Apologies, apologies, apologies. After taking a week off to recover from surgery on my non-typing hand, I am back off the IR to deliver some nuggets of information to help you down the stretch and take advantage of your opponent without him even knowing it…two weeks in advance.
While offense is the name of the game, it has never been as evident in some of the shootouts we are going to see in Week 9. With the art of tackling looking optional for many college teams, yards after catches, big plays and bloated fantasy numbers are becoming the norm.
With that in mind, it is time to shed some light on how to manipulate your lineup to excel in Week 9.
First to 60 wins?
That is what may happen when Baylor and Oklahoma State match up. While the Pokes should win as they have the better defense, you really cannot go wrong by playing any of Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper, Hubert Anyiam, Joseph Randle, Jeremy Smith, RG III, Terrance Williams, Kendall Wright, and any other alums of these two schools. The wild card here may be Smith, who is a sneaky flex play with his nose for the end zone, a fact that was evident with him breaking off two long touchdown runs against Texas. Start em if you got em.
First to 60 wins…part deux
SMU vs. Tulsa. These are two high-flying offenses that do not play much defense, with two quarterbacks playing exceptionally well. While we expected G.J. Kinne to be here, we did not expect J.J. McDermott in this spot, but here he is. Both QB’s as well as Ja'Terian Douglas, Cole Beasley, Darius Johnson, Clay Sears, Zach Line, Bryan Burnham and both kickers should be active. Expect Tulsa to edge this one out, with the experienced Kinne leading the way.
Whose the best QB in the Pac-12?
In what may seem like a stupid question, two of the best signal callers in the Pac-12 and the nation will battle when Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley square off. With the Cardinal rushing attack in rhythm and the lack of a rushing game evident for USC, it is not impossible to see Barkley having the better day. He does have the two best targets in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Stanford wins, but both put up solid numbers.
Start Jahwan Edwards & Erik Finklea, wait who??
Our goal here is to drop waiver wire gems into your lap every week. So here are two for you. Edwards is the leading rusher for Ball State, who takes on Western Michigan, which is near the bottom against the run in the nation. He already has 530 yards and seven scores in 2011, and should easily get to 100+ with a score against WMU. Finklea is an even deeper sleeper, as he leads Miami of Ohio’s ground attack against Buffalo, another MAC school that cannot stop the run. While Finklea only has 302 yards and three scores so far in 2011, he is more likely to be on waiver wires, thus an easy add and stash.
Other Matchups to exploit
Tim Jefferson and Asher Clark of Air Force take on the hapless New Mexico Lobos. Plenty of yards, touchdowns and big plays in this matchup.
Ryan Aplin vs. North Texas and James Franklin vs. Texas A&M. North Texas and Texas A&M are two of the worst statistical teams against the pass in the nation. If you can secure one of these quarterbacks for these juicy matchups, you may see 25+ easy points from the QB spot.