Week 3 of the college football season is upon us. Here are five running backs to seriously consider starting in your fantasy football leagues.
RELATED: Rivals Fantasy Football Home | QBs to consider in Week 3 | Looking back at Week 2 in College Fantasy Football
YAHOO SPORTS COLLEGE FANTASY FOOTBALL IS HERE! ... Sign up here for free
Benny Snell Jr., Kentucky
Sometimes it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. This one just makes way too much sense. Snell is one of the best backs in the country coming off a huge game in Kentucky’s win over Florida, and now Murray State is supposed to slow him down? The Racers are giving up 4.1 yards per carry and have allowed five rushing touchdowns, and that was in losses to Southern Illinois and Central Arkansas. Snell has two rushing TDs so far this season. He should at least double that this weekend.
Miles Sanders, Penn State
Kent State gave up 279 rushing yards and four touchdowns against Illinois in the season opener. That was Illinois. Imagine what Sanders and the Penn State ground attack should do this weekend. Sanders leads the Nittany Lions with 209 rushing yards and has only scored twice so far this season. Those numbers should go up drastically this weekend. There’s no reason to run quarterback Trace McSorley much, so Sanders should get a bulk of the carries and should tear up Kent State’s defense.
Alex Barnes, Kansas State
In two games, Kansas State does not have a rushing touchdown. So why am I putting Barnes on this list? Because the Wildcats host UTSA this weekend, and they are coming off a tough beatdown by Mississippi State, and Kansas State is too good to not take out some pain on somebody soon. UTSA is perfect for that. It has allowed 5.3 yards per carry and about 178 yards per game rushing in losses to Arizona State and Baylor. In its third challenging game in a row, how much juice will UTSA have to deal with Kansas State this weekend?
Najee Harris, Alabama
In fantasy settings, this is still a difficult selection because Alabama is going on the road to Ole Miss and coach Nick Saban might lean on the more veteran running back, Damien Harris. But Harris has two more carries so far this season, 49 more rushing yards, he’s averaging nearly eight yards per touch and he has two touchdowns to Damien Harris’ zero. If there is a steady changing of the guard to Harris being the more favored back, this weekend could be a huge steppingstone, since Ole Miss gave up 241 rushing yards and 629 total yards to Southern Illinois last week.
Jermar Jefferson, Oregon State
Jefferson was the go-to back in Oregon State’s win over Southern Utah last week, and he could get the bulk of the carries again this weekend when the Beavers face Nevada. He delivered in a big way last week with 238 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries. With Artavis Pierce sidelined for a few weeks, Jefferson could get even more carries if a by-committee approach isn't taken. He should see the ball in his hands often against a Nevada defense that gave up 5.1 yards per carry last week with three rushing TDs.
