NCAA Fantasy: Week 8 perfomers might not be great for Week 9

Since there is little coverage and a ridiculous amount of players to talk about, I have been using my team as a common thread for my weekly articles. Generally, I give a narrative about what I am doing and thinking about in regards to my team, specifically who to pick up, drop, bench, etc. amidst the thousands of players to choose from. As previously mentioned, I couldn't seem to drum up enough support for collegiate fantasy football with my buddies, so I signed up for a public league. I am 2nd in my division and 5th in the Power Rankings, while sitting at 3-2. Luckily, “one game is a win, but 2 is a winning streak,” because after 2 consecutive wins I have a winning streak! You might have also noticed that I mainly talk about QBs, RBs, and WRs – because they are the ones that normally score points for your team. If I didn’t limit it in some way, I could go on for days about any and all players in the NCAA - because there seem to be tons of options.

After scoring 38 points for me, Kellen Moore will remain my QB. Moore went 18/30 with 223 and 5TDs while leading Boise State to a 54-9 whoopin’ of Hawai’i. The Davey O’Brien semifinalist should be a lock in your starting role if you can pick him up. If you can’t grab Moore, Christian Ponder is still looking real good. The ACC Offensive Player of the Week had his second career day in as many weeks in a Florida State comeback win over UNC. He went 33/40 for 395yds and 3TDs (34FPts) - most of which came in the second half. Ponder has thrown for over 300yds four times this season, and eclipsed 340yds the past 3 games…with only 1 interception on the season. He is in the top-10 nationally in every passing category, but I am still not sold on the consistency of his WRs. The fact that Rod Owens (9att, 199yds, 1TD) hauled in an ACC-record tying 98yd TD shows they might be on the same page (finally) and will find the end-zone more often (hopefully). If this happens, Ponder will end the season as one of the best fantasy-producing QBs in college football.

Another great QB-WR combo this week came from the opposite side of the country. Ryan Lindley (29/43, 459yds, 6TDs, 56FPts) and DeMarco Sampson (15rec, 257yds, 3TDs, 43FPts) from San Diego State were also hot. Lindley and Sampson haven’t clicked like this all season, but after synching up as well as they did last weekend – and up against a winless New Mexico team this weekend – they could make a fantasy coach’s dreams come true.

As for RBs, my little experiment with Lance Dunbar (38FPts) seemed to work out nicely. The North Texas back showed his versatility rushing for over 100yds on 11 carries for 2TDs, but also caught 4 balls for 90yds and another score in a loss to Troy. Even though the Mean Green haven’t chalked-up a W since week 1, they are up against a winless Western Kentucky and a defense who has allowed an average of 43 points per game. Dunbar keeps his starting role again this week.

Even though there were some very impressive performers last week, the other starting role will stay with Darius Marshall. Marshall has proven himself to be a consistent back, who ran for over 130yds and a touchdown. A couple of those other performers I mentioned are Corey Sykes (23att, 203yds, 3TDs, 38FPts) and MiQuale Lewis (26att, 301yds, 1TD, 36FPts). Their combined 504 rushing yards helped Ball State win their first game of the season by only a 2-point margin (29-27), but it seems to have been more because of a weak Eastern Michigan defense, rather than a strong offense. Ball State plays Ohio (5-3) this week, so they probably wont be as successful. Another back to be wary about is Bernard Pierce (39FPts), who put up over 200yds and 3TDs for Temple as they continued a 5-game winning streak. Although he had a solid outing, Pierce might not be the best person to play this weekend seeing as the Owls travel to Annapolis, and will take on a Navy team who have also won their last 5 games. Seems to me Pierce might be too big of a risk this weekend.




Long-story-short: I am not making many changes with my team this week, but there are definitely a lot of options out there if you need to make some.


P.S. If you ever want me to weigh-in on something you have been thinking about, feel free to ask!

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