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Power 5 Notes

On Thursday’s show, Penn State RB Miles Sanders was one of the running backs I referenced that was a due a breakout game. His owners finally got one with his 200-yard performance at Illinois.
Illinois RB Reggie Corbin has now scored a touchdown in three of four games this year.
Washington State WR Easop Winston has caught at least six passes in back-to-back games and scored in three of four games this year. One week after his 13-catch game, Tay Martin only caught three passes at USC. RB James Williams has scored at least one touchdown in every game this year. Freshman RB Max Borghi has scored four touchdowns in four games.
RB Stephen Carr had 56 rushing yards on USC’s first series of the game, but only finished with 77 yards on eight carries. Vavae Malepeai led the team with 78 yards and two rushing touchdowns in Friday’s win over Washington State.
One of my preseason sleepers was Maryland RB Anthony McFarland, and he has run for at least 100 yards in back-to-back games.
Mohamed Ibrahim carried the ball 26 times for 95 yards in Minnesota’s 42-13 loss at Maryland. It was surprising that Bryce Williams only got eight rushing attempts after carrying the ball 33 times for 141 yards last week. Still, the Minnesota running backs are having a tough time finding the end zone.
Notre Dame Ian Book will obviously be a hot waiver wire name this week after his five-touchdown game at Wake Forest. Remember, RB Dexter Williams should be back next week.
Rutgers have lost three consecutive games by at least four touchdowns and it is probably time to get off of RB Raheem Blackshear, who ran for 69 yards and a touchdown in a 42-13 loss.
After four games, Georgia RBs D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield have combined for 319 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, well below my preseason projections.
It’s probably time to abandon ship on Nebraska running backs.
Boston College RB AJ Dillon with a disappointing 19-carry, 59-yard game, but I can live with it because I know what’s to come.
Purdue QB David Blough with his second consecutive 3-TD game. WR Rondale Moore looks legit as long as Blough is steady. Moore with at least eight receptions and 100 yards in three of four games this year.
Pitt RB Qadree Ollison only had 12 carries against UNC, his fewest amount in three weeks, but still ran for 72 yards and a TD.
I would add UNC RB Antonio Williams to your watchlist, as he seems to be the team’s top back.
It seems as if the Louisville QB battle has come full circle……in one week. Malik Cunningham started and was eventually replaced by Jason Pass. It’s time to move on from Louisville’s offense for now.
Another solid start for UVA QB Bryce Perkins, but it was a quiet day for RB Jordan Ellis and WR Olamide Zaccheaus.
Duke QB Quentin Harris has filled in nicely for injured starter Daniel Jones, accounting for seven touchdowns in the past two games. There is an outside chance that Jones could return for the Blue Devils’ Oct 13th road game at Georgia Tech, if he continues to progress ahead of schedule.
Florida State RB Cam Akers carried the ball a season-high 22 times for 64 yards and a TD against Northern Illinois. Akers still does not have a 100-yard rushing game this season and has only scored one touchdown.
At this point, Clemson WR Tee Higgins may not be worth keeping in Full FBS leagues. He hasn’t caught more than three passes in a game this season.
After leading Miami in rushing last week with 110 yards on 17 carries, RB DeeJay Dallas had fewer carries this week than both Travis Homer and Lorenzo Lingard. Homer led the team in rushing with 114 yards and a TD.
Kansas State WR Isaiah Zuber has caught 17 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the past two weeks.
Ohio State WR Parris Campbell has at least one TD reception in every game this season and has topped the 60-yard receiving mark in each of the past three games.
Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond looks as if he will be a must-start every week in 2-QB leagues.
Not only did Virginia Tech lose to Old Dominion, but they have likely lost their quarterback for an extended period of time. Josh Jackson was carted off the field and returned to the sidelines on crutches with his foot in a boot.
Arizona RB JJ Taylor with one of the top fantasy performances of the week, running for 284 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-14 win over Oregon State. I wonder how many fantasy owners in Full FBS leagues are still holding on to QB Khalil Tate. Don’t be surprised if you see his name in the waiver pool over the next week or two. WRs Shun Brown and Shawn Poindexter have caught a TD pass in back-to-back games.
South Carolina RB Rico Dowdle has topped the 100-yard mark in two of three games, and the game in which he failed to reach that mark was against Georgia.
It will be interesting to see how much patience the TCU coaching staff will have with QB Shawn Robinson if he cannot take care of the football. I know that he had at least three turnovers against Texas. Michael Collins did play, but was only 3-of-9 passing.
Texas WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey has at least 70 yards receiving in every game this year and has scored in three consecutive games. RB Tre Watson has carried the ball at least 15 times in three consecutive games.
I would say that BYU RB Squally Canada was a bit of a disappointment this week, as he only totaled 57 rushing yards against McNese St.
Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown did not have one catch in Oklahoma’s OT win over Army. I don’t think the Sooners even had 50 offensive snaps in the game. Trey Sermon was the only back to carry the ball, rushing 18 times for 119 yards.
Oklahoma State’s leading receiver was once again Tylan Wallace and Antoine Wesley was Texas Tech’s top receiver for the second consecutive week. The Red Raiders win at Oklahoma State was impressive. Alan Bowman is locked in as Tech’s starting quarterback, but Taylor Cornelius may have opened the door for competition, after completing only 18-of-38 passes on Saturday.
I was definitely surprised that Mississippi State couldn’t score more than 7 points at Kentucky. Kylin Hill looked like one of the best backs in college football over the first two weeks, but has only totaled 62 yards of offense the past two weeks. Inconsistency may plague the MSU offense this season, especially with their run of SEC games coming up (vs. Fla., vs. Aub, @ LSU).
Florida receiver Freddie Swain has caught a TD pass in three straight games. RBs Dameon Pierce and Jordan Scarlett have scored a rushing TD in back-to-back games.
Tim Jordan’s run as Tennessee’s top back seems too have been short-lived.
It makes perfect sense that I recognized NC State was having problems running the ball and cautioned fantasy owners about starting RB Reggie Gallaspy, and then he runs for 81 yards and two touchdowns against Marshall. After catching 14 passes for 161 yards in the season opener, WR Jakobi Meyers saw his first action since getting injured. He only caught two passes for 29 yards against Marshall and I have concerns about whether or not he’s completely healthy. Kelvin Harmon has caught at least six passes for 129 yards in consecutive games, but has yet to catch a TD pass.
Michigan State Cody White has now topped the 70-yard mark in all three of Michigan State’s games.
Auburn RB JaTarvious Whitlow cemented his spot as the top fantasy option among the team’s running backs with 49 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Stanford WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside has 17 receptions on the year and seven touchdowns. He has caught at least two TD passes in three of four games this year. TE Cody Parkinson has caught a TD pass in three of four games this year. TE Kaden Smith has caught at least four passes for 68 yards in each of the last three games.
Oregon RB CJ Verdell seems to be the Ducks No. 1 RB option. WR Dillon Mitchell caught 14 passes for 239 yards against Stanford. Mitchell had not caught more than three passes in a game up until Saturday night.
Jonathan Taylor is seeking his fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing game next week against Nebraska, which would be a career best. Last year, his best was four consecutive 100-yard games.
Washington RB Myles Gaskin scored at least one touchdown in twelve of thirteen games last year. He has already been held out of the end zone in two of the Huskies’ first four games of 2018.
After running for 104 yards and a TD at Washington, Arizona State RB Eno Benjamin is in for a big game this week against Oregon State.

Group 5 Notes

Temple RB Ryquell Armstead has carried the ball at least 24 times for 100 yards in back-to-back games and scored his first touchdown of 2018. He has 78 rush attempts after four games and is on pace to break his career high of 149 carries back in 2016.
Tulsa RB Shamari Brooks has carried the ball at least 20 times in all four games this season, but has not scored in the past two weeks. Teammate Corey Taylor had a season-high 23 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns in Thursday’s 31-17 loss at Temple.
I may have been a bit premature in my praise of the FAU passing game. QB Chris Robison made quite a few bad decisions against UCF, and seems to just throw the ball up for grabs when under pressure.
Other than QB McKenzie Milton, UCF’s most consistent fantasy players will likely be WRs Dredrick Snelson and Gabriel Davis, who are must-starts every week.
Buffalo WR Anthony Johnson only had two receptions in the team’s win at Rutgers, but he did find the end zone and top the 100-yard mark.
Akron WR Andre Williams has caught a TD pass in all three of the Zips’ games this year.
Nevada RB Toa Taua needs to be added to your watchlist after consecutive weeks with at least 80 yards rushing and a TD. In Nevada’s 63-44 loss at Toledo, Taua ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns.
Toledo QB Mitchell Guadagni passed for 211 yards and four touchdowns, and added 131 yards and two scores on the ground. Shakif Seymour’s fantasy owners should now be concerned. In a game in which Toledo scored 63 points, Seymour only had 57 yards on 12 carries.
Navy QB Malcolm Perry was sidelined for some time in the team’s 31-30 loss at SMU. He was certainly one of the Week 4 disappointments, rushing for only 33 yards on 14 carries.
Will Brown started at quarterback for SMU, but it was Ben Hicks that led the offense in overtime. I don’t know if that was a coaching decision or if Brown was dinged up. Not sure.
Cincinnati RB Michael Warren with another solid outing, running for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-30 win over Ohio. TE Josia Deguara has at least 9 fantasy points in three consecutive games in PPR formats.
Bowling Green RB Andrew Clair has failed to reach the 100-yard mark in three consecutive games and has only scored one rushing touchdown.
It may be time to move on from Central Michigan RB Jonathan Ward, who finished with 17 rushing yards on 15 carries against Maine.
After getting injured last week, Colorado State WR Preston Williams still played against Illinois State, but I don’t think he played the entire game. He only caught three passes for 14 yards. Add RB Marvin Kinsey to your watchlist. I did mention him on Thursday’s show, too. Kinsey totaled 114 yards of offense and scored a TD in the Rams’ 35-19 loss to Illinois State.
Northern Illinois WR D.J. Brown has caught a TD pass in consecutive games and has caught at least four passes in every game.
Appalachian State RB Jalin Moore was given the rest of the day off after running for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter against Gardner Webb.
I was expecting A LOT more from Charlotte RB Benny LeMay against UMass, but the 49ers fell behind 28-0 in the first quarter, which certainly affected his expected number of carries.
Old Dominion WR Jonathan Duhart has 120 receiving yards and at least one TD reception in three straight games. He’s a must-add if available in your league. There is a chance RB Jeremy Cox could be floating around on the waiver wire too after his slow start. In the Monarchs’ upset of Virginia Tech, Cox carried the ball 20 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns. This was the first time in four games that Cox finished with at least 50 rushing yards.
Liberty WR Antonio Gandy-Golden has been quiet since his 3-TD game in Week 1, but I still like him, especially with the next two matchups ahead, New Mexico and New Mexico State.
After a strong start to the year, North Texas WR Jalen Guyton has been quiet the past two weeks, catching six passes for 76 yards. RB Loren Easly seems to be the No. 1 back now.
UNLV QB Armani Rogers has rushed for at least 100 yards and a touchdown in three consecutive games.
Coastal Carolina RB Marcus Outlow has rushed for five touchdowns in the past three weeks.
Louisiana Tech WR Adrain Hardy has caught at least six passes for 100 yards in consecutive games and seems to be the Bulldogs’ best fantasy receiver.
It seems that I may have underestimated the Southern Miss run defense. Rice did find the end zone on the ground against them, but Emmanuel Esukpa was held to 37 yards on 18 carries. Rice WR Austin Trammell has caught at least five passes for 60 yards in three consecutive games.
Southern Miss WR Quez Watkins has caught at least five passes for 80 yards in each of the Golden Eagles’ first three games of 2018.
If Marshall QB Alex Thomson was healthy, wouldn’t we have seen him in the game against NC State? Isaiah Green went 22-of-43 with a TD and 2 INTs.
If you haven’t dropped New Mexico State RB Jason Huntley, it’s probably time. He only totaled 34 yards of offense against UTEP.
Houston WR Keith Corbin has caught a TD pass in three straight games and Courtney Lark hasn’t caught a TD pass since Week 1.
Memphis WR Damonte Coxie has caught a TD pass in three of the last four games and has gone over 100 yards in the last two games. RB Darrell Henderson has three consecutive 180-yard, 2-TD games.
South Alabama WR Kawaan Baker now has now scored seven touchdowns on 33 offensive touches (12 rec., 21 rush att.).
South Florida RB Jordan Cronkrite has run for at least 129 yards and a TD in the last two weeks. WR Darnell Salomon has caught a TD pass in three consecutive games.
Utah State RB Gerold Bright has topped the 100-yard rushing mark in two of the past three games and has scored a TD in three consecutive games. RB Darwin Thompson has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season and is averaging 9.61 yards per touch.
San Diego State RB Juwan Washington played against Eastern Michigan even though he missed most of the week nursing a toe injury. However, he didn’t play in the second half, as he was on the sideline with his arm in a sling. Hopefully, his injury isn’t too serious, and the bye week probably comes at the perfect time. To be safe, Washington’s owners should grab Chase Jasmin off the waiver wire, if they didn’t do that last week.
Add Eastern Michigan QB Mike Glass to your watchlist. Glass has accounted for five touchdowns in the past two weeks.