Quarterbacks:
Katin Houser, East Carolina – If for whatever reason Houser is still on waivers, don’t be fully deterred from scooping him up after a three-interception performance against Tulsa. The matchup is favorable yet again, facing a North Texas defense that is allowing around 30 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs.
Jayden Maiava, USC – It wasn’t a noticeable difference from the box score between Maiava and Miller Moss, but the sophomore QB just brings a level of play-making ability and excitement that Moss lacks. This is the week to add Maiava and start him against UCLA. It will be a one-week deal because you’re not playing him against a top three secondary in the finale vs. Notre Dame.
Running Backs:
Al-Jay Henderson, Buffalo – Back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances for Henderson who saw a season-high 27 carries in the win over Ball State, leading Buffalo to bowl eligibility in Year 1 of the Pete Lembo era. Should you make it to your CFF Championship, we love the matchup against Kent State to close out the year. Not so much this week against the No. 1 run defense in the MAC in Ohio.
Nate Frazier, Georgia – If Trevor Etienne didn’t play against Tennessee, then we have a difficult time seeing him play this week against UMass. Expect Frazier to get a large chunk of the carries on Saturday.
Telly Johnson Jr., Northern Illinois – We will again be monitoring the status of Antario Brown this week if he potentially suits up, but the NIU run game was just fine with the freshman Telly Johnson once again, racking up over 100 yards on 21 attempts vs. Akron. Similar to Henderson, the CFF Championship week would be a much more favorable matchup for Johnson. Miami (Ohio) does not allow many fantasy points to running backs.
Keyon Mozee, Miami (Ohio) – Six 100-yard rushing performances in the last seven games for Mozee, who finally had his big fantasy output game with 196 yards on the ground with a touchdown.
Rahjai Harris, East Carolina – Four rushing touchdowns in the last three games for Harris who is a beneficiary of an improved ECU passing game that is leading to multiple scoring chances a game in the red-zone. Five running backs have scored at least 18 fantasy points this season against the North Texas defense, so Harris would be a solid lineup filler at RB or Flex.
Robert Henry, UTSA – The Roadrunners have been abysmal running the football this season, but the entire offense was a wagon on Friday against North Texas, as Henry rushed for a season-best 168 yards and two scores on 20 attempts. The Temple defense, who just fired their head coach on Sunday, should provide little resistance.
Justin Marshall, Colorado State – Marshall was likely dropped in redrafts after the first month when Avery Morrow took over the starting job, but the latter suffered an injury against Wyoming this week and did not return. Marshall likely gets 20+ carries next week if Morrow is out, just as Morrow did when Marshall was down with injury. This is a run-heavy Colorado State offense in 2024.
Dylan Carson, Air Force – 59 carries combined in the last two games for Carson who is doing his best Brad Roberts impression. We’re back to the 2022 Air Force offense, and even parts of last year when Emmanuel Michel was dominating the backfield volume share. Two average defensive opponents to close out the year in Nevada and San Diego State.
Kye Robichaux, Boston College – Nearly 300 yards rushing and four touchdowns in the last two games for Robichaux who is getting the bulk of the carries in the BC backfield with a few injuries to Turbo Richard and Treshaun Ward. With Thomas Castellanos no longer around, we should see the RBs getting more carries with the QB position no longer a factor in the run game.
Jadan Baugh, Florida – We’ve said this a few times already on this writeup, but you’re picking up Baugh with the hopes that you make the CFF Championship, because you’re not starting the freshman against a top three run defense in Ole Miss this week. Should you make the ship, Baugh gets a beautiful matchup against a defeated Florida State squad.
Duke Watson, Louisville – Watson filled in for the injured Isaac Brown and rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns in the last-season loss to Stanford. We’ll check in on Brown’s status this week but was seen in a sling on the sidelines in the second half which usually isn’t a good sign.
Aaron Young, Old Dominion – Consecutive 100-yard rushing performances for the former Rutgers transfer who gets a great matchup this week against a Marshall defense that is giving up 33 fantasy points a game to opposing backfields.
Wide Receivers:
Justin Bowick, Ball State – The Eastern Illinois transfer has been outstanding the last two weeks with a combined 320 receiving yards and three touchdowns with double-digit targets against both Buffalo and Miami (Ohio). Not just the rest of this year, but depending on who Ball State hires as its new head coach this offseason, we’ll be monitoring Bowick over the offseason as a possible 2025 contributor.
Winston Wright Jr. and Anthony Smith, East Carolina – Chase Sowell was helped off the field last Thursday with a lingering hamstring injury that has hampered him in two straight games. Should Sowell be unavailable, Wright and Smith are obvious choices to start this week.
Joseph Williams, Tulsa – Entering this season, it was Kamdyn Benjamin and a lot of question marks as to who would round out the starting lineup at receiver. Took nine weeks, but we have one of those answers in stud freshman Joseph Williams who has 270 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the last two games alone.
Dymere Miller, Rutgers – Who’d a thought that Rutgers would have a 100-target receiver in 2024? Miller isn’t there yet, but with the pace he’s at the last three games with a combined 44 targets, he’ll get to the century mark by season’s end.
Justin Lockhart, San Jose State – Not just a one-man show anymore with Nick Nash. Lockhart looks like his 2022 self with three 100-yard receiving performances in the last four games. 35 targets in the last three contests for the senior receiver.