Hogs Haven
With so many implications for the College Football Playoff, there was a ton of hype for the Championship Week games. Many delivered. The Big Ten Championship between Indiana and Ohio State turned out to be a competitive defensive battle. A late missed field goal sealed the Buckeyes’ fate as they fell to the Hoosiers. It took overtime to settle the ACC Championship. UVA put together an impressive drive to tie the game late, but an interception by the Cavaliers ended the game and made the Blue Devils champs.
Other games were not that competitive. BYU hung with Texas Tech for the first half of the Big 12 Championship, but Texas Tech’s stingy defense and quick-strike offense handed BYU their second loss to the Red Raiders this season. Alabama could not get much going offensively thanks to Georgia’s defense and never had much of a chance in the SEC Championship. The Bulldogs easily walked away with the conference title. Wins by JMU in the Sun Belt Championship and Tulane in the American Championship were huge for those schools. Kennesaw State, Western Michigan, and Boise State round out the remaining conference winners.
The College Football Playoff is set and filled with controversy. The top-four seeds are Indiana as the #1 seed followed by Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech. Oregon is the #5 seed and, thanks to Duke’s win over UVA, will face #12 JMU in the first round. Ole Miss, the #6 seed, will face a familiar foe in #11 Tulane, a team they’ve played 72 times since 1893. Tulane is hoping to beat the Rebels for the first time since 1988. The #7 seed, Texas A&M, will host the only ACC representative in playoff, Miami. The last game of the first round of the playoffs will be #8 Oklahoma hosting #9 Alabama. How a three-loss Alabama team not only made the playoff but didn’t even drop in ranking after losing to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game is beyond me. Nonetheless, here’s hoping there are competitive, entertaining games throughout the playoffs.
Below are a few players who had a good week and might be able to help out the Commanders. Let me know what you think about these prospects and feel free to post players that stood out to you. This wraps up Future Hogs for 2025. I’m going to take a little break, but will be back soon with 2026 NFL Draft profiles soon.
With an ACC Championship under his belt and only being a redshirt sophomore, I suspect Darian Mensah will return to Duke or enter the transfer portal. Mensah is more of a pocket passer than quarterbacks I’ve featured this season, but he has shown to be a prolific passer with tools needed to succeed in the NFL. Mensah has a strong arm and isn’t afraid to push the ball downfield. His mechanics are good and he stays on balance as a passer, but he can...
