Buffalo Rumblings
Three defensive prospects upping their game at the right time
Some of the mightiest teams in the college football universe this year fell during Week 11. Among them was No. 3 Georgia getting obliterated on the road in Oxford as No. 16 Ole Miss cruised to victory in due part to an excellent outing from their defense — namely their defensive line.
Fourth-ranked Miami was upset on the road at Georgia Tech. Heisman candidate Cam Ward looked human for the first time this season and the ‘Canes defense had no answers for the Yellow Jackets’ horizontal rushing attack while the Hurricanes, conversely, stalled on drives into Georgia Tech territory. The Hurricanes still control their own destiny to the ACC Championship. But losing in the title game or beforehand may be the end of their College Football Playoff hopes.
It was the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide rolling into a hostile environment in Baton Rouge, LA to crush No. 15 LSU 42-13. The Tigers had zero answers for quarterback Jalen Milroe on the ground as he once again looked like the best athlete on the football field. If he chooses to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, he’s got the opportunity to break the record for fastest quarterback in the history of the event. He makes high level SEC athletes look slow relatively often. On the flip side, LSU’s offense lacked consistent pop and turned the ball over far too often to defeat an opponent the caliber of Alabama.
Eighteenth-ranked Pitt was upset by Virginia and has effectively removed themselves from the ACC title conversation with two conference losses.
With the busy weekend, there’s plenty of prospects to talk up who performed admirably with just a few weeks left to go in the college football regular season. Let’s review three defensive prospects who caught our eye this week.
It’s understandable for a former off-ball linebacker to take some time to really get used to a position change as a near full time hand-in-dirt defensive end, and that process rendered a preseason-hyped Carter slow to start the season. But it’s beginning to look quite natural to him and he’s now terrorizing college football with his play. Carter’s playing ridiculous football and embarrassing Big Ten offensive tackles in 2024.
Zero sacks and just one tackle for loss in the first two weeks has turned into eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss in the past seven contests. Carter is ripping at a high level right now, and he had several dominant reps in this past game against Washington — a performance that netted him two sacks and four tackles for loss.
He’s already got plenty in his bag with speed-to-power rips, legit ankle flexion and bend to put a ghost move on an opposing offensive tackle, and he’s improving weekly as a run defender. Carter’s...
