Week 7 Notes & Observations

Junior Elijah Brown started at quarterback for Washington on Friday night and passed for 302 yards and 3 TDs in the Huskies’ 38-26 win at Purdue. Brown did throw 3 INTs, so I am wondering whether or not he gets the start in two weeks at Nebraska or if Demond Williams gets the start if healthy.

Since Kansas RB Yasin Willis’ season-ending injury, Dylan Edwards’ utilization has increased and he has scored a TD in three consecutive games.

West Virginia WR DJ Epps has posted three 100-yard receiving games this year and has caught a TD pass in three of the Mountaineers’ last six games.

West Virginia QB Michael Hawkins Jr. has scored a rushing TD in all seven games this season and has scored at least 2 rushing TDs five times.

Cincinnati RB Cole Tabb totaled 169 scrimmage yards and 3 TDs in Saturday’s 45-42 loss at West Virginia. Teammate Gi’Bran Payne left the game with an injury, which resulted in Tabb getting a season-high 15 rush attempts. The junior back has now scored 10 TDs (8 rushing) in six games.

Clemson RB Gideon Davidson has scored a rushing TD in four straight games and is the only player on the Tigers’ roster who should be on a fantasy roster.

Northwestern QB Aidan Chiles has scored a rushing TD in each of the Wildcats’ first six games.

LSU RB Dilin Jones did not score a TD in the Tigers’ last two games, but he did run for 140 yards and caught 15 passes for 142 yards.

This was a week that I thought fantasy owners could take advantage of Texas’ matchup against Florida and start QB Arch Manning. Wrong! Manning should not be a starting quarterback at a major P4 program. I’ll have more to say on this week’s show.

Early reports suggest Ohio State QB Julian Sayin will be out for a few weeks with an arm/shoulder injury. Backup Luke Fahey looked in over his head, but he will have two weeks to prepare for the Buckeyes’ Week 9 game at USC.

Rutgers RB Antwan Raymond ran for only 29 yards on 16 attempts against Maryland, while teammate Clay Thevenin ran for 109 yards and a TD on 17 rush attempts. Raymond is nursing an injury, and his ineffectiveness on Saturday, coupled with Thevenin’s production, has me questioning whether or not fantasy owners should start him next week at Northwestern.

Michigan QB Bryce Underwood was benched for true freshman Tommy Carr in the Wolverines’ 21-18 win over Penn State. Not that Carr is a player to target on waivers, but applaud Kyle Whittingham for making the switch.

Duke RB Nate Sheppard has now scored at least one TD in all six games this year. Sheppard is also the Blue Devils’ top receiver, and in the last two games he has hauled in 18 passes for 189 yards and a TD.

Arizona State QB Cutter Boley was benched in the second half of Saturday’s game at Texas Tech and was replaced by Mikey Keene, who finished 25-of-34 for 256 yards and 2 TDs. Given the Sun Devils’ 3-3 record, I would not be surprised to see Keene get a start next week against Kansas State. WR Reed Harris caught a TD pass against Texas Tech and he has now scored in five of six games this year. RB Cardae Mack did have a receiving TD, but finished with only 27 rushing yards. I do think we need to see more fantasy production from Mack before we consider starting him, as last week’s breakout performance (13-154-2) was against Hawaii.

Ole Miss RB Kewan Lacy carried the ball 16 times for 122 yards in the Rebels’ 31-3 win over Missouri, but I cannot help wondering how much better his numbers would be if he weren’t battling a nagging injury.

Tennessee RB DeSean Bishop is averaging 172.3 rushing yards per game over the Volunteers’ last three games and has totaled 6 TDs during that span.

TCU WR Jordan Dwyer has now posted two 100-yard receiving games in three appearances this year. If Dwyer’s snap-count limit is increasing, we definitely need to be looking to start him next week against West Virginia.

Baylor WR Gavin Freeman has caught at least 7 passes in five of six games this year.

Arkansas WR Chris Marshall left Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt with an injury and finished with one catch for 28 yards.

Florida State RB Ousmane Kromah left Saturday’s game against Miami with a lower-leg injury and was carted off the field. If you are desperate for a running back option, Quintrevion Wisner likely moves into the Noles’ RB1 spot. In Saturday’s loss to Miami, Wisner ran for 63 yards and caught 4 passes for 56 yards and a TD. QB Ashton Daniels has accounted for at least 4 TDs in four consecutive games against FBS opponents.

Miami RB Mark Fletcher got banged up in Saturday’s matchup against Florida State, but early reports suggest it is not a serious injury. Freshman Javian Mallory shouldered the Hurricanes’ run game in the second half and ran for a game-high 108 yards and scored 2 rushing TDs. QB Darian Mensah has thrown at least 3 TD passes in five of six games this year.

Louisville RB Keyjuan Brown made his return and finished with 50 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Those fantasy owners who started Isaac Brown were fortunate to get 46 receiving yards and a receiving TD from him because he finished with only 11 rushing yards on nine attempts.

In Syracuse’s last three games, WR Umari Hatcher has caught 33 passes for 502 yards and 5 TDs.

Houston WR Amare Thomas reappeared on the fantasy radar after catching 7 passes for 126 yards and 2 TDs in the Cougars’ 35-32 win over Oklahoma State. QB Conner Weigman has accounted for at least 3 TDs in six straight games and has accounted for 4 or more TDs in five of his last six games.

Oklahoma State WR Wyatt Young has caught a TD pass in five straight games and QB Drew Mestemaker has passed for 300 yards in five consecutive games.

I was so impressed with BYU QB Bear Bachmeier against Notre Dame. That’s it. I’ll have more to say on this week’s show.

I was ready to write off Notre Dame RB Aneyas Williams a few weeks ago, and then he ran for 80 yards and a TD in a win over Purdue, but I do think James and Walton are the 1-2 punch in the Irish backfield and Williams is a distant third now.

Wake Forest WR Carlos Hernandez barely saw action Saturday night and did not catch a pass in the Demon Deacons’ 41-7 win at Cal. Wake has a bye in Week 8 before hosting Virginia in Week 9.

After a slow start to the year, Jacksonville State WR Deondre Johnson has caught a TD pass in three of his last four games.

Missouri State WR Isaiah Myers has caught a TD pass in four of his last five games and has posted at least 135 receiving yards three times during that stretch.

Georgia Southern QB Turner Helton started at quarterback against Old Dominion and passed for 205 yards and a TD in the Eagles’ 23-15 win.

Old Dominion QB Quinn Henicle left Thursday’s game against Georgia Southern with an injury and was replaced by Ryan Huff.

East Carolina has posted three straight 100-yard rushing games and has totaled at least 99 yards on the ground in four straight.

Texas State RB Torrance Burgess Jr. shredded the Colorado State defense on the ground Thursday night, rushing for 224 yards and 4 TDs in the Bobcats’ 66-27 win. Since the second game of the season, Burgess is averaging 160.8 rushing yards per game.

Georgia State WR Rodshaun Dorsey has caught a TD pass in four straight games.

James Madison RB George Pettaway has posted four straight 100-yard rushing games.

Army QB Cale Hellums ran for 195 yards and 5 TDs in Saturday’s win over FAU, and in the last two games he has totaled 418 rushing yards and 7 rushing TDs.

Ball State RB TJ Horton has scored a rushing TD in five of the Cardinals’ last six games.

Buffalo RB Messiah Burch carried the ball 28 times for 172 yards in the Bulls’ 24-18 win over UMass, Burch’s fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game.

Temple QB Ajani Sheppard was a sleeper name on the Week 7 AI-ntelligence Report and he rewarded those who took a chance on him. Sheppard passed for 236 yards and a TD and ran for 70 yards and 2 TDs in the Owls’ 38-31 loss to Charlotte.

Northern Illinois RB Telly Johnson Jr. has scored a rushing TD in four of the Huskies’ last five games.

I was not ready to go all in on Air Force QB Evan Medders after his Week 6 performance against Northern Illinois, but after rushing for 152 yards and 3 TDs in the Falcons’ 41-31 win over UNLV, I’m onboard.

Tulsa WR Oran Singleton Jr. has caught at least 5 passes and totaled at least 80 receiving yards in three straight games.

Washington State made a change at quarterback and freshman Owen Eshelman posted some big numbers in the Cougars’ 48-30 loss at Oregon State. Eshelman completed 32-of-49 passes for 289 yards and 2 TDs, and he ran for 136 yards and a TD. Keep in mind that Washington State plays Boise State in Week 8.

Oregon State QB Braden Atkinson has now thrown at least 3 TD passes in five straight games and WR Jesse Legree has caught at least 2 TD passes in four straight games.

I dropped North Dakota State RB Myles Mitchell out of my weekly rankings and put DJ Scott inside my Top 30 after there were reports Scott was likely to play. That report probably saved a lot of Mitchell heartbreak because Scott did not play and Mitchell finished with 49 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Navy QB Jackson Gutierrez has totaled 62 rush attempts for 361 yards and 5 TDs on the ground in the last two weeks, and he has added 215 yards and 3 TDs passing.

I predicted on the weekly show that San Jose State RB Jabari Bates would have a high probability of scoring two rushing TDs in Week 7 against UTEP. Well, he was ruled out of the matchup and backup Viliami Teu ran for 156 yards and 2 TDs in the Spartans’ 24-11 win. Freshman WR Carson Clark continues to impress, as he caught five passes for 104 yards and a TD. Clark has now caught a TD pass in four of the last five games. QB Luke Weaver was listed as questionable going into the game against UTEP and did not play.

New Mexico RB Scottre Humphrey has scored 8 TDs in six games and has at least one TD in five of six games.

Top 50 Target Volume Leaders

2026 season-to-date • Ranked by targets

Top 50 Rushing Volume Leaders

2026 season-to-date • Ranked by rushing attempts