CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

The first week of college football is in the books. Here are some thoughts and notes from the opening weekend of action from a fantasy football perspective:

Note: This was written prior to the LSU/Miami and Florida State/Virginia Tech games over Labor Day weekend.

MORE COLLEGE FANTASY FOOTBALL: Rivals fantasy home | Top WRs to play in Week 1 | RBs to watch for Week 1 | QBs to watch for Week 1 | SEC advice | Pac-12 advice | ACC advice | Big 12 advice | Big Ten advice | Five risky picks | Top 20 sleepers | Potential busts | 15 players on verge of stardom | 25 freshmen worth drafting | Top offensive lines that add value to running backs | What to expect from first-year coaches | Meet the new coordinators | Defenses to watch in Week 1

Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate is still a must-own in fantasy leagues but it looks like Arizona’s new coaching staff wants him to sit in the pocket more instead of doing what comes naturally - getting outside, making things happen with his feet and picking up huge yards on the ground with highlight-reel plays. That’s how Tate has always played and it’s what he knows. Instead, Tate was in the pocket for most of the night bombing the ball downfield and that didn’t have much success. He finished with only eight rushes for 14 yards and a touchdown. The schedule still lines up OK for Tate to put up big numbers this month but don’t take the keys away when you’re driving a Ferrari.

This is not an overreaction after one game, or it might be, who knows until the games play out but Michigan’s offense continues to look gut-wrenchingly average. The Wolverines, so proud of tough and gritty football, had 58 rushing yards at Notre Dame averaging 1.8 yards per carry. New quarterback Shea Patterson threw no touchdowns but had an interception. Nico Collins led the team in receiving yards - with 66. Michigan brought in new coaches and a new quarterback and it still looks like the same bad offense from last season. Horrible for fantasy owners.

It was only one game but Purdue’s Rondale Moore made a huge statement in the Boilermakers’ loss to Northwestern. The freshman receiver set a school record with 313 all-purpose yards (which was in place since 1972) and he scored two touchdowns in the first half. Moore seems like he’s already the favorite target of Purdue QB Elijah Sindelar and the former three-star is a breakaway threat on offense and special teams. Pick him up in fantasy leagues as soon as possible.

It’s great for Ohio State to have a two-headed running back attack with J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber but for fantasy owners it could be feast or famine and that could spell danger. The Buckeyes blasted Oregon State, 77-31, and Weber went off for 186 yards and three scores. That’s great if you had him instead of Dobbins in your starting lineup. Dobbins had only 74 yards on 15 carries. Is Weber the favored son now? Will Dobbins bounce back to his pace of last season? It’s still a huge risk since Ohio State could go in either direction.

Until Texas can find some semblance of a playmaker on offense, the recommendation here is to pass on their players in fantasy leagues for greener pastures. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw for 263 yards and two scores but he also threw two picks. No running back had more than 52 yards. Receivers Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay each had a touchdown catch but they also had only 59 and 58 receiving yards, respectively. Oh, and Texas lost to Maryland for the second-straight season with a very challenging schedule coming up after Tulsa. Pass.

Texas A&M destroyed Northwestern State so let’s not get too overjoyed yet but some things definitely stuck out for fantasy players: Running back Trayveon Williams rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries and the Aggies rushed for 503 yards and five TDs. Plus, in coach Jimbo Fisher’s offense, Texas A&M is using the tight end again as Jace Sternberger caught five passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Next week Clemson visits College Station. Let’s revisit all this after that game.

It’s hard to make bold statements about Oklahoma State’s offense yet since it defeated Missouri State in the opener but it sure looks like new quarterback Taylor Cornelius’ favorite target is Jalen McCleskey, who led all receivers with six catches for 66 yards and two scores and he also ran for another TD. The Cowboys are loaded at receiver so be careful and star RB Justice Hill will get more work in bigger games, too, but McCleskey was strong in the opener.

It looks like Northwestern has found its replacement for Justin Jackson. Against a decent Purdue front, Jeremy Larkin rushed 26 times for 143 yards and two scores in a season-opening win. With Northwestern flip-flopping quarterbacks Clayton Thorson and TJ Green at least in the opener, Larkin had lots of opportunities to make things happen and that shouldn’t change moving forward.

Listen here fantasy owners. Pick up players from Arkansas and Florida because those are your two chances to take advantage of this miserable Colorado State defense. Hardly offensive powerhouses, Hawaii scored 43 in the season opener and Colorado put 45 on the Rams on Friday night. Two SEC schools should make that look like child’s play. Not only is Colorado State giving up 44 points per game but also six yards per carry and more than 12 yards per passing attempt. It’s been ugly. Arkansas and Florida are licking their chops.

Consider picking up quarterback Eric Dungey in fantasy leagues especially in the coming weeks with Wagner and UConn on the schedule but watch out for games against Florida State and Clemson, too. Dungey’s rushing numbers alone are intriguing - 200 yards and a touchdown - and he’ll sharpen up his passing as well after going only 7 of 19 for 184 yards and two TDs against Western Michigan, which has a decent secondary. Also take a look at receiver Jamal Custis, who is clearly Dungey’s favorite target after catching six passes for 168 yards and two TDs.

Stanford coach David Shaw said at Pac-12 Media Days that he wasn’t going to care as much about running back Bryce Love’s stats this season. He wasn’t kidding. In a 31-10 win over San Diego State, Love carried the ball only 18 times for 29 yards and just did not look like himself all night. For fantasy owners, this could be a nice opportunity to pick up receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside. After catching six passes for 226 yards and three scores, Arcega-Whiteside is clearly quarterback K.J. Costello’s favorite target. In an offense where the Cardinal might use Love more as a decoy, Arcega-Whiteside could pick up lots of points.

From their days at powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, the connection between quarterback JT Daniels and Amon-Ra St. Brown continued on Saturday in USC’s 43-21 win over UNLV. It was the Runnin’ Rebels so we won’t get too excited yet but Daniels finished with 282 passing yards and a touchdown - to St. Brown, who led the Trojans with seven catches and 98 yards. In keeper leagues, these are two to get on your fantasy team as soon as possible.

There was so much hype around this Lane Kiffin-led FAU club and it will probably still have a nice season but Oklahoma demolished them and it probably could have been much, much worse. For fantasy owners, quarterback Kyler Murray looks like the legitimate article as he had 209 passing yards and two touchdowns on only 11 pass attempts. Running back Rodney Anderson had a great day, too, and receiver Marquise Brown had huge numbers. Surprisingly, CeeDee Lamb was quiet with only two catches for 43 yards. The schedule sets up nicely to load up on Oklahoma players, too, leading up to the Texas game in October.

West Virginia torched Tennessee, 40-14, and the Mountaineers’ passing game almost looks unstoppable which is great news for fantasy owners. Quarterback Will Grier threw for 429 yards and five touchdowns against a decent secondary, David Sills had 140 receiving yards and two scores and Gary Jennings added 113 yards and a touchdown. Youngstown State is up next, expect the Mountaineers to keep letting it fly.

As expected, Missouri quarterback Drew Lock put up big numbers in Missouri’s win over UT-Martin with 289 passing yards and four touchdowns but he only threw 25 passes and stud tight end Albert Okwuegbunam had only two catches for 14 yards. Last year in a blowout of Missouri State to open the season, Lock threw it 34 times. Missouri has a strong running attack this year and multiple receivers who can make plays. Continue to see if Okwuegbunam becomes less of a factor in Missouri’s passing attack.

Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins looked like a fantasy owner’s dream with 185 passing yards and two touchdowns and he also rushed for 108 yards and two more scores. Running back Jordan Ellis was a fantasy machine as well racking up 146 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. But the problem is the Cavaliers beat Richmond and the schedule gets tougher from here. Next up: Indiana and Ohio and while those aren’t national powerhouses, the ACC schedule looms. Getting too excited about Virginia’s offense after one game might be premature.