[2024] Week 14 - Matchup of the Week

SageBow · July 22

The Tar Heels walloped NC State this past weekend 59-27 as Chi Chi Colome and Tim Blair showed NFL GMs and scouts what they had in their arsenal. Vote for the winner as we head into the final Matchup of the Week in the 2024 Regular Season!

Week 14 Matchup of the Week

RB Vontae Knebel, SR, STAN vs OLB D.J. Jenkins, SR, CAL

Some might say we saved the best for last. The likely rushing title champion Vontae Knebel, coached by @Ricky Campbell takes on the hard hitting D.J. Jenkins who lead's @Migi's Golden Bears team in TFLs. Lets break it down!

What can't you say about Vontae Knebel? A likely 1st round pick in this upcoming NFL Draft, he's been a workhorse for 4 straight seasons and with a game in hand on Marshall's Tremaine Craig, looks poised to be the nation's leading rusher. Over 2400 rushing yards while still averaging 7.49 YPC, Knebel is one of the most effective offensive weapons the college game has seen. He's no slouch in the receiving game either, with 49 receptions for 297 yards and 4 TDs this season. Cal's D.J. Jenkins is the final NFL level opposition for Knebel, but he's had excellent showings against the other talented linebackers. In the 37-44 ACC loss against Virginia Tech, Knebel had an awe inspiring performance where he had 30 carries for 199 yards and 2 TDs to go with 10 receptions for 66 yards, but the Hokies's LB Quadree Weatherly was up to the task with 13 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and 0.5 Sacks. Lets see if he can do it one more time against one of the best defenders in the nation.

D.J. Jenkins been a force all season for the Golden Bears. Team lead with 11 TFLs. 2nd with 3.0 Sacks. 4th with 37 tackles. In this front 7, he's the guy that makes the engine go for a talented Cal secondary to feast on the opposition. But the season hasn't really gone as planned for the NFL hopeful. He was tested in Week 6 against Pitt's RB Travis Cole, and while Jenkins played well (5 Tackles, 2 TFLs, 1.0 Sacks), Cole's 22 carry, 156 yard, 1 TD performance led the Panthers to a 17-14 win over Cal. Jenkins needs good tape against top tier opposition to raise his stock from a projected Day 3 guy, so he's got the incentive to take the game against a likely All-American this week.

Prediction - Vontae Knebel does Vontae Knebel things and Stanford rolls on the back of another strong offensive performance from him to win their rivalry game.