Good morning New York Giants fans, and welcome to Week 8 of the 2026 college football season.
Last week’s chaos only sharpened the board. Upsets were everywhere, and with the talent pool spread more evenly than usual, there’s a little bit of everything showing up on Saturdays: better games, more volatility, and a few prospects who keep making themselves impossible to ignore. For the Giants, the focus this week lands on safety, defensive tackle, and running back.
The first stop is Auburn-LSU, where the Tigers are expected to come out on top. LSU is still pushing to get back into the College Football Playoff mix, while Auburn is trying to ride the momentum from its upset of Georgia. The matchup should be physical, and LSU’s roster has the stronger NFL talent overall, but the player to watch here is in the secondary.
Ty Benefield has been on the radar before, and he’s worth another look now that he’s settling in as a real playmaker for LSU. At 6-foot-3, 208 pounds, he has the kind of size that stands out for a modern safety, and he brings the kind of versatility that lets him move around the formation.
Benefield transferred in from Boise State, and LSU is using that athletic profile well - he can line up as a STAR or MONEY defender in the box, or stay on the back end as a more traditional safety. Through this point in the season, he has 30 total tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, an interception, and two passes defensed.
He’s viewed as a Day 2 prospect right now, with the chance to push himself into solid second-round territory by draft time.
South Carolina-Tennessee is another game worth circling, even if it’s sneaky rather than headline-grabbing. Tennessee comes in after beating Alabama, and South Carolina has started to find its footing after a rough opening stretch.
The Vols’ pass rush is one of the most dangerous in college football, while South Carolina has its own collection of unusual athletes in Nyck Harbor, LaNoriss Sellers, and Dylan Stewart. Harbor is the name that jumps out most for the Giants’ purposes.
With the receiver depth chart still very much something to monitor, his size and explosive traits make him one of the more fascinating developmental players in the country. He’s still a project, but the upside is loud.
The defensive line matchup, though, is where the most intriguing draft heat sits. Xavier Gilliam has gone from transfer addition to one of the most disruptive interior defenders in the sport.
After moving from Penn State to Tennessee, he has taken off as a full-time SEC player and now has 5.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. At 6-foot-2, 305 pounds, he plays with natural leverage, a fast first step, and a frame that helps him stay low and violent through contact.
He uses a powerful lower body and heavy hands to make life miserable for offensive linemen. Gilliam may not be the classic giant two-gap tackle, but he can wreck a play by blowing up a blocker or getting penetration into the backfield.
He’s moving fast enough up the board that he could end up in the same first-defensive-tackle-drafted conversation as Ole Miss’s Will Echoles.
Kentucky-Vanderbilt may not draw much of the national spotlight, especially with Texas-Ole Miss grabbing attention elsewhere, but it still offers a useful look at a back who fits a clear NFL style. Kentucky, under Will Stein, has gone from an afterthought to a real SEC threat, and one of the players driving that shift is C.J. Baxter.
Baxter’s medical history is the first thing teams will study. He dealt with a rib injury against Rice as a freshman at Texas, then missed all of 2024 after tearing his LCL and PCL in practice.
If the medicals are clean, though, he’s the kind of runner who could absolutely interest the Giants. The current picture in New York suggests there isn’t one running back on the roster that John Harbaugh fully trusts, and the preference appears to be for a bellcow who can anchor the power run game.
Baxter has the build for that job at 6-foot-1, 230 pounds listed, and before the injuries he was drawing Bijan Robinson comparisons because of his mix of burst and strength. He’s back healthy now and producing, with 5.6 yards per carry and 8 touchdowns on just 87 carries.
His game is built on feel and balance: he knows when to lower his pads and run through contact, and when to find a crease and maximize the lane. He runs with patience and vision, has a smooth tempo, and can make tacklers miss just enough with a subtle wiggle.
There’s acceleration there, too, along with solid top-end speed for a back his size. He hasn’t been asked to catch much, but when the ball comes his way, he tracks it well and gets it secured before turning upfield.
In Other News...
Giants Are Betting Big On A QB Trait Winston Couldnt Offer
J.J. McCarthy arrived in New York with the kind of arm talent that can change the feel of an offense before he even takes a snap. After a difficult run with the Vikings, he has landed with the Giants, and the early word from teammates and people around him is that the deep ball is the trait that stands out most. Even after some statistical issues on throws downfield last season, McCarthys physical gifts give New York a different kind of passing threat than it had before.
For a Giants offense that has been looking for ways to stress defenses beyond the short game, that matters. McCarthys arm strength and athletic ability open doors the team simply did not have with Jameis Winston, and the staff is weighing how much of that can be built into the plan. The next question is how far the Giants are willing to go in leaning into those possibilities, especially if they want to make the most of what McCarthy can do outside the pocket. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Backfield Suddenly Feels Like A Problem They Can't Ignore
With the Giants trying to steady themselves before a matchup with the Texans, the problems are piling up in every phase, from penalties to the broader offensive unease that has followed J.J. McCarthy into his first start. John Harbaugh and Matt Nagy have already talked about making adjustments, and the backfield is part of that conversation now, especially with Cam Skattebo set to rejoin the mix after working through the issues that pushed him to take a hard look at his approach.
The timing matters because this is no longer just about cleaning up a depth chart or getting through one game. The Giants are weighing whether the current group is enough to stabilize a sputtering offense, and league chatter is starting to connect their running back situation to bigger possibilities as the Nov. 10 deadline approaches. For a team already searching for answers, the next move at that spot could say a lot about how urgently they see the problem. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Suddenly Have A Tough Tight End Decision To Make
The Giants tight end room got a little thinner on the practice report, with Chris Manhertz missing work because of a calf injury and Theo Johnson still limited as he deals with a neck issue. That left the team looking closely at its remaining options, especially with Thomas Fidone II back on the field as a full participant despite a shoulder designation.
Fidone is still listed fourth on the depth chart, and he has yet to make his mark in the passing game, but the coaching staff appears open to using him in a limited receiving role to get a better read on what he can bring. No changes have been announced to snap counts or play calls, so the situation remains fluid as the Giants sort through a position group that suddenly feels much less settled. [Read more 🡒]