WEEK 9 NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

 

G5 Notes

• Georgia Southern:  RB JD King has carried the ball at least 15 times and scored a touchdown in five of six games this year.

• Colorado State: TE Trey McBride was the team’s top receiver Thursday night at Fresno State, catching eight passes for 130 yards and a TD.  Todd Centeio started at quarterback, but I am expecting Patrick O’Brien to get the start next week when the Rams play Wyoming. 

• Fresno State:  RB Ronnie Rivers has gotten off to a fast start, scoring four touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ first two games.  WR Keric Wheatfall has topped the 70-yard receiving mark in each of the team’s first two games.

• East Carolina:  RB Rahjai Harris has now rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games.  WR Tyler Snead caught 16 passes for 108 yards and a TD against Tulsa.  It was the second time this season Snead has caught at least 11 passes in a game.  QB Holton Ahlers has thrown 3 TD passes in three of four games this year.

• Tulsa:  RB TK Wilkerson made his return after missing a game and led Tulsa in rushing against ECU, carrying the ball 18 times for 89 yards and 2 TDs.  Wilkerson has led the team in rushing in each of the last two games in which he has played.

• Hawaii:  After seeing Nevada score 37 points against Wyoming in Week 8, I was surprised that Hawaii could not score more than seven points against the Cowboys.  QB Chevan Codeiro only completed 11-of-26 passes for 110 yards and WR Rico Bussey was targeted five times and did not catch a ball.

• Wyoming:  RB Xazavian Valladay has carried the ball 54 times in the Cowboys’ first two games.

• Memphis:  WR Calvin Austin topped the 100-yard mark for the third consecutive game, but he failed to catch a TD pass for the first time this season.  WR Tahj Washington topped the 100-yard mark for the second time in the last three games and has scored in three of the last four games.

• Cincinnati:  QB Desmond Ridder has totaled 9 TDs (5 pass, 4 rush) in the last two games.

• Georgia State:  If you started QB Cornelious Brown or RB Destin Coates this week, what a disappointment.  The Panthers became the first team to be shutout by Coastal Carolina since the Chanticleers joined the FBS in 2017. 

• Coastal Carolina:  RB CJ Marable has scored a TD in five consecutive games and has scored 2 or more TDs in four of the last five games.  WR Jaaivon Heiligh has caught a TD pass in five of six games this year.

• UTSA: RB Sincere McCormick carried the ball 16 times for 54 yards and caught two passes for 17 yards in the Roadrunners’ 24-3 loss at FAU.  It was only the second time this season that McCormick totaled less than 100 yards.

• Florida Atlantic: Don’t ignore the Owls’ DST.  They have only allowed 40 points in three games.

• Temple: Saturday’s game showed that WRs Jadan Blue and Branden Mack have a lot less fantasy value without starting QB Anthony Russo. 

• Tulane:  RB Stephon Huderson only carried the ball 3 times for 35 yards in the Green Wave’s 38-3 win against Temple.  After an early fumble, Huderson did not get another rushing attempt until the 4th quarter.

• Central Florida:  In Saturday’s 44-21 win at Houston, Dillon Gabriel threw for 328 yards, his lowest total of the season.  He ‘only’ attempted 33 passes on Saturday, the first time he attempted fewer than 40 passes in a game in 2020.  RB Greg McCrae has scored a TD in five of six games and has topped the 100-yard rushing mark in each of the last two games. 

• Houston:  WR Marquez Stevenson suffered a lower leg injury in Saturday’s game against UCF.  It was reported that he had x-rays taken, but the results weren’t given.  I assume we will get an update early this week.  RB Kyle Porter has scored a TD in three of four games this year.

• Rice:  QB Mike Collins has started the 2020 season with back-to-back 4-TD passing games.  WR Austin Trammell has caught 5 TD passes in the Owls’ first two games. 

• Southern Miss:  WR Tim Jones made his return from a hamstring injury, but he only caught 3 passes for 33 yards.

• Troy:  WR Keylon Geiger has reached the 100-yard receiving mark in three of the last four games.

• UAB:  Freshman RB Dewayne McBride has rushed for at last 130 yards in two of the Blazers’ last three games and is averaging 10.2 yards per carry.  RB Spencer Brown topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the fifth time this season.  He has scored in six of seven games and has three multiple-TD games.

• Louisiana Tech:  WR Adrian Hardy has posted two 100-yard receiving games in the last three weeks. 

• Appalachian State:  RB Marcus Williams ran for 103 yards, had 60 yards receiving, and scored 2 TDs in the Mountaineers’ 31-13 win at UL Monroe.  Having three healthy backs once again muddles the RB situation.  Williams had 13 carries, Harrington 11, and Peoples 9. 

• UL Monroe:  RB Josh Johnson suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday’s game against Appalachian State.  Johnson was replaced by sophomore Isaiah Phillips, who ran for 41 yards on 11 carries.

• Boise State:  Jack Sears started at quarterback for the Broncos against Air Force and he completed 17-of-20 passes for 280 yards and 3 TDs in Saturday’s 49-30 win.  I haven’t seen any official announcement on the status of Hank Bachmeier, but we have to assume Sears is likely to get the start against BYU.  RB George Holani’s availability for next week’s game against BYU is also in question after he suffered a leg injury Saturday night.  Andrew Van Buren would take over as the starter if Holani is unable to play.  Against Air Force, Van Buren carried the ball 12 times for 70 yards and 2 TDs.

• San Jose State:  WR Bailey Gaither now has 18 catches for 318 yards and a TD through two games.  In Saturday’s 38-21 win over New Mexico, QB Nick Starkel completed 34-of-47 passes for 467 yards and 5 TDs.

• New Mexico:  RBBC to start the season for the Lobos.  Bryson Carroll only had eighth rushing attempts against San Jose State. 

• Charlotte:  Not sure we can put any trust in the 49ers’ running backs at this time.

• SMU:  WR Danny Gray did not play against Navy after it was reported during the week that head coach Sonny Dykes said he was expected to be available.  Teammate Rashee Rice has now caught a TD pass in three straight games.  RB Ulysses Bentley scored 2 TDs in the win over Navy and now has four multi-TD games this season. 

• Texas State:  WR Marcel Barbee has caught 21 passes for 328 yards and 7 TDs this season, averaging a TD every 3 receptions. 

• San Diego State:  RB Greg Bell looks like the real deal as the Aztecs’ RB1.  He has rushed for 100-plus yards in each of the first two games off the year and has scored 3 TDs.  Chance Bell has been SDSU’s RB2 and he has carried the ball 17 times for 138 yards and 3 TDs.

• Utah State:  I think we will see more out of the Aggies’ offense next week now that Boise State and San Diego State are out of the way.

 

 

P5 Notes

• Minnesota: After catching only one pass in the opener against Michigan, WR Chris Autman-Bell led the Gophers in receiving against Maryland (4-112-1).  RB Mohamed Ibrahim has carried the ball 67 times in the team’s first two games. 

• Maryland: One week after passing for 94 yards in the Terrapins’ 43-3 season-opening loss at Northwestern, sophomore quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 394 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 9 2OT win over Minnesota.  RB Jake Funk carried the ball 21 times for 216 yards and scored 2 TDs, while WRs Jeshaun Jones and Dontay Demas each had 100 yards receiving. 

• Iowa State:  RB Breece Hall has rushed for 100 yards in all six games this year.  He has at least 135 rushing yards in five straight games and has topped the 180-yard mark in each of the last two games.  WR Xavier Hutchinson has caught a TD pass in three of the last four games.

• Clemson:  It has already been announced that Trevor Lawrence will not play in next week’s game against Notre Dame, so DJ Uiagalelei will get another start.  In Saturday’s win over Boston College Uiagalelei targeted WR Cornell Powell 12 times and the senior receiver finished the game with 11 catches for 105 yards.

• Georgia: After a hot start, WR Kearis Jackson has only caught 5 passes for 48 yards over the last two games.  RB Zamir White has scored a TD in all five games this season. 

• Michigan State:  After catching 11 passes for 128 yards and 2 TDs in the season opener against Rutgers, WR Jayden Reed only caught one pass for 18 yards against Michigan.

• West Virginia:  RB Leddie Brown topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season and has now scored 9 TDs in six games.  QB Jarret Doege has thrown for 300-plus yards in each of the last three games

• Purdue:  It will be interesting to see what happens if/when WR Rondale Moore returns.  Sophomore WR Milton Wright has caught 13 passes for 185 yards and a TD in the first two games.  RB Zander Horvath has rushed for 100 yards in each of the Boilermakers’ first two games.  WR David Bell’s numbers over the first two games:  22-243-4. 

• Illinois:  Sophomore Coran Taylor seems to be the guy that will lead the Illini offense with starter Brandon Peters out.  Taylor completed 17-of-29 passes for 273 yards and 2 TDs, while adding 32 rushing yards on 17 attempts, in Saturday’s 31-24 loss against Purdue.

• Wake Forest:  RB Kenneth Walker III has scored at least one rushing TD in five consecutive games and has scored 3 rushing TDs in three of the last five games. WR Jaquarii Roberson has caught at least 6 passes in four of the last five games and has topped the 100-yard mark in two of the last three games. 

• Notre Dame:  RB Kyren Williams has scored in four of six games and has three multiple-TD games this season.

• Texas:  Freshman RB Bijan Robinson has gotten at least 12 carries in each of the last two games and led the Longhorns with 59 rushing yards in Saturday’s win at Oklahoma State. 

• Oklahoma State:  RB Chuba Hubbard failed to score a rushing TD for the first time this season, but he kept his scoring streak alive with a 5-yard TD reception.    

• Ole Miss:  WR Elijah Moore caught 14 passes for 238 yards and 3 TDs against Vanderbilt on Saturday.  Moore has caught at least 10 passes in four of five games this season.  In the Rebels’ 54-21 win at Vanderbilt, RB Jerrion Ealy carried the ball 15 times for 95 yards, but he failed to score a TD for the first time this season.

• Virginia Tech:  RB Khalil Herbert recorded  his fifth 100-yard rushing game (21-147-1) of the season in the Hokies’ 42-35 win at Louisville.  Herbert has topped the 130-yard mark four times this year.

• Alabama:  WR DeVonta Smith has caught at least 11 passes for 160 yards and scored at least 2 TDs in three of Alabama’s last four games. 

• Mississippi State:  I have some words to share about the Bulldogs’ offense, but I’ll save them for this week’s podcast.  Don’t worry, you won’t miss anything that will be useful for CFF.

• Ohio State:  Buckeye RBs vs. Penn State:  Master Teague 23-110-1, Trey Sermon 13-56-0.  I don’t think we have a 1a-1b situation.  Teague is clearly the Buckeyes’ RB1.   

• Penn State:  After two games, the preseason projections for WR Jahan Dotson have been on the money.  Devyn Ford was the only running back on the roster to get a carry against Ohio State.  Ford had 36 rushing yards on eight carries.

• Arkansas:  The rotation at running back did not last more than one week.  In the Razorbacks’ 42-31 loss at Texas A&M, Rakeem Boyd carried the ball 18 times for 100 yards and a TD, while teammate Treylon Smith had five carries for 30 yards.  WR Treylon Burks left the Mississippi State game on October 3 with an injury, but in the other three games in which he has played, the sophomore receiver has had at least 7 receptions, 100 receiving yards, and a TD.  QB Feleipe Franks has thrown at least 3 TD passes in four straight games.

• Texas A&M:  RB Ainias Smith has scored at least one touchdown in four of five games this year and he has totaled at least 70 yards (rushing and receiving) in all five games.  QB Kellen Mond has thrown 3 TD passes in three of the Aggies’ last four games.

• Missouri:  RB Larry Rountree had 36 rushing yards and a TD at Florida on Saturday. He has now scored a rushing touchdown in three of his last four games. 

• Florida:  WR Kadarius Toney has caught a TD pass in all four games this season and has scored 5 TDs in the Gators’ last two games.  QB Kyle Trask has thrown at least 4 TD passes in every game this season.

• Virginia:  QB Brennan Armstrong looks healthy and should be considered for a QB1 spot moving forward.  In the Cavaliers’ 44-41 win over North Carolina, Armstrong threw for 208 yards and 3 TDs and ran for 66 yards and a score.  Also, we could be seeing a shift in the offensive play calling.  In the first two games of the year, Armstrong attempted 88 passes.  In the last two games, he has thrown 52 passes.

• Oklahoma:  RB Rhamondre Stevenson returned from suspension and led the Sooners in rushing against Texas Tech.  Stevenson carried the ball 13 times for 87 yards and 3 TDs.  So much for TJ Pledger holding down the top spot on the depth chart.  Pledger only had 6 rush attempts for 16 yards on Saturday.  I would not be surprised if Oklahoma leaned on the running game a little more often to take some of the pressure off of QB Spencer Rattler.  It seems as if they have already started down this path.   

• BYU:  QB Zach Wilson continues to roll up the numbers. He totaled 4 TDs in the Cougars’ win over Western Michigan, his third consecutive 4-TD game.  If your fantasy season ends in Week 13, you will only have two more opportunities to start BYU players.  They play at Boise State this week (Week 10) and North Alabama on November 21 (Week 13).