#College football offers hope for Giants, Jets fans

Sundays have become tough to watch for Jets and Giants fans, with both teams still in search of their first win five weeks into the season. Perhaps Saturdays might offer some more hope. With the Jets and Giants all but assured of locking up a high pick for the 2021 NFL Draft, and plenty of later picks to add much-needed talent to their rosters, it’s never too early to begin looking to the future.

Here’s a look at three games on the slate for Saturday with some intriguing prospects to keep an eye on:

No. 3 Georgia at No. 2 Alabama, 8 p.m., CBS

The SEC’s regular-season game of the year is, not surprisingly, chock full of draft prospects. That’s particularly true at positions of need for the Giants and Jets, including wide receiver and cornerback, which could make for some entertaining battles Saturday night. Alabama has two of the top WR prospects in DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle while CB Patrick Surtain is another projected first-round pick. Georgia will counter with two CB prospects of its own in Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes, in addition to pass rusher Azeez Ojulari.

Pittsburgh at No. 13 Miami, noon, ACC Network

Did somebody say pass rusher? The Jets and Giants both have a serious need at the position. Pittsburgh has one of the top defensive ends playing this fall in Patrick Jones III. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound redshirt senior already leads the country with seven sacks. Miami’s top edge prospect, Gregory Rousseau, opted out of the season but it still has a pretty good one in Quincy Roche. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound rusher had 13 sacks last year at Temple.

No. 1 Clemson at Georgia Tech, noon, ABC

What’s a 2020 college football watch list in New York without Trevor Lawrence? As the Jets and Giants both try to figure out whether they have their franchise quarterbacks in Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones, there might not be much of a decision to make if they end up with the No. 1 pick and the right to draft Lawrence. The Clemson quarterback has yet to throw an interception this year and is coming off carving up Miami.

Lawrence alone is worth the price of admission (or the spot on your couch), but could Clemson running back and human highlight reel Travis Etienne also be of interest to the Jets if he’s still around by their second or third pick?