How canceled College Football games will affect the 2021 NFL Draft

The Power 5 Conferences have canceled their out-of-conference games in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In this article, we’ll explore how three canceled games will affect the 2021 NFL Draft.

“All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the rain.” -Roy Batty in Blade Runner.

In recent weeks, the ACC, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12 and the Big Ten decided to cancel all their out-of-conference games for the 2020 season. With the COVID-19 pandemic still a threat in most of the United States, several NCAA conferences have chosen to proceed with College Football this season in a limited capacity. The MAC even decided to shutter their conference for 2020, leading to concerns the rest of the Power 5 conferences will do the same in the upcoming weeks.

Many of the games already confirmed to be canceled were highly anticipated matchups, pitting some of the best college football teams across the country against each other. And while it remains to be seen whether conditions on the ground will be safe enough to play any college football this autumn, the canceled inter-conference games will affect more than just the bottom lines of national broadcasters, Power 5 athletic departments and the economies that survive because of college football.

Considering the ephemeral nature of college football, many student-athletes will not have another chance to prove themselves to professional scouts and their general managers after 2020. These young men have but a short window to show NFL decision-makers that they have the right stuff to play in the big leagues. Missing even a handful of games in their college careers could have major effects on their professional prospects in the future.

Like the main antagonist in Blade Runner, all those moments are now lost in time, like a losing team’s time-outs being improperly used at the end of the fourth quarter…in the rain? The reader is free to think of any appropriate time-related metaphor here if the one above isn’t to their liking. The point is many college football players will be losing dozens of opportunities to improve their chances of noticed in time for the 2021 NFL Draft

In this article, we’ll explore three inter-conference games that have been canceled and how those lost games will affect the 2021 NFL Draft. We’ll explore which players draft chances will be affected the most by these games not being played and why these games were expected to be such exciting events in 2020. We’ll provide context as to why the game in question being canceled will have such a serious effect on the 2021 NFL Draft and hopefully if the fans are really lucky, become a little more grateful for the games we do get to see this fall.

For the latest news and analysis of the 2021 NFL Draft, keep coming back to NFL Mocks this fall. We’ll continue to provide player analysis, scouting reports and mock drafts all year-long leading up towards next springs draft.

Now whether we’ll actually get a season of college football or not….well that’s another matter entirely.

North Dakota State Bison vs Oregon Ducks

Originally planned for Week One this season, the FCS Champion North Dakota State was supposed to play against the Oregon Ducks, last seasons Pac-12 Champions. While not traditional rivals, this inter-conference game had a lot of hype around it heading into the 2020 season and could have played a potentially large role in how the 2021 NFL Draft shakes out.

On the Bison side, quarterback Trey Lance was supposed to play far-and-away the most difficult competition of his young career in this game. The exceptionally talented passer has turned quite a few heads in the draft community since last season, piqued by an incredible 28 touchdowns thrown in 2019 with zero interceptions in his freshman season.

Combine that with a perfect record AND winning the FCS Championship in 2019, Lance is considered one of the best quarterbacks to potentially declare for the 2021 NFL Draft. While North Dakota State may only be an FCS program, they have consistently punched above their weight against FBS opponents. They’ve won eight FCS Championships since 2011 and were looking to have an even better roster in 2020 than they had last season.

The only thing skeptics can take away from Lance is the fact his opponents have been considered lower quality in the FCS than he would face in the FBS. The Oregon Ducks defense was supposed to be his first FBS opponent and the game would have likely played a large part in NFL decision-makers considering him in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Bison have a 6-0 record against FBS teams since 2010, meaning there was a very good chance this game would have been competitive.

On the Oregon side, the Ducks are entering a new era in football after their starting quarterback since 2016 left for the NFL this spring. Their roster is littered with some of the most talented players in the Pac-12, many of whom are likely to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Oregon safety Jevon Holland is expected to declare for the draft after 2020 and is considered one of the best safeties in the 2021 NFL Draft. Holland has over 100 tackles and nine interceptions since 2018 and looks to be one of the strongest elements of Oregon’s secondary this season.

While he should have plenty of opportunities to show off in 2020 without facing North Dakota State, the game would have been a prime opportunity for him to shine in the season opener. The Bison may have the most talented roster in the FCS, but their offense has never had to play against a defense like Oregon’s before. The game against the Ducks could have been a big boon for Holland from a statistical production standpoint.

After several FCS conferences moved to cancel the upcoming season this past week, there is a very strong possibility that North Dakota State’s conference will cancel their season as well. Speculation has run rampant about whether Lance would choose to jump into the 2021 NFL Draft with only one season under his belt. Or whether he would be better off transferring to a Power 5 conference.

At the same time, Holland has been named by media sources as being part of the Pac-12 United group. The #WeAreUnited movement has risen up in the past few weeks, starting in the Pac-12 and inspiring players in other conferences to get organized. Focusing on player safety, racial injustice and securing scholarships for players who opt out this season, the group has started a national conversation about the ethics of the college sports system and the so-called “amateur” designation that blocks them from being compensated for their incredibly dangerous labor by the NCAA.

These players have put their professional careers on the line, in order to secure some semblance of protection during this pandemic for themselves and their fellow student-athletes, while also addressing systemic racism and how it affects their time in college. By threatening to opt-out and not play if these problems are not addressed, Holland is risking his scholarship and potential future-earnings in the NFL. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and what effects this movement will have in the 2021 NFL Draft and future years to come.

Texas Longhorns versus LSU Tigers

The game was actually slated to be a rematch from 2019, as LSU narrowly beat out the Texas Longhorns early in the season last year, 45-38. This game would have had massive implications for the 2021 NFL Draft and the FBS as a whole, as both teams would have had a lot riding on this game.

Originally slated for September 12th, 2020, the Longhorns starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger would have had a big incentive to play well, as 2020 will be his final season as a Longhorn before trying out his talents in the NFL. Ehlinger has played in 36-games since joining the Longhorns in 2017 and has shown improvement over that time period. This includes last season, where Ehlinger had his best statistical season, despite the team finishing the season 8-5.

Against LSU in 2019, Ehlinger kept the game close but was edged out by an LSU team lead by the 2020 NFL Draft first-overall pick, Joe Burrow. That game was just one of three Longhorn games decided by a touchdown or less last season and launched both teams starting quarterbacks in very different directions. For LSU, it was the second game in its historic 2019 season that culminated in a National Championship. For Texas, it was the first defeat of the season and a harbinger of things to come in a season that started off with so much anticipation.

This upcoming season represents one of the last chances Ehlinger has to improve his college resume before the 2021 NFL Draft. There will be a lot of hand-wringing in Texas this season over where Ehlinger fits in the quarterback hierarchy of next year’s draft class. While Ehlinger is certainly one of a handful of talented quarterback possibly entering the NFL next season, it is questionable whether he is a first-round caliber signal-caller. Ehlinger can make some incredible plays happen. But whether he is a starting quarterback in the NFL is another matter.

Defeating LSU this season in a re-match would have been a top story in the college football world and would have been a solid place from which to build upon going forward.

At the same time, LSU is looking to cement itself as a permanent presence in the SEC power rankings and prove that the 2019 championship season was no fluke. While many valuable and talented LSU players were drafted this past spring, there are several starting players from the championship team looking to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft and will need a strong showing this season to prove they can succeed at the next level.

LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will be a junior this season and will be looking to improve upon his 2019 season in time for next year’s draft. Last season might be a tough act to outperform, as Chase had 20 touchdowns and 1,780 yards receiving in 2019. He was the highest-scoring receiver on an already high-scoring offense in 2019 and is considered, by most draft analysts, to be the best receiver in the 2021 NFL Draft. Assuming he declares, of course.

Now consider the fact that the Longhorns will be returning eight starters from 2019 defense, including a stacked secondary that combined for 41 pass deflections and 12 interceptions last season. This game had the potential to be a high-scoring affair, with both sides desperately trying to eke out a win. It can be assumed that Chase would have had plenty of opportunities during the game to prove he doesn’t need Burrow to succeed.

While Chase will still get a chance to show off his talents prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, there is no denying that the Longhorn secondary would have been one of his toughest opponents all season. Solid production against a veteran crew like that would have cemented his place as the best wide receiver available in next year’s draft class. Instead, he’ll have only SEC secondaries to scorch this season.

Alabama Crimson Tide versus USC Trojans

Where to even start with this game? While not a traditional rivalry like some inter-conference duos, this game already had a ton of hype heading into the 2020 season and was expected to be one of the most-watched games all season. The fact this matchup was originally scheduled to be played in “JerryWorld” (AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas) shows that both teams expected this to be one of the premier games of the 2020 regular season.

Both the Crimson Tide and USC have a national profile and are two of the most popular teams in all of college football. As such, both teams losing a nationally-televised game like this will affect both the team’s bottom line and its player’s chances of being noticed early in the 2021 NFL Draft cycle.

On the Alabama side, this lost game will affect, well….a lot of players. Six of their players are on the latest PFF mock draft for next year and the team is looking to remind the College Football world why they are considered the greatest program in the country.

This game would have had a particular impact on Alabama freshman quarterback Bryce Young. The five-star quarterback recruit is considered the front-runner to be the starter on opening day. He threw 58 touchdowns last season in high school and is considered one of the best quarterbacks to have entered the FBS this offseason.

Where Young is originally from is of particular interest to many in the college football world. Originally from Santa Ana, California, Young grew up less than an hour away from where the USC Trojans play. Young choosing to play in Tuscaloosa, Alabama instead of at home has been a topic of conversation over the summer, as it is part of a wider trend of Pac-12 teams failing to successfully recruit in-state players to their programs.

The allure of national recognition, which in turn brings more exposure to NFL scouts, is strong in the SEC, especially with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Losing this nationally-broadcasted game will affect many of the athletes on both teams who are gunning to be signed in the early rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft.