Week 3 of college football is upon us. Here is what we will be watching and thinking about all weekend from a fantasy football perspective.
WEEK 3: QBs to consider starting | RBs | WRs | Defenses | Who picks up slack for OU's Anderson? | Rivals Fantasy Football Home
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1. MICHIGAN AWAKENS
To believe in Michigan’s offense might be a fool’s leap but I’m going to hitch my wagon to the Wolverines at least for this week because SMU’s defense is weak, giving up an average of 44 points per game in losses to North Texas and TCU.
Last week in a 49-3 win over Western Michigan, Wolverines quarterback Shea Patterson threw three touchdowns, running back Karan Higdon had 156 yards and a score and fellow RB Chris Evans had two TDs. SMU has given up 615 passing yards in two games so Patterson could have another big showing.
I’m not saying Michigan’s offense is stellar. Far from it. But in these situations, where a bad non-conference defense comes into the Big House, the Wolverines could rack up some big points as it tries to figure out what works and what doesn’t in the offense.
2. FUN IN STILLWATER
I don’t know who’s going to win the really interesting matchup between Boise State and Oklahoma State this weekend, but from a fantasy perspective it could be an awesome time to load up on the Cowboys.
Oklahoma State has averaged 56.5 points per game in wins over Missouri State and South Alabama. Boise State scored 56 against Troy and 62 against UConn. Both defenses have been very good but with the over/under line set at 64.5 it looks like the offenses are going to win out on Saturday.
That means Oklahoma State running back Justice Hill is a must-start and there should be serious consideration given to quarterback Taylor Cornelius, receivers Tylan Wallace, Jalen McCleskey and others. There is a very good chance this could turn into a shootout quickly.
FOR MORE BOISE STATE: Blue-Turf.com
3. NO TOUCH LSU-AUBURN
For college football fans, the LSU-Auburn game this weekend could be the best one on the docket. For fantasy owners, it shouldn’t be unless you’re considering playing their defenses – and even then, there could be a lot of easier options out there.
LSU gives up only 8.5 points per game but that’s a little skewed since it blanked SE Louisiana last weekend. The defense looked good in a 33-17 win over Miami in the opening week but that’s still a fair amount of points in fantasy settings.
Auburn is scoring 42 per game and giving up 12.5 but that’s also a little deceiving since the Tigers had 63 last weekend and passed the test in Week 1 with a 21-16 win over Washington.
The line for this game is Auburn –10 and the over/under is around 45. If anything, the Auburn defense would be the play but why not just sit back and enjoy this one?
4. POINTS APLENTY IN BAMA-OLE MISS
Ole Miss has already scored 123 points in two games but of course the Rebels have not faced anywhere near the competition they will this weekend when Alabama comes to Oxford. Still, receiver A.J. Brown might be the best in college football and quarterback Jordan Ta’amu has plenty of other options as well to move the ball down the field and put points on the board. Running back Scottie Phillips already has four rushing scores.
Alabama is going to score as well. The Crimson Tide are averaging 54 points per game with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa already throwing six TD passes and Jerry Jeudy catching four of them.
The over/under line for this game: 71 points. Vegas thinks it’s going to be an entertaining shootout and fantasy owners should be overjoyed.
5. DON’T WORRY ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Running back Rodney Anderson is out. It will hurt a little. But this is an opportunity to load up on the Sooners’ receivers – maybe even some who have been overlooked up to this point in the season – and to take a shot on Trey Sermon since he’s expected to get more carries.
Quarterback Kyler Murray can run a whole lot so his value goes up with Anderson out plus receivers Marquise Brown, CeeDee Lamb, A.D. Miller, Grant Calcaterra become even more important in this offense.
The line is still sitting around 56 points so Las Vegas expects Oklahoma to score a lot. Anderson going down is not good news for some fantasy owners but there is definitely opportunities there.
