College football Week 10 players to watch: Can LSU’s Sam Leavitt sustain his momentum after back-to-back games without a turnover?

Christmas is just under two months away, but College Football Christmas may come in Week 10.

After the first 2026 CFP rankings on Tuesday, seven Saturday matchups now feature both teams ranked in the current Top 25. It’s clear the committee is going to let this weekend solve some of the ranking scenarios, making the games that much more important and exciting.

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With some marquee matchups and a full slate of other games, here are our Week 10 players to watch.

New Mexico safety Austin Brawley

• New Mexico at Nevada (Friday, 9 p.m. ET, CBSSN/DirecTV)

Brawley has four interceptions this season for the Lobos. That is tied for the sixth-most in the FBS. The safety also has back-to-back games with a pick.

Nevada quarterbacks have thrown 12 interceptions already this season. The Wolf Pack have featured four different QBs under center this year, but with those numbers it doesn’t matter who they trot out. Brawley should have a good chance to come down with another INT this weekend.

LSU QB Sam Leavitt

• No. 5 Alabama at No. 14 LSU (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC, DirecTV)

Leavitt was one of the biggest transfer portal names to watch last offseason, and that only got bigger when he landed at LSU under new head coach Lane Kiffin.

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It looked like a perfect match in LSU’s first game with a blowout win over the Clemson Tigers. The following week, he continued his hot start, throwing for 340 yards and rushing for three touchdowns. Leavitt threw three interceptions in that game against Louisiana Tech, though, and his ball security came into question.

Leavitt had varying performances over his next few games, but one constant: He threw one interception in each game.

The LSU quarterback has improved significantly over his last two games. Leavitt has completed 76% of his passes for 682 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions or fumbles lost in that span.

On Saturday, he will face Alabama’s defense, which forces 1.5 interceptions per game, tied for the fifth-best rate in the FBS.

West Virginia QB Michael Hawkins Jr.

• West Virginia at No. 15 Texas Tech (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/DirecTV)

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Hawkins is listed as a quarterback, but he is having one of the better rushing seasons in the FBS. He has scored on the ground at least once in each game this season and has 16 rushing touchdowns, the second-most in the FBS.

His 836 rushing yards rank 15th in the FBS, and third-most for a quarterback behind Navy’s Jackson Gutierrez and Army’s Cale Hellums. The biggest difference is that Navy and Army both run a triple-option offense that needs a mobile quarterback to succeed. West Virginia doesn’t run that type of offense, making Hawkins’ performance this year so far even more impressive.

North Texas RB Jahiem White

• Rice at North Texas (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU/DirecTV)

White was on our list last week, and he went off for 193 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Florida Atlantic. So, keep watching him.

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The North Texas running back has scored at least one touchdown in every game so far this season. He has also rushed for at least 105 yards in five straight games and at least 174 yards in back-to-back contests.

Army QB Cale Hellums

• Air Force at Army (7:30 p.m. ET, CBS/DirecTV)

The battle of the triple options goes down on Saturday. Hellums’ game is on the ground, and he is one of the best at using his legs. He leads the nation with 17 rushing touchdowns and is just two games removed from dropping 195 yards and five touchdowns on the ground against Florida Atlantic.

This is actually a tougher matchup on paper for Hellums. Air Force’s defense allows 129.1 rushing yards per game, the 50th fewest among 138 FBS teams.

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Missouri LB Nicholas Rodriguez

• No. 7 Texas at No. 18 Missouri (Noon ET, ESPN/DirecTV)

Rodriguez has been all over the place for the Tigers’ defense this season. He has 86 total tackles, the second-most in the FBS. The linebacker averages 10.75 tackles per game and has had at least nine in seven consecutive games.

The Missouri linebacker has also forced a fumble in back-to-back games. Rodriguez will lead the Tigers’ defense against Texas quarterback Arch Manning.

Ohio State QB Luke Fahey

• No. 23 Oregon at No. 12 Ohio State (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS/DirecTV)

The Buckeyes played their first game without starting quarterback Julian Sayin last weekend and lost 30-18 to then-unranked USC.

With no Sayin, Ohio State turned to freshman quarterback Luke Fahey under center. He played fine, completing 21 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown. Fahey didn’t turn the ball over, but the offense lacked the pop it had all season with Sayin.

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Fahey will get another test, as head coach Ryan Day has already named him the starter for this weekend’s home game against No. 23 Oregon.

It will be interesting to see how much leash he has, or whether Day will switch to sophomore QB Tavien St. Clair, whom many expected to be the first option when Sayin went down.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com