College Fantasy Update

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Sunday brought more news than usual as Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz had an initial positive COVID test, and reports that Baylor RBs John Lovett and Trestan Ebner were opting out of the season, but on Monday morning both Baylor RBs were said to still be with the team after a coach conversation with the players.

On Monday we learned Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall is not expected to play this week, while East Carolina QB Holton Ahlers will play. Miss State RB Kylin Hill is still unavailable, WR Danny Gray (SMU) should be good to play this week, but WR Lavel Davis (Virginia) is expected to be out again.

List of Injuries & Updates from October 26 (or from Sunday where noted):

QBs:

• Jack Abraham, Southern Miss – status unclear for game this week
• Holton Ahlers, East Carolina – cleared and returned to practice
• Myles Brennan, LSU – will practice this week, will see if can get to 100% by Saturday
• Sean Chambers, Wyoming – is out, a chance he could return later this season
• Jalon Daniels, Kansas – sounds like the starter going forward the rest of the season
• Kentucky – QB1 Terry Wilson OR Joey Gatewood
• Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina – not expected to be available for Saturday
• Graham Mertz, Wisconsin – reported to have tested positive for Covid (Sunday)
• Miss State – KJ Costello & Will Rogers sharing first team practice reps
• Anthony Russo, Temple – will get MRI on shoulder
• Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland – QB1 on depth chart, no OR
• Western Kentucky – Tyrrell Pigrome likely to get more first-team reps this week as he is in better condition health-wise than Kevaris Thomas
• Tate Whatley, Southern Miss – took hard hit at end of game last weekend, status unclear
• Eli Williams, TCU – enters transfer portal
• Terry Wilson, Kentucky – likely not practice Monday due to a minor injury
• Chase Wolf, Wisconsin – not at practice on Monday, reported to have tested positive for Covid

RBs:

• Mulbah Car, Houston – hopefully ready to play this week (DNP Saturday)
• King Doerue, Purdue – sounds hopeful but still questionable this week
• Trestan Ebner, Baylor – reports on Sunday that he is opting out of the season refuted by team on Monday
• David Ellis, Indiana – lower leg injury, hopeful to return soon
• BJ Emmons, FAU – still rehabbing ankle
• Pat Garwo, Boston College – is waiting on MRI results to determine practice status this week (Sunday)
• Kylin Hill, Miss State – still unavailable
• John Lovett, Baylor – reports on Sunday that he is opting out of the season, but then Monday reports that he had decided to stay with the team
• Ja’veon Marlow, Vanderbilt – Coach Mason says the team should get its key players back this week, which presumably includes Marlow – not a firm comment without specific players listed, but promising
• Larry McCammon, FAU – waiting on MRI results after injury last weekend
• Kenny McIntosh, Georgia – hopeful to practice Monday
• Marcel Murray, Arkansas State – described as day to day
• Darius Pinnix, East Carolina – on the depth chart this week after missing last game with covid protocols
• Rhamondre Stevenson, Oklahoma – team will not confirm is he has been cleared of suspension having sat out required 6 games
• Titus Swen, Wyoming – dealing with covid protocols
• Toa Taua, Nevada – implied to have tested positive for Covid
• SaRodorick Thompson, Texas Tech – hopeful to return this week
• Ronnie Walker, Virginia – hopeful to play this Saturday
• Xavier White, Texas Tech – hopeful to return this week
• TJ Wisham, Louisiana – out due to wrist surgery

WRs & TEs:

• Trejan Bridges, Oklahoma – team will not confirm is he has been cleared of suspension having sat out required 6 games
• Elijah Cooks, Nevada – sore after injury last weekend, status not determined
• Beau Corrales, UNC – will be evaluated this week
• Lavel Davis, Virginia – expected to be out again this week
• John Dunmore, Penn State – enters transfer portal
• Danny Gray, SMU – practicing and is expected to play
• Taj Harris, Syracuse – no update from the team on his status
• TE Daniel Imatorbhebhe, Illinois – game notes say he did not play last weekend due to injury but is good to go this week
• Hezekiah Jones, Texas A&M – hopeful to play this week
• Braden Lenzy, Notre Dame – not at full strength, sounds like team may hold him out until he is 100%
• Miles Marshall, Indiana – in concussion protocol
• TE David Martin-Robinson, Temple – still in covid protocol
• Maurice Massey, Missouri – has been dismissed from team for a violation of team rules/legal charges (had already opted out)
• Rondale Moore, Purdue – will be evaluated end of the week
• TE Darius Pittman, Temple – out with ankle injury
• Gunner Romney, BYU – remains questionable
• TE Dalvin Smith, Western Kentucky – out for season after breaking leg last weekend
• TE Jack Stoll, Nebraska – no definitive update from team, but answer made it sound like he could be out a while

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Some of these 16 stats from Week 8 are just for trivia, but most are good to know as you look at fantasy trends/leaders across the season or for specific positions or teams (if you enjoy this post please share it!).

Last weekend Louisville RB Javian Hawkins ran for 16/174-3, while UTSA RB Sincere McCormick rushed for 37/165-3. They are the only two players in the nation to have three 150+ rushing yard games this season.

Liberty QB Malik Willis threw for 24/31-345-6 and rushed for 12/97-1. Even lowering the bar a bit, Willis is the only player to have at least 300-6 passing and 50-1 rushing in a game this season.

North Carolina RBs Michael Carter (116.8) and Javonte Williams (112.4) are both averaging over 100 rushing yards a game. Amongst players with at least two games played, only 17 are averaging 100 rushing yards, and UNC is the only team with two players.

Since volume is huge in fantasy, the only player with three 25+ rushing attempt games this season is Marshall RB Brenden Knox; he had 25/101 last weekend.

While they have only played 1 game – QB Carson Strong (Nevada) and QB Aidan O’Connell (Purdue) lead the nation in average passing attempts per game, with 52 and 50.

UCF QB Dylan Gabriel is the 3rd player in the last 15 seasons with 400 pass yards, 5 TDs, and 0 interceptions in consecutive games. The other two – Jared Goff (Cal, 2015) and Joe Burrow (LSU, 2019), (credit ESPN Stats & Info).

Even without QB Myles Brennan, LSU WR Terrace Marshall had a 6/88-2 game. Marshall is the only player in the nation with 4 games with 2+ receiving TDs. Next with three games are Jonathan Adams (Ark St), Marcell Barbee (Texas State) & Jaelon Darden (North Texas).

Missouri RB Larry Rountree 37/126-2 and UTSA RB Sincere McCormick, 37/165-3 tied for the season-high in carries this year with 37 last week. The previous high was RB Destin Coates (Georgia State) with 34.

Kansas St RB Deuce Vaughn last weekend rushed 11/71 and caught 4/81. Only 4 times this season has a player rushed/received for 70+/80+, Vaughn has 2 of those 4 games, Travis Etienne and Kyren Williams have the others.

Last weekend both Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz and Ohio State QB Justin Fields amazingly completed 20/21, a 95.2% completion rate. The last time a QB completed at least 20 passes with a 95%+ completion rate was Minnesota QB Tanner Morgan, who went 21/22 in 2019.

Like dual-threat QBs? By my count 11 QBs led their teams in passing and rushing yards this week – Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Malik Willis (Liberty), Sean Clifford (Penn State), Hendon Hooker (Va Tech), Asher O’Hara (MTSU), Jeff Sims (Georgia Tech), Phil Jurkovec (BC), Chevan Cordeiro (Hawaii), Brennan Armstrong (UVA), Desmond Ridder (Cinci), Brandon Peters (Illinois). Of these QBs (whose teams have played more than one game) only 3 lead their teams in rushing for the season – Malik Willis, Asher O’Hara, Desmond Ridder (tied with Gerrid Doaks).

In his last 3 games Auburn RB Tank Bigsby has rushed for 20/146-0, 16/111-1, and 24/129-2, a 3 game average of 20/128.6-1, obviously all against SEC competition.

Haven’t mentioned TEs in a couple weeks, but there are four TEs averaging 75+ receiving yards a game – Cole Turner, Nevada (119.0 – only 1 game), Kyle Pitts, Florida (91.3), Kenny Yeboah, Ole Miss (87.6), & Hunter Long, Boston College (75.8).

South Florida has totaled 3 sacks in 6 games this season. It’s the lowest per game sack average (0.5) of any FBS team this season. The only other teams under 1 sack a game are Charlotte (0.75), Louisiana (0.80), and Navy (0.83).

Penn State outgained Indiana 488-211 yards and lost on Saturday. A losing team having 475+ yards against a winning team with 225 or fewer had only happened one other time since 2000. The only other team to get outgained by that much and win – also Indiana, against Oregon in 2004. (credit @MattBrownCFB)

Cincy QB Desmond Ridder rushed 8 times for 179 yards and 3 TDs on Saturday. The last time a player had that many rushing yards and TDs with that few carries was LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire last season with a ridiculous 6/188-3 game.

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I break down the injury news from this past weekend with notes on each player who may have been dealing with injuries.

A few notes about this list, being on it does not for sure mean a player is “injured”, but rather:

• They may have missed the game due to a known injury (ok, this does mean they are injured)
• They may have gone out of the game due to injury and not returned (sometimes with an official announcement from the team)
• They may have left the game but returned, or at least attempted to return (sometimes these guys end up banged up enough to miss future games)
• They may have had a vague twitter mention about possibly being injured or leaving a game, so it’s something on my radar

I’ll continue to post any updates I see during the week, those will be added to daily updates as well as the injury database.

If you are aware of a fantasy-relevant injury from this weekend that you don’t see here (or don’t see listed in the database), or think anything shared here is incomplete, please tag me on twitter with a link and let me know, thanks!

List of Potential Injury News from Saturday Oct. 24 (alphabetical by last name):

• QB Jack Abraham, Southern Miss – did not travel with the team to Liberty for undisclosed reasons. In postgame it was shared that the team knew early in the week he would be out, giving backup QB Tate Whatley practice reps.
• WR Kevin Austin, Notre Dame – official team pregame report shared he was out, and soon thereafter came the news that he had broken his previously injured foot in practice on Thursday and would be out for the season
• RB Noah Cain, Penn State – on the first drive of the game he limped off, went to the locker room and did not return to action
• QB Sean Chambers, Wyoming – left the game being carted off in the first half, mid-game it was shared he potentially had a broken fibula which would likely be season-ending
• WR Elijah Cooks, Nevada – in the second half he was on the sideline with no pads on with an apparent upper body injury
• TE Zac Crosby, Appalachian State – left the game in a cart in the 2nd half with an apparent knee injury
• RB King Doerue, Purdue – did not play Saturday as he reportedly shared on snapchat that he had a strained hamstring
• RB Travis Etienne, Clemson – jogged off the field early in the first half then returned, left again in the 3rd quarter and went to the locker room and again returned. In postgame he shared that he got an IV for cramps after “only having Frosted Flakes for breakfast”.
• QB Cade Fortin, South Florida – seen on the sideline with no pads in the 3rd quarter after being hit on a QB run, had his right arm in a sling
• WR Danny Gray, SMU – in the 4th quarter he went to the locker room with what looked like a right hand/wrist injury, he came back to the sideline as it looked like trainers were seeing if they could get his hand/glove comfortable with a possible wrap (?)
• WR Taj Harris, Syracuse – not an injury, but did not travel with the team with what is believed to be disciplinary measures after being seen making an obscene gesture, throwing his helmet, and generally acting a fool on the sideline the previous weekend
• WR Braden Lenzy, Notre Dame – appeared to re-injure his hamstring in the 4th quarter, the team is hoping it is just an issue with scar tissue from his original hamstring injury
• WR Miles Marshall, Indiana – in the 4th quarter took a helmet to helmet hit, after being down on the field he was taken to the locker room
• QB Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina – was a late scratch in pregame with what the team described as an upper body injury, was said he’d been banged up and wasn’t comfortable in pregame warmups
• RB Larry McCammon, Florida Atlantic – took a shot from a helmet to his right leg, was carted to the locker room, was seen in the second half on the sideline with crutches and a boot on his ankle. He is scheduled to get an MRI with the team hoping it is a bad ankle sprain.
• WR Tre Mosley, Michigan State – hobbled off the field after getting injured in the 3rd quarter, I don’t believe he returned
• WR Chris Olave, Ohio State – in the second half took a possible shot to the head, went to the medical tent then locker room but did not return, in postgame he was said to be “in good spirits” but no update was given
• WR AT Perry, Wake Forest – left the game with an apparent injury, was seen working on the sideline with a trainer (unclear if he returned)
• RB Ricky Person, NC State – took a hard hit after a reception in the first half, stretcher and cart came out but he was able to walk off. He was ruled out mid-game with what was revealed to be a concussion.
• RB Shaun Peterson, Florida International – reports came out Saturday (in a since deleted reporter tweet) that he had potentially torn his ACL in Friday night’s game. Curious that the tweet was deleted, so something to monitor.
• RB Kadin Remsberg, Air Force – left the game on the first drive as he was shaken up, and did not return
• RB Brian Robinson, Alabama – in postgame it was shared that he was “a little nicked up” but that it was nothing serious
• TE Dalvin Smith, Western Kentucky – was helped off the field with an apparent right leg/ankle injury, in postgame the quote was that he would likely “be out for a while”
• TE Jack Stoll, Nebraska – took a hit to the knee in the 2nd quarter that looked bad and did not return, the team had no postgame update
• RB SaRodorick Thompson, Texas Tech – was seen on the trainer’s table on the sideline having his midsection/ribs wrapped, returned to action but was shaken up again after a tackle, I don’t believe he returned again
• RB Sean Tucker, Syracuse – left the game in the second half with a lower body injury (was able to walk off) and did not return
• WR Jaylen Waddle, Alabama – broke his ankle on the opening kickoff return and was taken to the hospital, was shared he has a fracture and will need surgery taking him out for the season
• QB Gunnar Watson, Troy – took a shot after throwing a TD pass in the first half, was later ruled out for the rest of the game – in postgame it was shared to be an upper body injury and there was not yet a timetable
• QB Shai Werts, Georgia Southern – went to the locker room in the 3rd quarter with what the team shared was cramping, was able to return
• RB Xavier White, Texas Tech – seen on the sideline being tended to on the trainer’s table (at the same time RB SaRodorick Thompson was), was limited to 6 carries even with Thompson out, as deep reserve Tahj Brooks got time

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These updates are a mix of inactives, players who returned to action, QB starters, and some simple injury updates (but not all). Look for a separate post later today (Sunday) with in-depth Saturday injury news.

List of Updates from October 24 (unless noted):

QBs: In the biggest QB news, Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall was announced out in pregame, while Southern Miss QB Jack Abraham did not travel. Oklahoma State QB Spencer Sanders was back in action, and Pitt QB Kenny Pickett sat again.

• Jack Abraham, Southern Miss – did not travel
• Brennan Armstrong, Virginia – returned to action from concussion protocol
• James Blackman, Florida State – not in warmups, illness (non-covid)
• Jalon Daniels, Kansas – started
• Max Gilliam, UNLV – started
• James Graham, Georgia Tech – played in reserve
• Rocky Lombardi, Michigan State – started
• Brian Maurer, Tennessee – played
• Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina – did not play
• Dalen Morris, Navy – played
• Stone Norton, FIU – started (Friday)
• Aidan O’Connell, Purdue – started
• Fred Payton, Coastal Carolina – started with Grayson McCall out
• Kenny Pickett, Pitt – did not play
• Chubba Purdy, Florida State – season debut in reserve
• Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma St – started, returned to action
• Nick Starkel, San Jose State – started
• Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland – started
• DJ Uiagalelei, Clemson – played
• Noah Vedral, Rutgers – started
• Tate Whatley, Southern Miss – started with Jack Abraham out
• Joey Yellen, Pitt – started with Kenny Pickett out again

RBs: Purdue RB King Doerue did not play with a hamstring issue, while Georgia State RB Destin Coates returned as did Auburn’s Shaun Shivers. For Georgia Tech Jamious Griffin was out while Jordan Mason made a surprise return.

• Israel Abanikanda, Pitt – returned to action
• Christian Beal-Smith, Wake Forest – played
• Mulbah Car, Houston – did not play
• James Charles, FAU – played
• Destin Coates, Georgia State – returns to action
• King Doerue, Purdue – unavailable, strained hamstring
• David Ellis, Indiana – unavailable
• BJ Emmons, FAU – did not play
• Darrian Felix, USF – unavailable (Friday)
• Sione Finau, BYU – season debut
• Tayon Fleet-Davis, Maryland – did not travel
• Johnny Ford, USF – played (Friday)
• Patrick Garwo, Boston College – unavailable
• Jamious Griffin, Georgia Tech – did not play
• Hassan Hall, Louisville – ruled out
• Jalen Holston, Virginia Tech – available
• Roschon Johnson, Texas – played
• Amare Jones, Tulane – unavailable
• Joshua Mack, Liberty – in pregame “will see limited snaps” – played
• Jordan Mason, Georgia Tech – returned to action
• Seth McGowan, Oklahoma – played
• Raymond, Niro, Northwestern – inactive
• Trent Pennix, NC State – unavailable
• Todd Sibley, Pitt – not dressed
• Shaun Shivers, Auburn – returned to action
• Danny Smith, Boise State – not dressed
• Kavosiey Smoke, Kentucky – reports may be available, did not play
• Josh Stoner, Air Force – did not travel, covid protocols
• Titus Swen, Wyoming – did not warm up
• Toa Taua, Nevada – unavailable
• Bentavious Thompson, UCF – returned to action
• Chadarius Townsend, Texas Tech – unavailable
• TK Wilkerson, Tulsa – did not travel, personal matter (Friday)

WRs & TEs: In the more high profile receiver news, Texas Tech was missing KeSean Carter, TJ Vasher, and Dalton Rigdon. Lavel Davis was out for Virginia as was Beau Corrales for UNC, and Taj Harris did not travel for Syracuse in what was likely disciplinary. Jake Smith was back for Texas, and RJ Sneed played after a long layoff for Baylor. Finally, Southern Miss WR Tim Jones was out yet again and BYU WR Gunner Romney and Miami TE Brevin Jordan also did not suit up.

• Lawrence Arnold, Kansas – not dressed
• Jared Atkinson, Baylor – unavailable
• Jalen Brooks, South Carolina – season debut
• KeSean Carter, Texas Tech – unavailable
• Keke Chism, Missouri – played
• Beau Corrales, UNC – out, lower body injury
• Lavel Davis, Virginia – unavailable
• TE Dylan Deveney, Georgia Tech – unavailable
• Kelvontay Dixon, Texas – played
• TE Nick Eubanks, Michigan – unavailable
• Noah Frith, Liberty – did not play
• Dominic Gicinto, Missouri – dressed
• TE Arik Gilbert, LSU – played
• Smoke Harris, Louisiana Tech – did not play
• Taj Harris, Syracuse – did not travel
• Damon Hazelton, Missouri – played
• Ra’Shaun Henry, Virginia – played
• JJ Holloman, FIU – not dressed (Friday)
• Berkeley Holman, Northwestern – inactive
• Shedrick Jackson, Auburn – not warm up
• JJ Jefferson, Northwestern – inactive
• Willie Johnson, Marshall – unavailable
• Tim Jones, Southern Miss – not playing
• TE Brevin Jordan, Miami – unavailable
• Adam Krumholz, Wisconsin – unavailable (Friday)
• TE Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina – played (was targeted)
• Omar Manning, Nebraska – not warm up
• McLane Mannix, Texas Tech – unavailable
• Terrace Marshall, LSU – played
• TE David Martin-Robinson, Temple – out, covid protocol
• Cornelius McCoy, Georgia State – unavailable again
• Tre Nixon, UCF – not warm up
• Obi Obialo, Oklahoma – out
• TE Sterling Palmer, FIU – did not play (Friday)
• Alec Pierce, Cinci – season debut
• Mershawn Rice, Purdue – unavailable
• Dalton Rigdon, Texas Tech – unavailable
• Stephon Robinson, Kansas – not dressed
• Gunner Romney, BYU – did not play
• Trevon Sidney, Illinois – unavailable (Friday)
• TJ Simmons, West Virginia – did not play
• Jake Smith, Texas – played
• RJ Sneed, Baylor – played
• JD Spielman, TCU – not dressed
• TE Khameron Taylor, Indiana – unavailable
• Broc Thompson, Marshall – unavailable
• TE Carl Tucker, Alabama – not dressed
• TE Hank Tuipulotu, BYU – season debut
• Tre Turner, Virginia Tech – played
• TJ Vasher, Texas Tech – unavailable
• Xavier Weaver, South Florida – played (Friday)
• TK Williams, Kansas – not dressed
• TE Brayden Willis, Oklahoma – out
• CJ Yarbrough, Liberty – played

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On Thursday came reports that LSU QB Myles Brennan is out this weekend and QB TJ Finley is expected to start although QB Max Johnson could also play, and the news from a Pitt reporter sounds like QB Joey Yellen may get the start again this week, although that should be monitored based upon the misdirection from the Pitt coach last week.

Friday saw Purdue WR Rondale Moore declared out for undisclosed reasons for Saturday.

(Player updates from Friday night games will be on the Saturday player update post that comes out Sunday morning.)

List of Injuries & Updates from October 22-23:

QBs:

• Christian Anderson, Army – not on depth chart
• Cade Ballard, Army – listed as starter
• Donald Hammond, Air Force – enters transfer portal
• Jemel Jones, Army – not on depth chart
• LSU – Myles Brennan reported to be out this weekend with TJ Finley expected to start and Max Johnson possibly sharing time
• Davis Mills, Stanford – confirmed as QB1
• Pitt – article by an author I regularly quote described QB Joey Yellen as “the starting QB for the foreseeable future with QB Kenny Pickett out”, so while we haven’t gotten a real update on Pickett this week that would seem to offer some direction.
• Colson Yankoff, UCLA – moved from QB to WR

RBs:

• Israel Abanikanda, Pitt – expected to play this weekend
• Marcus Crowley, Ohio State – unavailable this weekend
• Artice Hobbs, Army – not on depth chart
• Roschon Johnson, Texas – is RB2 on the Texas depth chart this week but I’ve not seen any updates since he re-aggravated his shoulder injury last game
• Joshua Mack, Liberty – elbow infection, expected to play
• Marcel Murray, Arkansas State – did not play Thursday
• Shaun Shivers, Auburn – ready to go this weekend
• Miyan Williams, Ohio State – unavailable this weekend

WRs & TEs:

• Jalen Brooks, South Carolina – (received his waiver for eligibility earlier this week), is expected to play Saturday
• Gary Bryant, USC – ankle sprain, should be ready for opener
• Noah Frith, Liberty – gametime decision this week, limited with hamstring
• Jaylen Harris, Ohio State – unavailable this weekend
• Lawrence Keys, Notre Dame – clear of concussion protocol, will play
• TE Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina – practicing, has a good chance to play Saturday
• Jaivian Lofton, Liberty – out, partial PCL tear
• Omar Manning, Nebraska – questionable for this weekend, hopefully won’t be too long
• Rondale Moore, Purdue – school announced he is out this weekend, no details
• Tre Nixon, UCF – vague reply when asked about his status – “don’t know where he’s at yet as far as being cleared”
• Jalen Virgil, App State – did not play (that I saw)
• CJ Yarbrough, Liberty – gametime decision this week

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(Post continually updated throughout the week)

The biggest player injury news this week was Nick Sherod of Richmond being announced out for the season with an ACL tear. Kentucky’s Olivier Sarr and South Alabama’s Michael Flowers were granted immediate eligibility.

In team news Marquette shut down all activities for 14 days for covid-related reasons on October 21, may resume November 4th. Toledo had 6 players test positive for covid as well.

List of College Basketball Updates, Injuries & Transfers this week:

• Riley Abercrombie, Rice – eligible after transfer from Boise State
• Paul Atkinson, Yale – plans to graduate and transfer following the season
• Dahmir Bishop, St Joe’s – eligible after transfer from Xavier
• Keion Brooks, Kentucky – has been limited in practice, thought to be minor
• Harrison Curry, Siena – eligible after transfer from Detroit
• Chris Doherty, Northeastern – eligible after transfer from Notre Dame
• Michael Flowers, South Alabama – eligible after transfer from Western Michigan (and some drama after his initial waiver request was denied)
• Anthony Harris, UNC – a few weeks away from being cleared for contact practice
• Oton Jankovic, Tulane – eligible after transfer from Vanderbilt
• Latrell Jossell, Kansas – has not been practicing due to an ankle injury
• Johnny McCants, New Mexico State – had tonsils out, out around 10 days
• Ben Pyle, San Diego – eligible after transfer from Western Illinois
• Olivier Sarr, Kentucky – eligible after transfer from Wake Forest
• Nick Sherod, Richmond – out for the season with an ACL tear
• Kristian Sjolund, UTEP – eligible after transfer from Georgia Tech
• Jimmy Sotos, Ohio State – waiver for eligibility denied after transfer from Bucknell, team will appeal
• Alex Tchikou, Alabama – will miss the season after Achilles surgery
• Aaron Thompson, Butler – should be full-go in about a week coming off of wrist injury last season
• Jacob Toppin, Kentucky – eligible after transfer from Rhode Island

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On Wednesday LSU really made it sound like QB Myles Brennan may not be able to go this weekend. Tennessee and Kansas also seem like they have some questions at QB this week.

Miami TE Brevin Jordan is still limited in practice and South Carolina WR Jalen Brooks got news his waiver for eligibility this season was approved. And in true Oklahoma fashion, no clear answer was given on RB Seth McGowan, but it could be inferred that he may be back this week.

List of Injuries & Updates from October 21:

QBs:

• Brennan Armstrong, Virginia – not yet cleared from concussion protocol
• Myles Brennan, LSU – described as “very questionable” for this weekend, if he can’t go one of two true freshmen will start – TJ Finley or Max Johnson
• Alijah Curtis, Army – enters transfer portal
• Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee – banged up but has been practicing
• Kansas – Jalon Daniels, Miles Kendrick, Thomas MacVittie have all been practicing, did not name starter
• Brian Maurer, Tennessee – practicing despite knee and hamstring issues
• Matt McDonald, Bowling Green – expected to be the starter
• Shawn Robinson, Missouri – ready to go after rolling ankle last game
• Tennessee – multiple QBs getting first team practice reps

RBs:

• Seth McGowan, Oklahoma – “bye week came at a good time” in response to question about availability, seems positive…
• Bentavious Thompson, UCF – has been practicing and sounds like he is expected to play

WRs & TEs:

• Jalen Brooks, South Carolina – receives waiver for eligibility
• TE Simon Gonzalez, Texas Tech – enters transfer portal
• TE Brevin Jordan, Miami – still limited but not yet been ruled out
• TE Evidence Njoku, UCLA – reports his waiver for eligibility has been approved
• Jyran Mitchell, Northern Illinois – moving to RB
• Zane Pope, Fresno State – working his way back from a preseason injury
• RJ Sneed, Baylor – listed as a starter on the depth chart this week, back on October 3rd he took a big hit that knocked him out of the game (concussion?), haven’t seen any reporter quotes on him recently but in this weird season an injury that happened 3 weeks ago could have been cleared two weeks ago but with games getting postponed is simply old news and not mentioned. Who knows…
• Khmari Thompson, Illinois – moves from WR to CB
• TE Carl Tucker, Alabama – questionable for Saturday
• TE Brayden Willis, Oklahoma – described as week to week

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Following are the fantasy-relevant starting depth charts released by the teams, along with any notes and last year’s stats, for FBS teams playing their FIRST games of the season Oct. 23-24.

• Teams are in alphabetical order on the date they play.
• Starters on depth chart are listed, for full charts see posts on twitter
• Post will be continually updated as more depth charts are released
• Stats listed are from 2019
• (Air Force is not listed along with all the Mountain West teams because they already played a game)
• A number of Big Ten teams did not release depth charts (that I’ve seen so far, will update if more are released), for those teams I have listed rough projected depth charts which are a combination of preseason previews, last year’s stats, and sportswriter projections, use those at your own discretion

Friday October 23rd:

Illinois depth chart (an official team account said they wouldn’t be releasing a depth chart, so this is PROJECTED)

• QB: Brandon Peters (1884-18) has been named/acknowledged to be the starter
• RB: Mike Epstein (8/45-0) or Chase Brown (3/18-0)
• WRs: Josh Imatorbhebhe (33/634), Casey Washington (11/132), Donny Navarro (27/345)
• TE: Luke Ford (Georgia)/Daniel Barker (18/273)/Daniel Imatorbhebhe (USC)

Wisconsin depth chart:

• QB: Graham Mertz (73-0)
• RB: Garrett Groshek (194-2) OR Nakia Watson (331-2)
• FB: Mason Stokke (51-2)
• WRs: Danny Davis (30/250), Kendric Pryor (23/278)
• TE: Jake Ferguson (33/407)

Saturday October 24th:

Boise State depth chart:

• QB: Hank Bachmeier (1879-9)
• RB: George Holani (1014-7)
• WRs: Octavius Evans (19/211), CT Thomas (41/522), Khalil Shakir (63/872)
• TE: John Bates (22/273)

Colorado State depth chart (game postponed):

• QB: Patrick O’Brien (2803-13) OR Todd Centeio (444-5 – Temple) OR Justice McCoy (20-0)
• RB: Marcus McElroy (370-3)
• WRs: Nate Craig-Myers (23/329), Dante Wright (57/805), EJ Scott (15/255)
• TE: Trey McBride (45/560)

Fresno State depth chart:

• QB: Jake Haener (Washington transfer)
• RB: Ronnie Rivers (899-13)
• WRs: Keric Wheatfall (17/307), Jalen Cropper (15/196), Chris Coleman (9/158) OR Josh Kelly (1/-10)
• TE: Juan Rodriguez (5/42)

Hawaii depth chart:

• QB: Chevan Cordeiro (907-8)
• RB: Miles Reed (908-8)
• WRs: Rico Bussey (5/150 – North Texas), Lincoln Victor (10/86), Zion Bowens, Jared Smart (87/1129)

Indiana depth chart:

• QB: Michael Penix (1394-10)
• RB: Stevie Scott (845-10)
• WRs: Miles Marshall (16/196), Whop Philyor (70/1002), Ty Fryfogle (45/604)
• TE: Peyton Hendershot (52/622)

Iowa depth chart:

• QB: Spencer Petras (25-0)
• RB: Tyler Goodson (638-5)
• FB: Monte Pottebaum (1-0)
• WRs: Brandon Smith (37/439), Ihmir Smith-Marsette (44/722)
• TE: Sam LaPorta (15/188)

Maryland depth chart:

• QB: Lance LeGendre (7-0) OR Taulia Tagovailoa (100-1 – Alabama)
• RB: Jake Funk (173-2)
• WRs: Jeshaun Jones (22/288 – 2018), Dontay Demus (41/625), Brian Cobbs (16/243)
• TE: Tyler Baylor

Michigan chart (likely not releasing a depth chart, following is PROJECTED):

• QB: Joe Milton (59-1) has been taking #1 reps
• RB: Zach Charbonnet (726-11), Hassan Haskins (622-4)
• WRs: Ronnie Bell (48/758), Giles Jackson (9/142), Cornelius Johnson (4/61)
• TE: Nick Eubanks (25/243)

Michigan State depth chart (may not be releasing a depth chart based upon a quote from Mel Tucker, following is PROJECTED):

• QB: Rocky Lombardi (74-0) or Payton Thorne or Theo Day (12-0)
• RB: Elijah Collins (988-5)
• WRs: Tre Mosley (21/216), Jalen Nailor (15/106), Jayden Reed (56/797 – 2018, W Michigan)
• TE: Matt Dotson (16/151)/Trenton Gillison (12/147)

Minnesota depth chart (PROJECTED):

• QB: Tanner Morgan (3253-30)
• RB: Mohammed Ibrahim (604-7)
• WRs: Rashod Bateman (60/1219), Chris Autman-Bell (28/371), Doug Emilien/Seth Green/Clay Geary/Daniel Jackson
• TE: Jake Paulson (4/51)/Brevyn Spann-Ford (4/25)

Nebraska depth chart (not releasing a depth chart, following is PROJECTED):

• QB: Adrian Martinez (1956-10, 626-7) named starter
• RB: Dedrick Mills (745-10) acknowledged to be RB1
• WRs: Wan’Dale Robinson (40/453), Kade Warner (8/101), Omar Manning, Chris Hickman (1/0)
• TE: Jack Stoll (25/234)

Nevada depth chart:

• QB: Carson Strong (2335-11)
• RB: Toa Taua (807-6) OR Devonte Lee (302-7)
• WRs: Elijah Cooks (76/926), Melquan Stovall (19/171), Romeo Doubs (44/649)
• TE: Cole Turner (4/51)

New Mexico depth chart (game postponed):

• QB: Tevaka Tuioti named starter
• RB:
• WRs:
• TE:

Northwestern depth chart:

• QB: Peyton Ramsey (2454-13 – Indiana)
• RB: Isaiah Bowser (204-0)
• WRs: Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman (17/188), Riley Lees (51/430), Kyric McGowan (13/102)
• TE: John Raine (38/343 – FAU)

Ohio State depth chart (PROJECTED):

• QB: Justin Fields (3273-41, 484-10)
• RB: Trey Sermon (385-4 – Oklahoma), Master Teague (789-4)
• WRs: Chris Olave (48/840), Garrett Wilson (30/432), Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• TE: Luke Farrell (7/119)

Penn State depth chart:

• QB: Sean Clifford (2654-23, 405-5)
• RB: Noah Cain (443-8)
• WRs: Parker Washington, Cam Sullivan-Brown (8/56), Jahan Dotson (27/488)
• TE: Pat Freiermuth (43/507)

Purdue depth chart (PROJECTED):

• QB: Jack Plummer (1603-11) OR Aidan O’Connell (1101-8) OR Austin Burton (365-1 – UCLA)
• RB: King Doerue (451-5), Alexander Horvath (377-2)
• WRs: Rondale Moore (29/387) – declared OUT on Friday, David Bell (86/1035), Amad Anderson (31/343), Jared Sparks (8/108)
• TE: Payne Durham (9/82)

Rice depth chart:

• QB: Mike Collins (49-0 – TCU)
• RB: Juma Otoviano (114-0)
• FB: Jaeger Bull
• WRs: Austin Trammell (60/726), August Pitre (17/144)
• TE: Jack Bradley (1/8)

Rutgers depth chart:

• QB: Artur Sitkowski (429-1) OR Noah Vedral (418-0 – Neb)
• RB: Isaih Pacheco (729-7)
• WRs: Aron Cruickshank (13/138 – Wisc), Bo Melton (30/427), Shameen Jones (2/15)
• TE: Jovani Haskins (4/18 – W Virginia)

San Diego State depth chart (13 starting positions on offense, tons of ORs, this is a mess):

• QB: Carson Baker (172-1)
• RB: Jordan Byrd (355-3) OR Kaegun Williams (110-0) OR Greg Bell (Nebraska)
• RB: Chance Bell (384-2) OR Chase Jasmin (366-4) OR Lucky Avinger
• WRs: Jesse Matthews (48/633) OR Isaiah Richardson (9/119), Ethan Dedeaux (7/121) OR BJ Busbee (13/109), Kobe Smith (58/691) OR Elijah Kothe (17/179)
• TE: Daniel Bellinger (15/201)
• TE: Nolan Givan (12/92 – Ball State)

San Jose State depth chart:

• QB: Nick Starkel (1152-7 – Arkansas) OR Nick Nash (133-2)
• RB: Kairee Robinson (174-0)
• WRs: Tre Walker (79/1161), Isaiah Hamilton (43/718), Bailey Gaither (52/812)
• TE: Derrick Deese (19/179)

UNLV depth chart:

• QB: Kenyon Oblad (2081-18) OR Max Gilliam (1394-14 – 2018) OR Justin Rogers (TCU transfer)
• RB: Charles Williams (1257-11)
• WRs: Jacob Gasser (10/55), Tyleek Collins (15/79), Kyle Williams
• TE: Giovanno Fauolo (22/295)

Utah State depth chart:

• QB: Jason Shelley (43-1 – Utah)
• RB: Jaylon Warren (569-5) OR Devonta’e Henry-Cole (188-2 – Utah)
• WRs: Jordan Nathan (56/581), Deven Thompkins (40/536) OR Taylor Compton (14/121), Justin McGriff
• TE: Carson Terrell (13/84)

Wyoming depth chart:

• QB: Sean Chambers (915-7, 567-10)
• RB: Xazavian Valladay (1265-6)
• FB: Parker Christensen
• WRs: Gunner Gentry (6/130), Ayden Eberhardt (8/168)
• TE: Treyton Welch

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Tuesday brought a number of Mountain West depth charts and a few more from the Big Ten. A writer expects Georgia State RB Destin Coates back this weekend and South Florida RB Johnny Ford looks good to go as well.

Miss State RB Kylin Hill was described as still unavailable and it was revealed that North Texas RB Oscar Adaway had hand surgery and may be able to return for their next game October 31st. And in transfer news Mississippi State QB Garrett Shrader hit the transfer portal.

List of Injuries & Updates from October 20:

QBs:

• James Graham, Georgia Tech – wasn’t at game last weekend due to sickness
• Maryland – Lance LeGendre OR Taulia Tagovailoa on first depth chart
• Brady McBride, Texas State – will start this week
• Garrett Shrader, Miss State – enters transfer portal
• UNLV – Kenyon Oblad OR Max Gilliam OR Justin Rogers on first depth chart

RBs:

• Oscar Adaway, North Texas – revealed he had hand surgery, could return for Oct 31 game
• Christian Beal-Smith, Wake Forest – is fine, could have returned to game last weekend
• Noah Cain, Penn State – RB1 on depth chart with Journey Brown unavailable
• Destin Coates, Georgia State – beat writer says they expect him to be back this weekend
• Johnny Ford, South Florida – appears good to go (ankle)
• TJ Green, Utah – enters transfer portal
• Chase Hayden, East Carolina – opts out of season
• Kylin Hill, Mississippi State – still “unavailable dealing with personal issues”
• Jordan Mason, Georgia Tech – team is hopeful to get him back soon
• Kenny McIntosh, Georgia – injured knee last weekend, will be limited in practice
• Ronald Thompkins, Nebraska – described as RB2 behind Dedrick Mills (we may not get a Nebraska depth chart this week?)
• Elijah Turner, Charlotte – remains out this week

WRs & TEs:

• Avery Boyd, Georgia Tech – out for the season, injury
• TE Ryan Carriere, Charlotte – is back and ready
• Keke Chism, Missouri – on depth chart after missing game for covid reasons
• Dominic Gicinto, Missouri – on depth chart (but third string) after missing game for covid reasons
• Randal Grimes, UNLV – unclear why he was not listed on the first depth chart (along with WR Mekhi Stevenson)
• Damon Hazelton, Missouri – on depth chart (but third string) after missing game for covid reasons
• Zane Pope, Fresno State – unclear why he was not listed on the first depth chart
• Victor Tucker, Charlotte – will play this week (I wasn’t aware he might be banged up?)

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I take a look at some key stats & fantasy takeaways that stood out for 12 different teams last weekend and/or trends that are emerging over the course of the season. The “Stat to Know” from each team is bolded, as well as players who are mentioned.

Fantasy Takeaways from Week 7 (teams listed in alphabetical order):

Arkansas – Last weekend against Ole Miss WR Treylon Burks had a 11/137-1 receiving line. In the other game he played in this season where he wasn’t dealing with an injury he was 7-102-1. Last weekend Burks also picked up 4/46-0 rushing. And while Burks had 11 catches in week 7, no other Arkansas receiver had more than 2.

BYU – While it feels like WR Gunner Romney has gotten the early season press, let’s compare his receiving numbers to WR Dax Milne‘s. Romney on the season (21/456-2), Milne on the season (33/550-4). Milne is averaging 5 yards less a catch, but other than that the numbers favor him. And with Romney questionable with a hamstring injury (which limited his output last week), Milne’s stock is only rising.

East Carolina – a few weeks ago I basically shared the parity/mediocrity of the ECU RB situation. Since that time RB Rahjai Harris has emerged. Against South Florida Harris rushed for 19/115-2, and against Navy went for 22/172-1. RB Chase Hayden recently announced he was opting out, RB Darius Pinnix hasn’t done much, and RB Demetrius Mauney has been MIA, so Harris looks like the guy.

Kansas – With RB Pooka Williams opting out, let’s take a look at RB Velton Gardner so far this season. After 4 games Williams rushed for 51/196-2, while Gardner has 47/225-2. That equated to 4.8 yards per carry for Gardner to 3.8 for Williams. The hope going forward would be that Gardner becomes the featured back rather than starting to split carries with perhaps RB Daniel Hishaw. Williams showed a gifted RB can succeed at Kansas in recent seasons, now is Gardner’s chance to prove himself (or not).

Louisiana – They’ve played 4 games, so let’s look at the Louisiana RBs so far this season – Trey Ragas (47/222-3), Elijah Mitchell (33/249-4), Chris Smith (26/141-0). Ragas has played in all 4 games, Mitchell 3, and Smith 4 but was injured in one. Ragas is averaging (carries/yards) 11.75/55.5, Mitchell 11/83 and Smith 6.5/35.25 a game. In Mitchell’s three games his carries were 8, 16, 9. Simply put, the TDs keep Mitchell a viable option, but unless the carries increase this situation appears to be somewhat concerning from a fantasy perspective.

Miss State – Ok, there are obviously major problems here, but I still can’t resist digging in further. With RB Kylin Hill out this past weekend and his situation unclear, RB Jo’quavious Marks got the start. Marks rushed 7/25 (which led the team!) and was 9/40 receiving on 12 targets. That was 5 more targets than the next closest player, WR Osirus Mitchell, had. In fact Mitchell and WR Malik Heath combined for 13 targets combined, only one more than Marks had. If I had to broadly summarize the Miss. State offense since game 1 it seems like it has been throwing short dump off routes to the RB (at least on passes that are completed). Hard to believe I’m saying this, but until the QB situation gets settled and/or until they can either successfully pass downfield or create space to break short passes for longer gains, there may not be a player on this offense who is a safe start right now.

North Texas – Last week I celebrated that North Texas had finally abandoned their QB rotation and Austin Aune had two big games in a row. Then Aune had a slow start last weekend, Jason Bean was inserted in and passed for 12/17-181-2 and rushed for 10/169-3, the first player to pass and rush for 150 yards in a game this season. WR Jaelon Darden had another 200 yard game, so apparently the QB doesn’t matter much to him. UNT is off this week, and if the team will stick with one QB, whoever it is, they look worthy of a start, that’s a big if….

Notre Dame – How about a few mind-boggling stats, 4-0 Notre Dame’s leading receiver in receptions is TE Tommy Tremble with 10, the leader in receiving yards is WR Javon McKinley with 121 on 7 catches, with RB Kyren Williams just behind with 119 on 7 catches. Now Notre Dame has certainly dealt with injuries/covid-issues which has limited a number of WRs, but QB Ian Book is only averaging 178.25 yards passing a game. It will be very interesting to see if healthy WRs (Kevin Austin, Ben Skowronek, Braden Lenzy) open up the passing game or if this team is on the RB Kyren Williams train this season.

South Carolina – In preseason RB Marshawn Lloyd was injured, and there was a lot of conversation about a potential RB by committee. Well that committee is RB Kevin Harris. Harris has rushed for 81/409-6 on the season, a 5.0 average. Next closest is Deshaun Fenwick with 29/159-0. Harris has rushed for a TD in every game this season, and has averaged 22.7 carries over the past 3 games.

UMass – because it was their first game of the season (against Georgia Southern) I’m giving them a write-up, and only for that reason. The starting RB Ellis Merriweather had 16 rushes for 21 yards, a 1.3 average. WR Samuel Emilus was targeted 8 times (next highest was 3) and was 4/28 receiving. QB Mike Fallon shared time with QB (former TE) Josiah Johnson, and each passed for between 39-41 yards. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where you’d ever want to start a UMass player in their limited season.

Virginia Tech – QB Hendon Hooker got the start (and didn’t have to share time with anyone) and shined. Hooker threw for 11/15-111-1 against Boston College, while rushing for 18/164-3. Hooker had never rushed for more than 76 yards in a game before, and it was only the 2nd time he rushed for more than 1 TD. Between last season and this Hooker has dealt with a lot of shared time situations, but in the 10 games in his VT career when he was thrown at least 10 passes, in 5 of those he attempted 15 passes or less (like this week). While being the sole QB may open up his potential, a combination of not throwing many passes with historically (so far) not rushing for many yards isn’t a great combination. But I’m hoping last week was the start of something good.

Western Kentucky – In his first game as the starter QB Kevaris Thomas passed for 16/35-162-2, while rushing 13 times for 1 yard. QB Tyrrell Pigrome did not get into the game, so the stage belonged to Thomas. The numbers were pretty average across the board, and with RB Gaej Walker still only having put up 37/111-1 (3.0 average) on the season, there isn’t a lot to like about the WKU offense right now.