an exciting receiver that they deploy in every aspect possible. Wester is truly a fun player to watch.

SMU at Memphis
This game features two exciting Quarterbacks and what should be a fairly high-scoring affair. Preston Stone for SMU has found his stride late and with the injury to Wide Receiver Jordan Kerley, we’re looking to see if Jordan Hudson can emerge as the top target-getter. While Preston Stone has spread the ball around and the offense isn’t as funneled as in years past. Is Week 12 the week that we get an emergence from Hudson?

Memphis has Seth Henigan at Quarterback and he’s quietly had another solid season. He’s helped by Blake Watson on the ground and Roc Taylor is a Wide Receiver who's a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.

UMASS at Liberty
Liberty is looking to go undefeated and it is all due to Quarterback Kaidon Salter, who is playing fantastic football and elevating his teammates. A true dual threat, Salter stresses the defense on every play as he can take it to the house with his arm and his feet, someone that is must watch weekly.