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2018 NFL Draft: 5 Best college football games of Week 8

By Stephen Forsha

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Penn State Nittany Lions returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown against the Indiana Hoosiers on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Penn State Nittany Lions returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown against the Indiana Hoosiers on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach James Franklin and Marcus Allen #2 of the Penn State Nittany Lions takes the field before the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on September 10, 2016 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach James Franklin and Marcus Allen #2 of the Penn State Nittany Lions takes the field before the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on September 10, 2016 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

No. 19 Michigan Wolverines at No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

What to watch in this game is the Michigan defensive line against the offensive line of Penn State. Because, on paper, the Wolverines have great odds to win that battle, and that will affect the play of Heisman Trophy candidate Saquon Barkley at running back for PSU.

Speaking of Barkley, in three of the past four games his rushing numbers haven’t been what many have expected with 47 yards against Georgia State (10 carries), 56 yards vs. Indiana (20 carries) and 75 yards against Northwestern (16 carries). In the mix of these games is a 211-yard rushing performance on 28 carries against Iowa, so we all know Barkley is very capable of taking over a game. He’ll eventually get back to his average rushing numbers of 6.4 yards per carry in games this season.

Besides Barkley, who is all but a lock to be drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, free safety Marcus Allen and tight end Mike Gesicki for PSU are also ranked in the Top 100 of the CBS Sports Draft Prospects rankings.

For Michigan, the players who they have ranked in the Top 100 of the aforementioned CBS Sports list are: Maurice Hurst (defensive tackle), Mason Cole (center) and Mike McCray (outside linebacker).

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Raiders struggle into Top 5 pick

It is very simple with this game, there is a lot of NFL talent in this game who will be on NFL rosters in 2018 or sometime later, with two head coaches in James Franklin (PSU) and Jim Harbaugh (UM) who are trying to build up their Big Ten programs to the powers they once were, and that makes for a lot of exciting football on a Saturday night.

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