College Football Weekly Picks Week 4
Week 4 should be the last week where we still have a lot of lopsided matchups. Starting next week almost everybody will play conference games the rest of the way. Each week that goes by it is getting harder to find the value guys that most people don’t know about. With a couple of injuries and a few mispriced players this week you can still build a pretty stacked lineup. Remember as the year goes on the QB and RB spot is not where you want to take your chances. The Vegas lines and matchups are starting to become more important each week, so take these factors into account when choosing which expensive guys your are spending on. Here is the list of players I will be running out in most of my lineups this week.
Quarterback
Taysom Hill (BYU) E Hill is putting up video game numbers right now and I don’t think the tough Virginia defense is going to stop him. He has scored 70 points in the first three games on the ground alone and he throws the ball 30 times a game for an added bonus. His per game averages of 225 yards passing and 120 yards rushing and 3 TD’s are really impressive. On paper this doesn’t look like the best matchup but Hill is a different player than almost anyone other than Mariota. Hill is a great GPP and cash game option as many people are fearing the Virginia defense and he will be under owned for how good of a player he is.
Nate Sudfeld (Indiana) E Sudfeld is still to cheap for the upside he brings to the table. The only thing keeping his price down is a Week 1 game in which he wasn’t needed to anything at all due to a blowout. Last week in a very competitive game Sudfeld threw for 350 yards and a TD and ran for 2 more. This week he will line up against a Mizzou team in a game that has a 73 O/U. Indiana will probably be playing from behind most of the game which means Sudfeld will have to air it out to keep up with Mizzou offense. He is the cheapest option at QB that has a legit shot at a 30 point game.
Clint Trickett (West Virginia) L West Virginia is only a 7 point dog to the #3 team in the nation and Trickett is the main reason why. I think this game is going to be a shootout and Trickett will be airing the ball out around 50 times. Trickett and Kevin White are going to be able to move the ball on Oklahoma and I expect West Virginia to hang with the Sooners.
Other Options: Maty Mauk (Missouri), Drew Hare (Northern Illinois), Marcus Mariota (Oregon)
Running Back
Tevin Coleman (Indiana) E Coleman already has 437 yards and 5 TD’s this year. While those numbers are very impressive this is what makes them all the better, Indiana has already had a bye week so those stats are in 2 games. This week Indiana is playing another game with a 73 O/U and Coleman is going to get a big part of the scoring in this one. He is expensive but should be worth every penny you have to spend to get him. Of all the big time RB’s this week I think he is not only the safest play but also brings one of the highest upsides of any player out there. If you are a multiple lineup guy you need to get your shares of this guy.
James Conner (Pittsburgh) E Conner is not the most impressive RB in the nation but he is one of the biggest workhorses out there. He is a great cash game play as he is as consistent as they come. He will probably get 30 carries a game and that usually means 150 yards and 2 TD’s. That stat line will result in a 25-30 point game and I think we all would be happy getting that out of our RB’s. So far this year his three games have resulted in points totals between 27 and 35 points. If that isn’t money in the bank I am not sure what is.
Steven Lakalaka (Hawaii) E Lakalaka has benefited from an injury and has rolled with the opportunity he has been given. Hawaii loves to force feed their starting RB as many carries as they can handle. Last week in his first start he was given 32 carries and he used them to put up 124 yards and a TD. Lakalaka is the value play you need in order to get the studs you want to make that high upside lineup we are all looking for. Colorado doesn’t have the greatest defense around so he will probably rumble his way to a pretty good stat line when all is said and done.
Other Options: Nick Wilson (Arizona), Jay Ajayi (Boise St), Alex Collins (Arkansas)
Wide Receiver
Isiah Myers (Washington St) L Myers has been an absolute monster so far this year and most people don’t even know it because the Cougars either haven’t been in the game slate or their games have been so late they haven’t heard anything about him. He is averaging 9 catches for 140 yards and almost 2 TD’s a game. This week they play Oregon and are going to have to score a lot to hang with the Ducks. This game has a 75 point O/U on it, so you are going to want in on this one and I think Myers and Mariota are the two best guys to target.
Nelson Spruce (Colorado) E Spruce has been the model of consistency so far this year. He has 2 TD’s in all three games and at least 7 catches in each one as well. Last week was his worst game of the year with only 7 catches for 97 yards and 2 TD’s. If that is a bad game for him sign me up, I will take those stats all day long. This should be a competitive game with Colorado scoring in the 30’s which means Spruce should get plenty of action in this one.
MeKale McKay (Cincinnati) L McKay was making his debut last week after transferring and hopefully because of that most people will not know much about him yet. The man throwing him the ball was also making his debut and by the looks of it they must be on the same page from working together on the sidelines. McKay snagged 9 catches for 175 yards and a TD last week and while I don’t think Cincy is going to have 6 passing TD’s again they only had 29 completions. That means that McKay caught 1/3 of the completed passes, I like that ratio and hopefully he and Kiel have something working in a pass happy offense.
Jordan Leslie (BYU) E Leslie is not a household name by any means and if you play him chances are you are getting a low % ownership guy. I like Taysom Hill this week and if you are playing Hill you are going to need to safe money on a few spots and what better place to look than Hill’s #1 receiver. Leslie hasn’t managed to find the end zone yet this year and that is what is keeping his salary down. He has clearly emerged as the main target in BYU’s passing game and the price is right. If you are playing Hill in your GPP lineups I see no reason not to play Leslie alongside him.
Other Options: Roger Lewis (Bowling Green), Victor Bolden (Oregon St), Justin Hardy (East Carolina), Cayleb Jones (Arizona)
Tight End
Jake Butt (Michigan) E Butt played in his first game last week after recovering from a knee injury suffered last year. Butt won’t be on the field for every play just yet but as long he is in on the passing downs that is all us fantasy guys really care about. He is priced cheap for the time being and managed to catch 3 balls for 60 yards and a TD in his first game back. If he continues to make strides forward he could become a major factor in the Michigan passing game.
Wes Saxton (South Alabama) L Saxton was a major factor in the South Alabama passing attack last year and I don’t see a lot changing this season. He racked up 50 catches for over 600 yards last year and that is pretty impressive for a college TE. He is not known for catching TD’s but for a cheap TE I am just looking for a guy that can get 5-10 points and spend on the positions that will make or break you.
Other Options: Sam Arneson (Wisconsin), Connor Hamlett (Oregon St), Bradley Miller (Texas St)