College Fantasy Update

I take a look at some key stats & fantasy takeaways that stood out for most FBS teams that played last weekend. The “Stat to Know” is bolded, as well as players who are mentioned.

(Teams listed in alphabetical order)

Appalachian State – After 2 games WR Thomas Hennigan has pulled in 10/208-1, with the next closest receiver Malik Williams having 8/82. With Corey Sutton having opted out, Hennigan has emerged.

Boston College – New QB Phil Jurkovec was effective and efficient, with 17/23-300-2, but the standout to me was WR Zay Flowers who caught 5/162-1. Flowers is a must add/play to me right now, especially with Kobay White being out, potentially long-term.

Duke – QB Chase Brice now has two games under his belt this season, and in each game he has completed 54% of his passes. While the volume of attempts is solid (37 & 42), 54% isn’t going to get it done long-term.

Georgia State – The big takeaway here was RB Destin Coates putting up 34/150-1. Coates is the only FBS player so far this season to have 30+ rushing attempts in a game.

Georgia Tech – QB Jeff Sims is averaging 260.5 yards passing and 73 yards rushing over his first 2 games. While it’s still early, he is looking like a true dual-threat (rather than a run-first type).

Liberty – QB Malik Willis shined with 21/168-3 on the ground, and 13/21-133-0 in the air. That Willis called his own number for 3 rushing TDs reduced the value of RB Joshua Mack a bit, who had 100 yards rushing but 0 TDs.

Louisiana-Monroe – RB Josh Johnson ran for 1298-11 in 2019, but hasn’t gotten on track so far this year. His 2 games have been 12/38 & 17/51, a 3.1 average. I’m not ready to give up on him, but I also wouldn’t want him in my lineup right now.

Louisville – I was intrigued by WR Braden Smith after his 4/110 in game 1, but he came back to earth with 1/36 on only one target in game 2.

Miami – QB D’Eriq King led Miami to a strong 47-34 win over Louisville, and while he passed for 325-3, he only rushed 8 times for 9 yards. Expectations from the game 1 highlight reel have been tempered from a hoped-for dual-threat stat explosion.

Middle Tennessee State – QB Asher O’Hara can’t seem to get it going this season. He’s now averaging 77.5 yards passing and 31.5 yards passing over 2 games. One possible culprit is the team’s rushing attack, the next highest rusher on the season has 40 yards. We have seen O’Hara be great, this isn’t it.

Navy – While QB Xavier Arline got the start, he was replaced by QB Dalen Morris who won his job back with a solid performance. Most surprising to me was the passing, Morris was 6/11-139-1, while only rushing for 13/23. Unfortunately a Navy QB who isn’t putting up big rushing numbers isn’t fantasy-worthy.

North Carolina State – they came into the game with a bunch of ORs at RB, and there isn’t much clarity after their season-opener. Ricky Person had 14/99-2, while Zonovan Knight had 11/97-1 & Jordan Houston rushed for 12/54. All 3 had at least 2 receptions as well. This is still a wait-and-see for me.

North Texas – RB Oscar Adaway again impressed, with 20/104 this week. Coming into the season the RB position was assumed to be a share between DeAndre Torrey and Tre Siggers, but Adaway is the team’s leading rusher, while Siggers is dealing with an injury.

Notre Dame – The RB who jumped out this week was C’Bo Flemister who rushed for 13/127-1. With Notre Dame blowing out South Florida 52-0 a lot of backs got work, and RB Kyren Williams was solid again after his first game breakout with 10/62 this week.

Oklahoma State – RB Chuba Hubbard ran for 27/93-1 – while the yards per carry isn’t outstanding from a fantasy perspective the 27 carries is good news. 27 is the 5th highest rushing attempts total of his career, but the bad news is it is his lowest rushing yard total for any game where he has had at least 18 carries.

Pitt – WR Jordan Addison continues to impress, receiving 7/57-1 last game. Addison has twice as many receptions as any other Pitt receiver on the season (14 to 7).

SMU – RB Ulysses Bentley was the best RB in FBS last weekend, rushing for 19/227-3. Over 2 games he now has 30/276, a 9.2 average. When you think SMU, start thinking RBs too.

Southern Miss – WR Tim Jones had a monster game with 8/160-2, He is one of only 3 players with 2 100+ receiving yard games on the season – Jacob Cowing (UTEP), Rashee Rice (SMU). Jones did miss the end of the game with a soft-tissue injury, so that should be monitored.

Syracuse – RB Jawhar Jordan has now rushed for 27/66-0 on the season, a 2.4 average. And he is their leading rusher. I wouldn’t even glance at Syracuse RBs until/unless something changes here.

Tulane – RB Tyjae Spears has rushed for 105 and 119 yards his last two games, one of only 3 FBS players to have 2 100+ rushing yards games this season – Cam’Ron Harris (Miami), Oscar Adaway (North Texas).

Tulsa – With the news that RB Shamari Brooks was out with a torn ACL and RB Corey Taylor still slowly returning from quarantine, RB Deneric Prince was the leading rusher putting up 13/82-0. I’m not ready to jump on Prince just yet but he does have my attention, I more want to see what a 100% Taylor can do.

UCF – WR Marlon Williams pulled in 10/154-2 on 13 targets in UCF’s first game of the season. With Tre Nixon appearing out with an injury, and Dillon Gabriel slinging it, I’m high on Williams right now.

UTEP – WR Jacob Cowing over 3 games this season has totaled 19/275-0. He’s twice gone over 100+ yards and is averaging 6.3 catches and 91.7 yards a game. The 0 TDs so far is discouraging though.

UTSA – QB Frank Harris could be emerging as one of the top dual-threat QBs in the nation as after 2 games he has passed for 438-2 and rushed for 161-5. I would start/grab him without hesitation until we see otherwise.

Wake Forest – So what to think of RB Kenneth Walker exploding for 27/131-3 against NC State? It was his 3rd 100+ yard game over two seasons, and 10 more carries than he’d ever gotten before. He has a 5.6 average over 131 attempts for his career, so he’s on my radar.

Western Kentucky – WR Jahcour Pearson was tied for the team lead in receptions this season with 9, but he announced Monday he was entering the transfer portal. WR Mitchell Tinsley is 9/107-2 on the season, and while I’m personally not big on QB Tyrrell Pigrome‘s passing game, Tinsley might be the go-to receiver now. On the RB side of things, Gaej Walker has not only rushed for 20/53-1 over 2 games, a 2.7 average, not good at all.

On Monday came word that Western Kentucky WR Jahcour Pearson was no longer with the team, and later in the day he announced he would be transferring. In injury news RBs Wesley Kennedy (Georgia Southern), Marcel Murray (Arkansas State), Pooka Williams (Kansas) and Deion Hankins (UTEP) are expected back this week.

Many SEC teams released their depth charts on Monday as well.

List of Injuries & Updates from September 21:

QBs (I list every QB1 on first-released depth charts that hadn’t already been formally announced):

• Myles Brennan, LSU – QB1
• Tommy DeVito, Syracuse – fine after getting roughed up last weekend, will remain the starter but Rex Culpepper will also play
• Matthew Downing, TCU – resumed practicing, getting most first-team reps
• Max Duggan, TCU – has been cleared, could play this weekend
• Feleipe Franks, Arkansas – QB1 on the depth chart
• Bailey Hockman, NC State – QB1 on depth chart, Devin Leary the backup
• Mac Jones, Alabama – QB1 as expected
• Chance Lovertich, South Alabama – will start Thursday (Desmond Trotter has been dealing with shoulder issues)
• Thomas MacVittie, Kansas – is progressing since getting banged up last game, sounds expected to play
• Mississippi State – KJ Costello OR Will Rogers, Mike Leach says Costello is expected to start
• Ole Miss – Matt Corral or John Rhys Plumlee
• Jawon Pass, Louisville – back at practice and good to go
• Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State – boot until Tuesday, will try to practice Wednesday to determine status
• Terry Wilson, Kentucky – QB1 on the depth chart

RBs:

• Brenden Brady, UTSA – waiting on MRI results after injury last weekend
• Chris Curry, LSU – may be lead back in rotation
• Carlin Fils-aime, Tennessee – sitting out this year, may come back in January
• Deion Hankins, UTEP – expected to play this week
• Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech – listed as RB1 on depth chart
• Wesley Kennedy, Georgia Southern – expected back this week
• Marcel Murray, Arkansas State – expected to play this week
• Wayne Taulapapa, Virginia – RB1 on depth chart, could be committee approach
• SaRodorick Thompson, Texas Tech – arrested and booked, likely tied to a warrant for street racing, the team will handle internally and he should be available to play this weekend
• Pooka Williams, Kansas – expected to play this week after injury last game

WRs & TEs:

• Jahcour Pearson, Western Kentucky – no longer with the program, in the transfer portal
• Jake Smith, Texas – will resume running Tuesday, team will know more about status Wed/Thur
• Keion Wakefield, West Virginia – reported to be in transfer portal as a grad transfer (recent transfer from Louisville)

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 Sept. 19 (alphabetical by last name):

• RB Shamari Brooks, Tulsa – word came out on ESPN Gameday just before the game that Brooks had torn his ACL in practice. The player thought to likely carry much of the load, Corey Taylor only had 2 carries as he was coming off of quarantine, Deneric Prince led the team with 13/82.
• QB Tommy DeVito, Syracuse – left the game for a while after getting banged up but returned. After the game coaches made it sound like the QB spot could be up for grabs between DeVito and Rex Culpepper who outshined Devito when he replaced him.
• RB Darrian Felix, South Florida – was described as a gametime decision with a hamstring issue but DNP.
• WR Zakhari Franklin, UTSA – coaches said they expected him back soon at the start of the week but he has now missed the past two weeks, was dressed out yesterday but did not play.
• WR Noah Frith, Liberty – earlier in the week coaches had said all the receiving corps was ready to go, but Frith was listed as out in pregame
• WR Donavon Greene, Wake Forest – missed some time during the game but returned with what was described as a back bruise in postgame, not thought to be serious
• RB Deion Hankins, UTEP – was injured in practice Tuesday, missed Wed, was limited Thursday and described as a gametime decision. Dressed and warmed up but did not play.
• WR Tim Jones, Southern Miss – had 8/160-2 receiving before leaving the game Saturday. Post-game was described as having a “lower body injury”, described as a “soft tissue injury”
• QB Devin Leary, NC State – was listed as the starter in the depth chart but in pregame came news that Bailey Hockman would start, later revealed that Leary had missed around 20 days due to Covid quarantine and was still rusty
• WR Taysir Mack, Pitt – at the start of the week was said to be expected back, but was not dressed out in pregame, has now missed the last 2 games
• RB Jordan Mason, Georgia Tech – did not play as there were (unconfirmed right now) reports he may have suffered a foot/ankle injury in practice this week
• QB Brady McBride, Texas State – tweeted out Saturday morning that he would miss the game even though he hasn’t had Covid since June, sounds caught up in Covid protocols as Texas State has had some players out
• RB Greg McCrae, UCF – left with an apparent foot/ankle injury in the 3rd quarter and did not return
• WR Tre Nixon, UCF – was injured at the end of the first half (looked like upper body as he was able to walk off) but it was announced he was expected to be out the rest of the game
• TE Henry Pearson, App State – was not seen at practice midweek then was not dressed on Saturday
• WR Alec Pierce, Cincinnati – was reported early Saturday that a knee issue would keep him out, beat writers later reported that it was more than just precautionary but the team was optimistic about his outlook
• QB Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State – left limping off in the first half, team announced he was doubtful to return to the game – in postgame coaches said the injury was not thought to be serious
• RB Tre Siggers, North Texas – did not play for undisclosed reasons, described as an injury in postgame articles
• WR Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State – missed some game time with a previously undisclosed groin issue but came on strong late finishing with 4/94
• WR Kobay White, Boston College – White had a knee injury in fall camp and was practicing but then was inactive Saturday. After the game it was said the team would be getting a second opinion and his status is unclear.
• RB Marcus Williams, App State – reports that he was practicing in a non-contact jersey midweek, then was reportedly on the sideline but did not play Saturday
• TE Jake Zilinskas, Pitt – was helped off the field early in the game then later in the game was seen on the sideline not wearing pads

This Saturday didn’t feel nearly as chaotic as last week when some teams were missing large groupings of players.

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

Coach News – Florida State coach Mike Norvell tested positive for Covid, will not coach the team next weekend.

List of Updates from September 19:

QBs: The most surprising news of the day was at NC State where Bailey Hockman got the start over Devin Leary.

• Aaron Allen, Louisiana Tech – started Saturday over Luke Anthony, shared time
• Xavier Arline, Navy – started, shared time with Dalen Morris who eventually replaced him and took over
• Brendon Clark, Notre Dame – unavailable list
• Cade Fortin, South Florida – inactive
• Bailey Hockman, NC State – starts instead of Devin Leary, who was “not the most ready” this week to start as he missed time due to contact tracing
• Phil Jurkovec, Boston College – started for Boston College over Dennis Grosel
• Brady McBride, Texas State – tweeted he would miss game, Tyler Vitt started
• Jawon Pass, Louisville – out for personal reasons

RBs: The biggest news here was the news that Tulsa RB Shamari Brooks had torn his ACL in practice this week.

• Shamari Brooks, Tulsa – tore ACL in practice
• Darrian Felix, South Florida – was GTD, did not play
• Deion Hankins, UTEP – dressed and warmed up, did not play
• Jordan Mason, Georgia Tech – not dressed
• Tre Siggers, North Texas – did not play
• Jahmir Smith, Notre Dame – unavailable list
• Corey Taylor, Tulsa – recently came off Covid quarantine

WRs & TEs: The biggest receiver news of the day came out early in the morning that Cincinnati’s Alec Pierce would be out today, along with the news that Taysir Mack of Pitt and Kobay White of Boston College were also out.

• Danny Dalton, Boston College – inactive
• TE Dylan Deveney, Georgia Tech – not dressed
• Zakhari Franklin, UTSA – dressed in pregame
• Noah Frith, Liberty – listed as out
• Luke Hodges, Miami – did not travel
• Lawrence Keys, Notre Dame – unavailable list
• Lucas Krull, Pitt – warmed up pregame, played
• TE Dylan Leonard, Georgia Tech – not dressed
• TE Joey Luchetti, Boston College – inactive
• Taysir Mack, Pitt – not dressed out (had been said to be expected back this week)
• Jeremiah Payton, Miami – did not make the trip
• Alec Pierce, Cincinnati – out with knee issue
• CJ Riley, NC State – inactive
• Brannon Spector, Clemson – unavailable
• Jared Wayne, Pitt – played after DNP last week
• Kobay White, Boston College – inactive, CJ Lewis got the start
• CJ Yarbrough, Liberty – listed as questionable by team pregame but played

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 Saturday Sept. 19th.

• 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
• Charts/Notes only included for FBS teams
• Several of these charts are carry-overs from last week whose teams games were postponed, I will be checking for any updates

Saturday September 19th:

Baylor depth chart (POSTPONED):

• QB: Charlie Brewer (3161-21, 344-11)
• RB: John Lovett (655-5) OR Trestan Ebner (250-3, 24/317)
• WRs: RJ Sneed (42/437), Gavin Holmes, Tyquan Thornton (45/782)
• TE: Ben Sims (2/5)

Boston College depth chart:

• QB: Phil Jurkovec (222-2 – Notre Dame) OR Dennis Grosel (983-9)
• RB: David Bailey (844-7)
• WRs: Kobay White (29/460), Jaelen Gill (6/51 – Ohio St), Zay Flowers (22/341)
• TE: Hunter Long (28/509)

Cincinnati depth chart:

• QB: Desmond Ridder (2164-18, 650-5)
• RB: Gerrid Doaks (526-5)
• WRs: Alec Pierce (37/652), Jayshon Jackson (17/171), Michael Young (6/21 – Notre Dame)
• TE: Bruno Labelle (2/9) OR Leonard Taylor (4/37)

Florida Atlantic depth chart (POSTPONED):

• QB: Nick Tronti (180-2)
• RB: BJ Emmons (237-6)
• WRs: TJ Chase (7/70 – Clemson), Jordan Merrell, BJ Alexander (Kentucky transfer)
• TE: Michael Irvin (2/33 – Miami)

Georgia State depth chart:

• QB: Cornelious Brown (130-0)
• RBs: Destin Coates (546-7)
• WRs: Cornelius McCoy (70/757), Terrance Dixon (9/82), Sam Pinckney (36/460)
• TE: Roger Carter (28/334)

Houston depth chart (POSTPONED):

• QB: Clayton Tune (1533-11)
• RB: Kyle Porter (615-3) OR Mulbah Car (375-3)
• WRs: Jeremy Singleton (26/381), Keith Corbin (11/192), Marquez Stevenson (52/907), Nathaniel Dell OR Tre’von Bradley (16/326)
• TE: Christian Trahan (22/244)

Liberty depth chart:

• QB: Malik Willis OR Chris Ferguson – Willis (Auburn transfer) was named the starter on Monday
• RB: Joshua Mack (792-7)
• WRs: CJ Yarbrough (6/124), Noah Frith (15/291), DJ Stubbs (32/401)
• TE: Johnny Huntley (11/196)

Louisiana Tech depth chart:

• QB: Aaron Allen (446-3) OR Luke Anthony
• RB: Justin Henderson (1062-15)
• FB: Jacob Adams
• WRs: Adrian Hardy (42/534), Griffin Hebert (30/537), Isaiah Graham (21/398), Cee Jay Powell (43/488) OR Smoke Harris (47/348)

North Carolina State depth chart:

• QB: Devin Leary (1219-8)
• RB: Ricky Person (229-3) OR Zonovan Knight (745-5) OR Jordan Houston (526-2) OR Trent Pennix (55-0)
• WRs: Devin Carter (32/456) OR CJ Riley (28/315 – 2018), Emeka Emezie (56/576) OR Jasiah Provillon (2/58), Thayer Thomas (31/334) OR Porter Rooks
• F: Dylan Autenrieth (3/40) OR Dylan Parham
• TE: Cary Angeline (25/379)

Oklahoma State depth chart (from last week before postponement):

• QB: Spencer Sanders (2065-16, 628-2)
• RB: Chuba Hubbard (2094-21)
• WRs: Tylan Wallace (53/903), Dillon Stoner (52/599), Brandon Johnson (23/491)
• CWs (TE/FB hybrid): Jelani Woods, Logan Carter (5/15)

Troy depth chart:

• QB: Gunnar Watson (89-0)
• RB: BJ Smith (106-1)
• WRs: Reggie Todd (38/666), Tray Eafford (23/334), Kaylon Geiger (77/873), Khalil McClain (45/562)
• TE: AJ Lewis (6/73)

Tulsa depth chart (from last week before postponement):

• QB: Zach Smith (3279-19)
• RBs: Shamari Brooks (1046-6), Corey Taylor (461-6)
• WRs: Sam Crawford (59/777), Keylon Stokes (62/1040), JuanCarlos Santana (19/233)
• TE: James Palmer (4/81)

UCF depth chart (PROJECTED until I see one released):

• QB: Dillon Gabriel (3653-29)
• RB: Otis Anderson (726/5, 31/365), Greg McCrae (529-7), Bentavious Thompson (604-8)
• WRs: Tre Nixon (49/830), Marlon Williams (51/717), Jacob Harris (19/448)
• TE: Jake Hescock (9/87)

(Post will be continually updated throughout the week)

Most of the news this week again centered around waivers for eligibility being granted, with Jamarius Burton (Texas Tech) and Tyrese Martin (UConn) being some of the highlights.

On Friday came the news that Iowa State’s Blake Hinson will miss the season due to an ongoing medical condition.

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

• Andre Adams, Boston College – reports of a season-ending injury for the grad transfer from Southern Utah
• Jamal Bieniemy, UTEP – eligible after transfer from Oklahoma
• James Bishop, George Washington – eligible after transfer from LSU
• Jamarius Burton, Texas Tech – eligible after transfer from Wichita State
• Je’Lani Clark, Nevada – not enrolled in school and has been removed from the roster
• Noah Fernandes, UMass – eligible after transfer from Wichita State
• Juwan Gary, Alabama – not yet returned to action (knee)
• Raymond Hawkins, Long Beach State – eligible after transfer from Alabama
• Blake Hinson, Iowa State – will miss the season with an ongoing medical condition (transfer from Ole Miss)
• Tyrese Martin, UConn – eligible after transfer from Rhode Island
• Mike Peake, Austin Peay – eligible after transfer from Georgia
• James Rojas, Alabama – no longer limited (knee)

(continually updated)

On Wednesday the Big Ten revealed it will return the weekend of October 23-24 with an 8 game schedule with a 9th game for each team based on finish. Not too long after that announcement came the news that Michigan QB Dylan McCaffrey plans to opt out and transfer, a sign that QB Joe Milton has won the starting job. Michigan WR Nico Collins also reportedly will opt out.

The big news on Thursday was South Carolina QB Collin Hill (Colorado State transfer) being named the starter over returner Ryan Hilinski.

Friday brought the postponement of the Baylor-Houston & Florida Atlantic-Georgia Southern games. Also, Miami QB Tate Martell opted out of the season

List of Injuries & Updates from September 16-18:

QBs:

• Collin Hill, South Carolina – named starter over Ryan Hilinski
• Jaiave Magalei, Louisiana – this is conjecture, but he wasn’t on the two deep roster leading a writer to think the backup may be out for COVID related reasons, as the team has said 9 players will be out
• Tate Martell, Miami – opts out of season
• Dylan McCaffrey, Michigan – plans to opt out and transfer
• Anthony Russo, Temple – mentioned as the starter by coaches

RBs:

• Trillion Coles, UCF – out for season with Achilles injury
• Marcus Crowley, Ohio State – still working way back into practice after ACL tear
• Vincent Davis, Pitt – will start at RB but sounds like committee approach
• Lyn-J Dixon, Clemson – could have played last weekend, ready to go
• Michel Dukes, Clemson – expected back this week
• Darrian Felix, South Florida – limited in practice with hamstring, gametime decision Saturday
• Deion Hankins, UTEP – not full participant in practice Thursday, missed Wednesday practice after a Tuesday practice injury, described as a gametime decision
• Chez Mellusi, Clemson – expected back this week

WRs & TEs:

• Kevin Austin, Notre Dame – another scan in 2 weeks, could be cleared for practice then
• Rashod Bateman, Minnesota – reportedly wants to opt back in, has signed with an agent
• Eyin Cole, Florida Atlantic – opts out of season
• Nico Collins, Michigan – has signed with an agent and will opt out
• Daniel Ehlinger, Missouri – moving on from the team
• Dontae Fleming, Louisiana – expected back full strength this weekend
• TE Jackson Lowe, Tennessee – enters transfer portal
• Maurice Massey, Missouri – opts out of season
• TE Austin Pope, Tennessee – “will not play right now”, recovering from back surgery
• Ben Skowronek, Notre Dame – confirmed out this weekend

On Tuesday came the injury news that Charlotte QB Chris Reynolds is out indefinitely with an upper body injury. Dom Shoffner will get the start at QB for Charlotte.

In more QB injury news, UAB’s Tyler Johnston is also out indefinitely with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, Bryson Lucero is likely next in line.

List of Injuries & Updates from September 15:

QBs:

• JT Daniels, Georgia – not yet medically cleared but still hopeful
• Frank Harris, UTSA – QB1 on depth chart, no more OR at top spot
• Tyler Johnston, UAB – out indefinitely with injury to non-throwing shoulder, Bryson Lucero is the presumable replacement
• D’Wan Mathis, Georgia – got first team scrimmage snaps
• Brady McBride, Texas State – back at practice but status unclear in regards to COVID protocols
• Chubba Purdy, Florida State – making progress, hoped to be back at practice soon
• Chris Reynolds, Charlotte – out indefinitely with an upper body injury, Dom Shoffner will start in his absence
• Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati – QB1 on depth chart as expected
• Desmond Trotter, South Alabama – dealing with shoulder injury suffered in season opener and aggravated last weekend

RBs:

• App State – Cam Peoples and Marcus Williams doing drills in non-contact jerseys (the original tweet was deleted, which is always a little curious, especially if it could have been at the request of the team?)
• Charlotte – Tre Harbison now listed first with OR Aaron McAllister. McAllister was listed as RB1 last week
• Darrian Felix, South Florida – played through a tight hamstring last weekend
• Gerald Green, Georgia Southern – expected back this week
• Anthony Watkins, Tulsa – receives waiver for eligibility after transfer from Missouri

WRs & TEs:

• Darion Anderson, Georgia Southern – expected back this week
• Isaiah Bolden, Florida State – former DB enters transfer portal
• TE Lucas Krull, Pitt – expected back this week
• Taysir Mack, Pitt – expected back this week
• DJ Matthews, Florida State – enters transfer portal
• TE Henry Pearson, App State – may have been missing from practice, not seen by a reporter
• TE Carson Welch, SMU – entered the transfer portal, quit the team August 17th

In Monday injury news Texas WR Jordan Whittington was revealed to be out 3-4 weeks as he’ll have surgery to repair a meniscus tear. Notre Dame WR Ben Skowronek is also likely out this weekend with a hamstring issue. Kansas WR Stephon Robinson is also expected back this week.

Liberty QB Malik Willis was named the starter for their debut this weekend, while Boston College has the OR between QBs Phil Jukovec/Dennis Grosel.

List of Injuries & Updates from September 14:

QBs:

• Boston College – Phil Jurkovec OR Dennis Grosel on depth chart
• Cornelious Brown, Georgia State – QB1 on depth chart
• Matthew Downing, TCU – has been out the last 10 days
• Max Duggan, TCU – not cleared as he deals with diagnosed heart issue
• Cade Fortin, South Florida – no timeline for return specified
• James Foster, Texas A&M – re-enters transfer portal
• Devin Leary, NC State – QB1 on depth chart (as previously named)
• Clifton McDowell, Louisiana – enters transfer portal
• McKenzie Milton, UCF – out this weekend and at least first few games of the season
• Nick Tronti, Florida Atlantic – named starter
• Clayton Tune, Houston – confirmed as starter
• Gunnar Watson, Troy – QB1 on depth chart (as previously announced)
• Malik Willis, Liberty announced as starter, the depth chart listed him with an OR with Chris Ferguson

RBs:

• FB Forest McKee, UTEP – likely out for season after injury last weekend, getting an MRI
• Elijah Mitchell, Louisiana – fine after getting banged up late in game

WRs & TEs:

• Zakhari Franklin, UTSA – expected back soon (missed last weekend)
• Braden Lenzy, Notre Dame – expected to be 100% Tuesday
• Liberty WRs all expected to “give it a go” – CJ Yarbrough, Noah Frith, DJ Stubbs, CJ Daniels have all missed time or dealt with injuries
• TE Jack Luavasa, Kansas – should be back available today
• Stephon Robinson, Kansas – should be back available today
• Ben Skowronek, Notre Dame – likely out this week with hamstring injury
• Jordan Whittington, Texas – surgery to repair small tear in meniscus, out 3-4 weeks

Everyone knows Sam Ehlinger & Spencer Rattler had big games, but not everyone is able to dig into every single box score each weekend, so I’ll do it for you this week, looking at some key stats & fantasy takeaways that stood out for each FBS team last weekend. The “Stat to Know” is bolded, as well as players who are mentioned.

(Teams listed in alphabetical order)

Appalachian State – The running game was the highlight as RB Camerun Peoples rushed for 13/102-1 (despite missing some time), RB Marcus Williams had 14/117-1, while RB Daetrich Harrington had 15/60-2. While from a fantasy perspective it’s a little challenging to navigate 3 productive RBs on one team, any of these guys are worth a look until/if a leader emerges.

Arkansas State – WR Jonathan “Jay” Adams was a stud, you saw the highlights all day Saturday. On Saturday he had 8/98-3 receiving, and while WR Dahu Green didn’t dress, no reason to think Adams won’t be a primary target all year, whether Bonner or Hatcher is at QB (still not a fan of the shared time).

Army – RB Jakobi Buchanan rushed for 11/106-2 after only putting up 9/33-0 in Army’s first game. QB Christian Anderson led the team in carries with 21 (95 yards) despite missing some time. You know Army is going to run the ball, but with carries being inconsistent from week to week so far, the QB is the safest bet.

Charlotte – RB Tre Harbison was listed as RB2 on the depth chart but rushed for 17/87-1 as compared to the listed RB1 Aaron McAllister who had 2/16-0. Harbison looks like the guy going forward.

Clemson – WR Amari Rodgers emerged as the top receiver in this game, grabbing 5 catches for 90 yards. TE Braden Galloway was next, going 5/60-0. No other receivers had more than 3 targets.

Coastal Carolina – QB Grayson McCall unexpectedly got the start over Bryce Carpenter and Fred Payton. McCall was an effective 11/18-133 with 3 TDs in the air, and ran for 11/73 and 2 TDs. It looks like it is now his job to lose.

Duke – New QB Chase Brice (Clemson transfer) had a tough first opponent in Notre Dame, but still threw for 20/37-259-0. While the completion percentage needs to improve, the yards per completion was solid (12.95). He also attempted 10 runs, although for only 16 yards and 1 TD.

Florida State – Despite high hopes under a new coach, QB James Blackman was mediocre, passing for 23/43-198-1. The RB position had been listed with an OR, but La’Damian Webb got 13 carries (39 yards) to only 6 carries for Jashaun Corbin (18 yards). Both had an awful 3 yard average, but my lean is to Webb because of the higher workload.

Georgia Southern – This is again the QB Shai Werts show. RB Wesley Kennedy was out, which took away one running threat, but Werts passed for 7/13-53-1 and ran for 14/155-1. They barely beat Campbell, which is worrisome even with 30+ players out.

Georgia Tech – It leaked out the day before the game that QB Jeff Sims would be getting his first start. Sims showed something a QB Georgia Tech hasn’t seen in a long time, throwing for 24/35-277-1, while also rushing for 13/64-0. The 24 completions was the most by a GT QB since 2003 (credit @MFlynnGT). Grab Sims now.

Iowa State – QB Brock Purdy simply had a bad game after an outstanding season last year. He threw for 16/35-145-0. Completing less than 50% of your passes against a non-con opponent while the running game was still successful (RB Breece Hall 20/103-1) is concerning.

Kansas – QBs Thomas MacVittie and Miles Kendrick were listed a co-starters, but MacVittie left with an injury after passing for an uninspiring 5/9-20. Kendrick was a solid 15/24-156 with 2 TDs. To be honest I’d avoid this QB situation for now until we learn more about MacVittie’s injury, and instead run out their WRs (or RB Pooka Williams if his Saturday injury proves to be minor).

Kansas State – While not huge totals, RB Deuce Vaughn (5 foot 5, 168 lbs) rushed for 12/47-1 and caught one ball for 24 yards, he is one to watch although doubtful he can be the primary ballcarrier. But the standout to me amongst a receiving corps missing several players was WR Chabastin Taylor, 4/98-0, a very nice 24.5 average. Taylor only had 161 receiving yards last season, so it will be interesting to see what happens when some other WRs (Youngblood, Gill) return.

Louisiana – Despite a great win over Iowa State, no one really stood out on the stat sheet (other than special teams) with the exception of WR Peter LeBlanc, who had 5/82-1. The next top receiver only had 22 yards, and LeBlanc had more than half the team’s passing yards total.

Louisiana-Monroe – A poor showing all-around as they only scored 7 points. New QB Colby Suits was efficient, going 14/19-148-1. His top target was TE Josh Pederson, 5/56-0 on 7 targets.

Louisville – QB Micale Cunningham again has a strong stable of WRs at his disposal, and while Tutu Atwell (7/78) and Dez Fitzpatrick (4/110-1) had good performances, Braden Smith also stood out with a 4/110-0 game. Smith was only targeted 4 times compared to 8 for the other two, so it will have to be seen how the ball is spread around in the future.

Miami – they killed it on the ground rushing for 337 yards as a team, but the real story of the game were the expectations around the performance of QB D’Eriq King in his first game for The U. He had 141-1 passing with 12/83-1 rushing. His passing numbers were average, but he looked electric when tucking the ball and running. For historical reference, 141 yards passing is his 17th highest passing total in college, while 83 yards rushing tied for his 8th highest total. So basically he has a lot more upside as he settles into the Miami offense.

North Carolina – A balanced effort from the highly-talented offense. Perhaps the most curious stat of the game to me was WR Dyami Brown was 6/94-0 on 9 targets, while WR Dazz Newsome was 2/25-0 on only 3 targets. Too early to draw any real conclusions, but it does have my attention.

Notre Dame – RB Kyren Williams was awesome in his first game at RB1, rushing for 19/112-2 and catching 2 balls for 93 yards (although targeted 6 times). As Notre Dame looks for WRs to emerge and/or get healthy, Williams may be the primary option on offense.

Oklahoma – You already know new QB Spencer Rattler looked fantastic (14/18-290-4), but what about the RBs? News came out earlier in the day that Marcus Major would likely start with TJ Pledger likely out. Unfortunately Major had a subpar day against a bad Missouri State team, rushing for 11/31-0. Seth McGowan was the leader on the ground, going for 9/61-1.

Pitt – They destroyed Austin Peay, 55-0, with many starters only playing part of the game and the 3rd and 4th quarters shortened to 10 minutes. Despite missing some receiving options, QB Kenny Pickett was his usual reliable self, passing for 14/20-277-1. The backfield may be RB by committee, and the blowout didn’t give any clarity to that.

South Alabama – There is a lack of clarity whether QB Desmond Trotter may have been nursing an injury, but he threw only 8 passes, while Chance Lovertich relieved him and threw for 18/27-262-2. WRs Kawaan Baker & Jalen Tolbert both had over 100 yards receiving, keeping Tolbert on a hot streak the past 3 games.

South Florida – Jordan McCloud was part of a 3-man QB rotation, perhaps in part to Citadel being the opponent, but only passed for 11/16-68-1, not inspiring with a 6 yard average per completion. RBs Johnny Ford (9/71) and Kelley Joiner (8/87) both looked solid splitting carries.

Syracuse – They looked terrible against UNC. WR Taj Harris had 5/64 receiving, but was targeted 15 times, 10 more than any other player on the team.

Texas – You already know QB Sam Ehlinger went for 426-5, and none of the RBs stood out. But at WR Joshua Moore was 6/127-1, while Michigan transfer Tarik Black had 5/80-1. With Jordan Whittington out 3-4 weeks with an injury, it is time for each of those guys to solidify their roles.

Texas State – QB Tyler Vitt returned after missing the first game under COVID protocols, and replaced QB Brady McBride who was out Saturday for COVID reasons. Vitt passed for 26/40-346 and 4 TDs. The question will be who will start (or will they split time) whenever the team has both QBs available at the same time.

Texas Tech – After an early-season injury last year, QB Alan Bowman was back producing the numbers you are used to seeing from a Texas Tech QB, passing for 38/52-430-2. The Tech defense allowed Houston Baptist to pass for a ridiculous 566 yards, which may mean that Bowman will need to air it out all season long just to overcome the defense.

Tulane – What was a crowded Tulane backfield the past few years now appears to belong to RB Tyjae Spears. Spears rushed for 11/105-0 on Saturday, with 2/30 receiving.

UAB – As I mentioned last week, UAB again shared QB snaps (although some came in the 4th when the game was out of reach). QB Tyler Johnston went 15/24-150-1 passes while backup QB Bryson Lucero looked much more pedestrian against tougher competition, going 4/11-55 (as compared to 7/9-83 last week). Two weeks is enough to draw some conclusions, and the shared QB snaps would scare me away from either of these guys until things change.

UTEP – RB Deion Hankins had a breakout 100+ yard performance in his first game against Stephen F Austin, but against Texas was only able to rush for 11/34, a 3.1 average.

UTSA – RB Sincere McCormick and QB Frank Harris both had big games. McCormick had 29/197-1, a strong 6.8 average with that many carries. While Harris’ passing numbers were average, 23/39-161-1 (a lot of short safe passes for only a 7 yard average per completion), he ran for 11/51 with 3 TDs. Harris is a true dual-threat who should continue to produce big stats.

Wake Forest – With almost a complete turnover of the WR corps, this was my area of interest for this game. 3 players rose to the top in game 1, with Taylor Morin being the clear leader, grabbing 9/93-1. Also of note were Jaquarii Roberson (4/92) and Donavon Greene (3/76).

West Virginia – Even against an overmatched opponent (EKU), QB Jarret Doege had an impressive line – throwing 19/25-228-3. Regardless of opponent, completing 76% of your passes shows an offense that is running crisply as well as good reading of defense.

Western Kentucky – As I’ve said before, not all stats to know are good – RB Gaej Walker curiously struggled, with a very rough 9 carries for 19 yards and a TD. New QB Tyrrell Pigrome (Maryland transfer) kept to his running ways, with 17/68 on the ground, and 10/23-129-1 in the air.