Vikings Draft 2020: College games to watch in Week 6
By Luke Parrish
#7 Auburn at #10 Florida
When: Saturday, October 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL
TV: CBS
The SEC is tight this season. Alabama is the favorite, but there are several contenders on their heels. Auburn already has two top-25 wins away from home. They opened their season with a neutral-site win over Oregon and knocked off Texas A&M in College Station two weeks ago. Florida is 5-0 with wins over Miami (FL) and Kentucky already in their favor.
Auburn
Freshman quarterback Bo Nix has carried the Tigers to an undefeated start with some incredible wins. Nix has 980 passing yards and only two interceptions in five games. He has also added 173 yards rushing.
Sophomore running back JaTarvious Whitlow leads the team with 463 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Auburn has 17 rushing touchdowns in five games, thanks in large part to their stout offensive line. Offensive tackles Jack Driscoll and Prince Tega Wanogho make up incredible bookends for the Tigers. Both will be relatively high draft picks in 2020.
The Auburn defensive line might be the best in the country. Senior defensive end Marlon Davidson has 2.5 sacks and 4.0 TFLs already this season. Defensive tackle Derrick Brown is one of the hottest names for the 2020 NFL Draft. The interior lineman has 2.0 sacks of his own and lives in the backfield. He has 25.5 TFL in his career.
Edge rusher Nick Coe is just the icing on the cake. Coe has missed two games already but has 2.0 sacks in his three games. He is a first-round edge rusher for the 2020 draft.
Florida
The Gators lost quarterback Feleipe Franks due to a season-ending injury. Backup Kyle Trask has filled in wonderfully, carrying Florida to four wins. He has 647 yards in four games. Wide receivers Van Jefferson, Trevon Grimes, Josh Hammond, Tyrie Cleveland, and Freddie Swain are all averaging over 12.5 yards per reception.
Running back Lamical Perine is one of my top running backs for 2020. He is a powerful runner with a nose for contact. However, Perine is averaging just 3.7 yards per rush this season and Auburn will be no slouch.
Jabari Zuniga is another first-round defensive end in this game. Zuniga has 3.0 sacks in two games for the Gators this season, but he hasn’t played in nearly a month. He has 18.5 sacks in 36 career games.
Florida also has Jonathan Greenard, a graduate transfer linebacker from Louisville. Greenard is having a career year to this point and he is on pace to set career-highs in every category. He has been a leader on the Gator defense and he has shot up draft boards since the 2019 season began.
Florida likes to toss their name in the hat when discussing DBU – Defensive Back University. This year, the Gators have some solid defensive backs who could all be drafted if they declare. Cornerbacks Marco Wilson and C.J. Henderson have not quite lived up to expectations, but they are both high on NFL radars.