If you play in a head-to-head format, Week 12 is either the last week of your regular season or the first week of the Fantasy Playoffs. You will notice that this week’s edition is rather condensed, as I focus on the more important players heading into the season’s final three weeks.
I will most likely be organizing several Bowl Season Fantasy Leagues, so be on the lookout for an announcement sometime in the next two weeks. I will organize money leagues first, and those leagues will likely be $25/$50/$100 8-team leagues. I will likely announce the details on an upcoming podcast.
Also, we will once again publish a Bowl Season Fantasy Guide, which will include theCFFsite’s Bowl Season Fantasy Rankings, Picks against the Spread, Confidence Pool picks, and more.
Here are my notes and observations from Week 11:
Power 5 Notes
- Washington RB Salvon Ahmed has carried the ball at least 23 times in three of his last four games and has rushed for at least 140 yards in two of the last three.
- Oregon State struggled to run the ball against Washington and RBs Artavis Pierce and Jermar Jefferson split 17 carries (Jefferson-9, Pierce-8). WR Isaiah Hodgins only had 33 receiving yards, which was his lowest single-game output of the season.
- Florida State WR Tamorrion Terry caught 7 passes for 156 yards and a TD in the win over Boston College and became the Noles’ first 100-yard receiver this season.
- Boston College RB AJ Dillon hs rushed for at least 150 yards in six of his last eight games.
- Texas Tech RB Ta’Zhawn Henry carried the ball 22 times for 67 yards and 2 TDs against West Virginia. RB Armand Shyne is already out with an injury and SaRodorick Thompson left the game against the Mountaineers with an injury.
- West Virginia WR Sam James caught 14 passes for 223 yards in Saturday’s loss to Texas Tech, which was 45 more yards than he totaled in his previous five games.
- Minnesota WR Tyler Johnson has topped the 100-yard receiving mark in three of the last four games and has scored in six of the last seven.
- Purdue WR David Bell recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the 2019 season in Saturday’s win at Northwestern. Bell was likely a questionable start by many after totaling only 41 yards in the previous two games.
- Ohio State has been so dominant on offense that QB Justin Fields has not thrown more than 25 passes in a single game this season. His single-game high for passing yards this season is 234, which was in Week 1 against FAU.
- Florida QB Kyle Trask has thrown at least 3 TD passes in three of his last four games.
- TCU RB Sewo Olonilua has now scored in four straight games and in six of his last eight.
- Virginia QB Bryce Perkins has posted back-to-back 30-point fantasy games in standard scoring formats.
- Colorado WR Laviska Shenault has only caught 1 TD pass in his last six games.
- Wake Forest WR Kendall Hinton has played in six straight games without catching a TD pass, but he has at least six receptions and 93 yards in each of his last four games.
- Michigan State RB Elijah Collins finally caught a break in the schedule and carried the ball 28 times for 170 yards and 2 TDs in a shocking loss at home to Illinois.
- After scoring in each of Arizona State’s first six games of the season, RB Eno Benjamin has not scored in three straight games. QB Jayden Daniels was held out of Saturday’s game against USC with knee soreness, but will likely return for the matchup against Oregon State.
- LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has rushed for at least 100 yards and a TD in each of the Tigers’ four SEC games. At this time last season, it seemed as if Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa was on his way to win the Heisman, but Kyler Murray’s late-season surge earned him the award. It certainly feels as if Joe Burrow has a tight grasp on the Heisman after that win at Alabama.
- Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa has thrown at least 4 TD passes in six of eight games this season.
- Texas WR Devin Duvernay has caught at least eight passes seven times this season and has gone over the 100-yard mark in each of the last three games.
- Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor has gone back-to-back games without a TD, but he still rewarded his fantasy owners with a 250-yard rushing game.
- Ole Miss QB John Rhys Plumlee posted his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season in the Rebels’ win over New Mexico State.
- Washington State lost at Cal on Saturday, but QB Anthony Gordon had his seventh 400-yard passing game of the season. WR Brandon Arconado posted his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game and WR Easop Winston had his fourth 100-yard receiving game of 2019. RB Max Borghi had his lowest single-game fantasy output of 2019, totaling only 55 yards of offense against Cal.
- Cal QB Devon Modster’s return from injury certainly helped the Cal offense. Modster threw 3 TD passes and RB Christopher Brown ran for 95 yards and scored 2 TDs. Brown had not rushed for more than 54 yards in a game since Week 2 at Washington.
- Missouri RB Larry Rountree left the game at Georgia with a foot injury.
- After scoring in seven straight games, Georgia RB D’Andre Swift has gone back-to-back games without a touchdown.
- Clemson RB Travis Etienne has scored at least 2 TDs in three consecutive games, QB Trevor Lawrence has thrown 3 TD passes in five straight games, and WRs Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross have both scored in the same game in back-to-back weeks.
- After a 17-13 loss at home to Tennessee, my gut tells me that we see Sawyer Smith next week when Kentucky goes to Vanderbilt. I still expect to see Bowden line up frequently behind center, though.
- Iowa State TE Charlie Kolar has scored in three straight games and in five of the last six. RB Breece Hall has rushed for 100 yards in three of the last four games and has totaled 100 yards of offense in four straight.
- Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts has accounted for at least 3 TDs in all nine games this season and has accounted for at least 4 TDs in eight of nine games.
Group 5 Notes
- Toledo RB Bryant Koback left Tuesday’s game against Kent State with an injury after scoring 2 TDs and teammate Shakif Seymour led the Rockets with 175 yards and 2 TDs on 28 carries. If Koback misses a game or two, Seymour would be a solid waiver addition.
- Western Michigan RB LeVante Bellamy has scored at least three rushing TDs in three consecutive games.
- Miami (OH) RB Jaylon Bester has now scored a TD in five consecutive games.
- Ohio QB Nathan Rourke has rushed for at least 60 yards and a TD in five consecutive games and has rushed for at least 2 TDs in each of the last three games.
- Coastal Carolina RB CJ Marable has not rushed for more than 54 yards in any of the last four games, but I feel the Chanticleers’ schedule lightens up considerably in the next three weeks.
- After catching 2 or more TDs in four of UCF’s first seven games, WR Gabriel Davis hasn’t scored in any of the Knights’ last three games. RB Greg McCrae did not play in Friday’s game at Tulsa, but I expect him to be back for the game against Tulane following a bye week.
- East Carolina QB Holton Ahlers has thrown 10 TD passes in the last two games. WR CJ Johnson was injured early in the game and did not have a catch against SMU. In a postgame interview, head coach Mike Houston described Johnson’s injury as minimal and he’s likely to be back in action within a couple of days. Tyler Snead caught 19 passes for 240 yards and 3 TDs in the Pirates’ 59-51 loss at SMU.
- SMU TE Kylen Granson has caught a TD pass in four straight games and WR James Proche has caught a TD pass in nine straight games. RB Xavier Jones has scored 2 or more TDs in seven of ten games this season. QB Shane Buechele has thrown at least 3 TD passes in four of his last six games.
- Charlotte RB Benny LeMay did not play in his second straight game due to soreness in his Achilles. LeMay’s absence wasn’t surprising with the 49ers on a bye in Week 12.
- Cincinnati RB Michael Warren has scored in back-to-back games for the first time this season and now has four multiple-TD games in 2019.
- Georgia Southern RB Wesley Kennedy has scored in all five games in which he has played this season.
- North Texas WR Jaelon Darden had his worst fantasy week of the 2019 season, catching six passes for only 16 yards.
- Louisiana Tech RB Justin Henderson scored in his sixth straight game and has scored at least 2 TDs in four straight games.
- Georgia State RB Tra Barnett has rushed for over 100 yards and scored at least 1 TD in five straight games. Barnett haas scored at least 2 TDs in three of the last four games. QB Dan Ellington left the game against LA Monroe in the second quarter with a leg injury and did not return. Ellington’s availability for next week’s game at home against Appalachian State is in doubt. Ellington was replaced by freshman Shawn Elliott.
- FAU RB Malcolm Davidson carried the ball 17 times for 144 yards and 3 TDs against FIU. Davidson has now scored in each of his last five games.
- Appalachian State RB Darrynton Evans has played three consecutive games without scoring, but his 23 carries against South Carolina was encouraging going into next week’s game at Georgia State, who gave up 299 rushing yards to LA Monroe on Saturday.
- Fresno State RB Ronnie Rivers has rushed for 100 yards in three consecutive games and has scored at least 2 TDs in four consecutive games.
- Liberty WR Antonio Gandy-Golden topped the 100-yard receiving mark for the seventh time this season and has gone over 130 yards in six of the last eight.
- Boise State could not get much going on the ground against Wyoming. RB George Holani only had 11 carries for 30 yards and his ball security needs work.
- Wyoming RB Xazavian Valladay has rushed for 100 yards in three consecutive games and has carried the ball 101 times during that 3-game stretch.
- San Diego RB Juwan Washington has been one of the bigger fantasy disappointments in 2019. Saturday night against Nevada, he carried the ball 12 times for 18 yards.
- It makes sense that the biggest news from Week 11 happened in the week’s final game. Chevan Cordeiro got the start at quarterback over Cole McDonald and accounted for 5 TDs in a 42-40 win over San Jose State. RB Miles Reed has scored a TD in three consecutive games.
- San Jose State RB DeJon Packer has rushed for 2 TDs in back-to-back games and WR Bailey Gaither has caught a TD pass in six consecutive games.