Saturday NFL Draft watch notes

Rivalry Saturday is one of the best weekends of the college football season. Many of the games are non-conference matchups so the games have a unique feel. Below are some general notes on who I'm following today. We'll have posts on South Carolina/Clemson and Notre Dame/Stanford later today.

After losing the Iron Bowl to Auburn last year, Alabama is going to be playing angry and aggressive today. Expect big games out of linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw. The Crimson Tide coaches like to move their two top linebackers around, so watch for them to get pressure from all areas.

Could today rival game against UCLA be Matt Barkley's last one with USC? When asked that question, he said it "potentially" could be. Look for him to go out strong against a weak Bruins defense. It might not take long for players like Barkley, offensive tackle Matt Kalil and pass rusher Nick Perry to announce their decision.

It will be interesting to observe how Iowa State's Leonard Johnson follows up his breakout performance against Justin Blackmon against Oklahoma today. The Sooners use quick passes a little more than Oklahoma State and that could give Johnson problems. It's almost like he needs another good game to prove last week wasn't a fluke.

The Virginia Tech passing offense is efficient and spreads the ball around. Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale are both average NFL prospects but they do enough to keep defenders from crowding the box to stop sensational running back David Wilson. Virginia matches up well against the Hokies because senior cornerback Chase Minnifield can man up with one of the receivers, allowing the safeties to play closer to the line.

There has arguably been no hotter player in the nation than Georgia redshirt sophomore pass rusher Jarvis Jones. It wouldn't be a shock if he enters the draft after this season. If he does, he'll probably be considered the top 3-4 outside linebacker in the draft.

No one has been talking about North Carolina's Quinton Coples of late. That's not a good thing. Coples will be highly drafted because of his potential and the weakness of the position in next year's draft. But make no mistake, he's struggled all season. Is Coples still a top 10 player?

This isn't draft related, but how is Louisiana-Lafayette against Arizona a game today? So odd.