College Fantasy Football: Regular season studs and duds at RB
The college fantasy football playoffs are upon us. It’s time to look back at the fantasy season to see which players performed the best and some that didn’t put up the big numbers. We move to running back:
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RELATED: Studs and duds at quarterback
STUDS
1. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State
Other running backs have closed the gap on Hubbard when it comes to fantasy points in recent weeks, but he still leads all players at the position and he’s had a season worthy of at least some Heisman discussion. The former four-star prospect from Canada has rushed for 1,726 yards and 20 touchdowns on 259 attempts and he had two scores in the Cowboys’ win over Kansas this past weekend.
2. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
Taylor might be the best overall back in college football and he could top the list for a lot of NFL teams after another great year in Madison. Everybody knows Wisconsin’s offense runs through him and no defenses can slow him down. The former four-star has rushed for 1,463 yards and 17 touchdowns and he’s added four receiving scores as well. Taylor is now less than 14 points behind Hubbard in fantasy points.
3. Travis Etienne, Clemson
Etienne is also staking his claim as the best running back in college football and he’s heating up even more over the last few weeks as Clemson has scored more than 50 points in four straight games. The former three-star only has 153 carries for 1,335 yards and 14 touchdowns along with two receiving scores. The most astronomical stat for Etienne is that he’s averaging 8.7 yards per carry.
4. AJ Dillon, Boston College
Dillon has been a workhorse at Boston College for a few years and this season has been no different as he’s huge, churns out extra yards and continues to get the ball all the time. So far this season, the former four-star has carried the ball 272 times for 1,451 yards and 13 touchdowns and he’s also caught a TD pass.
5. Cam Akers, Florida State
Florida State’s season has gone poorly - just ask former coach Willie Taggart who got fired a few weeks ago - but the former five-star has done well and put up big numbers as the Seminoles have leaned on Akers even without a good offensive line. Akers has rushed 214 times for 1,042 yards and 13 touchdowns with four receiving TDs as well.
DUDS
1. Kennedy McKoy, West Virginia
West Virginia is coming off a nice win over Kansas State, but this is still a team that averages only about 22 points per game. The Mountaineers spread the ball around in the rushing attack and McKoy has only 87 carries for 261 yards and three touchdowns along with a receiving score this season. Owned in nearly half of all fantasy leagues, McKoy and the West Virginia offense as a whole are not delivering as expected.
2. Jermar Jefferson, Oregon State
Jefferson was a shocking fantasy pickup last season and rushed for huge numbers, but he’s enduring a sophomore slump mixed together with some injuries and his stats are way down. The former three-star prospect has played in only seven games this season and has just 472 yards and five touchdowns on 101 carries. Owned in 81 percent of leagues, Jefferson is coming off a freshman campaign where he posted 1,380 yards and 25 scores.
3. Trey Sermon, Oklahoma
Oklahoma has one of the best offenses in the country but Sermon, who’s now sidelined with a knee injury, had just 54 carries for 385 yards and four touchdowns. Still owned in more than half of leagues, a couple factors were playing a role in Sermon’s stats: First, the Sooners have other capable and highly-skilled running backs, Oklahoma scores on chunk passing plays and quarterback Jalen Hurts leads the team by far in carries, yards and rushing touchdowns.
4. Ty Chandler, Tennessee
What looked like a disastrous start to the season with losses to Georgia State, BYU and Florida by the end of September and a blowout loss to Georgia to start October has turned around quite nicely for the Vols. However, the running attack still leaves a lot to be desired from a fantasy perspective. Chandler is owned in 56 percent of leagues but he’s only gained 597 yards with three touchdowns on 118 carries so far this season. Tennessee is averaging just under 24 points per outing.
5. Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma
Read above about Hurts’ rushing numbers and that’s a better explanation of why Oklahoma’s running backs aren’t posting huge numbers on the ground. In nine games, Brooks has totaled 608 yards and three touchdowns on 81 carries. Whether it’s Hurts running the ball - so far, 152 times this season - or spreading the ball around to numerous running backs, Brooks isn’t putting up massive numbers on the ground, either.