College Fantasy Football: Week 8 in review
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Another weekend of college football is in the books. Here are five thoughts from another busy slate of games from a fantasy football perspective.
ETIENNE KEEPS BREAKING OUT
Whatever needs to be done, trade for Clemson running back Travis Etienne to win your fantasy leagues. He’s breaking out in such a huge way his numbers are completely off the charts. Etienne rushed 15 times for only 39 yards but he scored three times in the Tigers’ blowout of NC State this past weekend. He’s now the top-scoring running back in the fantasy game.
Etienne’s 14 touchdowns so far this season is double any other running back in the ACC and he’s tied for the NCAA lead in that category. And Clemson’s running back has done it on only 98 carries (to compare, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor has 170 carries, Kentucky’s Benny Snell has 160).
Florida State’s rush defense has been excellent this season but my bet is that nobody is going to stop Etienne and he could continue to put up huge numbers the rest of the way.
BLOUGH WORTH A SERIOUS LOOK
In Purdue’s massive upset of Ohio State on Saturday night, Boilermaker quarterback David Blough was phenomenal, throwing 43 times for 378 yards and three touchdowns. He’s talented, he looks comfortable in the offense and Purdue has some legitimate threats at the receiver position.
Blough is owned in only five percent of fantasy leagues but he’s scored more points than Florida’s Feleipe Franks or Washington’s Jake Browning or Michigan’s Shea Patterson. The Purdue signal-caller has thrown more touchdowns than Penn State’s Trace McSorley. And he might only be getting started.
The Big Ten schedule is never easy but there are some spots coming up - mainly Minnesota and Indiana - where Blough and the Boilermakers could go off. Be smart and add him as soon as possible.
MINSHEW IS THE MAN
It was a Pac-12 showdown between two of the best teams in the conference - and two of the top quarterbacks nationally in Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Washington State’s Gardner Minshew. The Cougars' quarterback definitely had the better performance in their win over the Ducks, 34-20, as Minshew threw 51 times for 323 yards with four touchdowns and two picks.
Now the fifth highest-scoring quarterback in the college fantasy football game, Minshew is still only owned in 73 percent of leagues. Only Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, Ole Miss’ Jordan Ta’amu and Syracuse’s Eric Dungey have scored more fantasy points this season.
OLE MISS’ POTENT PASSING GAME
Ta’amu is quickly moving up the charts in fantasy points and he had another decent weekend even though the Rebels lost to Auburn as he threw for 324 yards and a touchdown. The SEC schedule is never easy but it looks like Ole Miss is going to keep throwing the ball so trying by any means necessary to get Ta’amu on your team makes a lot of sense.
Some crazy stats to consider: Ta’amu has 556 more passing yards than Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. Three of the top five receivers in the SEC are from Ole Miss, still including D.K. Metcalf, who’s out for the season. The Rebels can throw the ball, they have the weapons and Ta’amu should continue putting up nice numbers.
FRANCOIS PUTTING UP NUMBERS
Florida State has gotten its fair share of criticism this season but quarterback Deondre Francois has probably not received the respect he deserves. After this weekend’s win over Wake Forest, the Seminole quarterback leads the ACC in passing yards with 1,859. He’s second in passing touchdowns (Boston College QB Anthony Brown has 14 scores) with 13.
But it might be time to be careful. No longer are the Demon Deacons, or Northern Illinois or Samford on the schedule. Florida State has a difficult few weeks with Clemson, NC State, Notre Dame, Boston College and Florida on the schedule. It’s not going to be easy for the Seminoles and it might be tough on Francois as well.
