Sit or Start: Week 6

Brian McDonald
Senior Editor
October 04, 2007
Hard to believe we're already in week six of the college football season. It seems like just yesterday the 2007 season was resting in the crib, wondering in amazement at all the wonderful experiences that lay ahead. Now, halfway through, the season has divorced his wife, leased a convertible, and is throwing on some Drakkar Noir for a big night at the club. He's ready to request a little Lionel Ritchie, discard the Members Only, get out on the dance floor and show he's still got it; while he has an uphill battle, he also knows that it's not quite over yet. Like the season itself, many owners are in the midst of a mid-season crisis. The season hasn't turned out quite as planned, and you're looking for players to fulfill your otherwise dull college fantasy existence. Many of the sad, pathetic emails we receive are from owners stuck in last-place purgatory, sitting at 0-5 or just whining about some other college fantasy football injustice. We often feel more like an indifferent pyscho-therapist rather than college fantasy football gurus. To these poor, misguided souls we have one common message: Get over it! The season is only at its midpoint. It's time to make a move out of the basement, and being the slow climb. Stealing some line from some dude that made inspirational posters, the first step in a journey of a fantasy title is to make one right lineup call. As luck would have it, that's what we're here for, and without any further ado, we now present our Week Six Sit or Start... Quarterback Start 'Em They're taking over. It didn't take long for the non-BCS quarterbacks to make their collective presence felt. Our top ten features signal callers from Tulsa, Ball State and Troy, and in the perfect illustration of the pivotal role matchups play in college fantasy football, these three aforementioned signal callers should all out-perform Andre’ Woodson, the same Andre' Woodson who has been out of this world through the early part of the season. Yes, we fully recognize how difficult it can be to sit your stud Woodson, especially when he’s playing The Visor on a primetime Thursday night telecast. When we ask you to do so in favor the Troy quarterback who is facing Florida International in a game you’ll likely have to attend to see live, it becomes an exercise in self-control to not play the Kentucky gunslinger. Still, remember this is all about numbers, matchups and stuff like that. Don’t fall prey to the television curse as Woodson is on the road facing a hostile defense, which is why he slides from his normal perch. Chase Daniel is a tasty option, and despite the presence of the (shades of) blackshirts across the line of scrimmage this week, we still have him firmly entrenched in our top ten. While Nebraska spent last week playing Iowa State, the Missouri Tigers were resting and planning to take on Nebraska. We’re thinking the return of Danario Alexander, the week off, and the likely offensive wrinkles added during this week combine to foretell good things for Mr. Daniel. The thought of Kellen Lewis running around against Minnesota in the Dome should be enough for Lewis’ owners to begin the weekend a little earlier than usual. The lawfirm of Lewis and Hardy should be in for a big fat settlement this week. After throwing nine touchdowns in his first two games against bad opponents, Brian Brohm has thrown seven in three games against mediocre opponents. We see the Brian Brohm of the first two weeks showing up in Utah, and Louisville and Utah should be a fun offensive tilt. Willie Tuitama seems to really be getting the hang of this snazzy new offense, and he'll get the chance to continue the Arizona offensive awakening against an Oregon State defensive unit that will not be mistaken for LSU anytime soon. Don't let Nick Grigsby's emergence scare you from using Willie T. This is his team, and the entire offense begins and ends with Tuitama. Others to Watch It's time for John David Booty to turn it on. The Stanford Cardinal will help get him on track. Todd Boeckman has been extremely steady as he has yet to throw for less than two scores in any game this season. While Purdue has been impressive to date, their defensive unit hasn’t given enough of an indication that they can stop the Buckeye quarterback. Let's call John Parker Wilson my sleeper pick at quarterback. I think he's good for 250 and three against the Houston Cougars. Sit 'Em A couple of dinged quarterback pose interesting scenarios this week in Pat White of WVU and Chase Holbrook of New Mexico State. Both teams’ coaches are being coy about the status of the injured starters. We hate to make predictions in these cases, but our guess is both will play this weekend. Our advice however is to look elsewhere for your team’s starter if you have capable back-ups. There is no need to risk taking a donut in these cases. If your options look like something Jake Christensen, however, go ahead and take the risk. Quarterback Tim Tebow and WR Percy Harvin have been studs so far this year. This week they face their toughest challenge on the road at LSU. Death Valley, especially at night, is no place for a nervous person. Making Tebow and Harvin tough starts. Like White, if you have other options, exercise them, if not roll the bones. I’m tired of waiting for Dan LeFevour to return to last year’s form. Brian Kelly isn’t coming back to Mount Pleasant, and I don’t think LeFevour’s production from 2006 is going to return either. While this week’s game between the Chippewas and Ball State may be a shootout, I’ve given up on LeFevour’s ability to explode in a given week. Some guy said something in August about Jake Christensen making Iowa fans forget Drew Tate. I'm not sure who the hell that guy was, but he didn't know what he was talking about. We haven't quite given up so quickly on Blake Szymanski, however we'd like to see him perform against Colorado before giving our definite endorsement. Something about Baylor football makes us tiptoe a little bit. Week Rank Pos Name School 1 QB Colt Brennan Haw 2 QB Graham Harrell TexTech 3 QB Paul Smith Tulsa 4 QB Kellen Lewis In 5 QB Nate Davis BallSt 6 QB Chase Daniel Mizzou 7 QB Omar Haugabook Troy 8 QB Brian Brohm Louis 9 QB Matt Ryan BC 10 QB Alex Brink WashSt 11 QB Matt Grothe SoFl 12 QB Willie Tuitama Ariz 13 QB Andre' Woodson Ky 14 QB Rudy Carpenter ArizSt 15 QB Zac Robinson OkSt 16 QB Patrick White WVU 17 QB Adam Tafralis SJSU 18 QB John David Booty USC 19 QB Nick Graziano Nev 20 QB Jameel Sewell Vir Runnging Backs Start 'Em Steve Slaton is heading up to the Dome to take on Syracuse. This has 200 and three written all over it. West Virginia is bruised, battered and a little bit angry. The Cuse players and Orange-clad faithful won’t quite recreate the energy at South Florida last week, and the Slaton-led Mountaineers are going to get well. Meanwhile his Southern version, Darren McFadden, slides down our board a bit and this is partly due to Felix Jones' and the pounding that McFadden has taken of late. There’s a Big Ten feel in the top ten, as Mike Hart, P.J Hill and Chris Wells all look to take advantage of matchups this week. Only Rashard Mendenhall’s game with Wisconsin keeps him out of the top ten, and those that saw Michigan State bust big plays against the Badgers know that Mendenhall certainly isn’t a must-sit this week. Northern Illinois' Justin Anderson has averaged about 160 yards on the ground over the past three weeks. This may explain why Anderson was last seen sitting outside Temple's home, Lincoln Financial Field, on Monday, in full uniform, just waiting for the game to start. Others to Watch Injuries have opened up for a few tailbacks that normal find themselves in crowded backfields. At USC C.J. Gable is out and Stefon Johnson is questionable with a left foot injury. Making Chauncey Washington a good bet to see a heavy workload on Saturday against Stanford. Sticking with the Pac-10 a similar situation exists across town at UCLA, where Chris Markey is hobbled by a turf toe. Markey and Kahlil Bell have been splitting carries with each putting up good numbers the last two weeks. With Markey out of the picture Bell becomes a good fantasy start. Especially when you consider they play Notre Dame, and the Irish aer giving up over 200 yards per game on the ground. Even if Johnson (USC) and Markey (UCLA) go, they won’t be 100%, making Washington and Bell still good bets. The Oregon State and Arizona battle could be seen as a battle of the present (Yvenson Bernard) against the future (Nick Grigsby). Each should provide a fine fantasy performance. Allen Patrick is an interesting one this week. We’ve favored DeMarco Murray in the scrub games to date, so it is only fair we give Patrick some love in a game we feel he could make his biggest impact. Oklahoma will likely lean on their senior running back this week against Big 12 rival Texas. I doubt we’ll see a huge game out of the Patrick, but 20+ carries is not out of the realm of possibility. Tashard Choice seems like a man possessed right now. He was not happy about having to sit out most of the Virginia game and took out his frustrations on Clemson last week. With Maryland up next we can see a similar showing again this week and beyond. Make the right....don't say it...don't say it...Choice. Dantrell Savage has been impressive in his return the last two weeks and we only see his workload increasing. While not in our Top 20, he was just on the outskirts as they travel to Texas A&M. Could this be the week that Terry Grant gets back on track? After two straight weeks tough weeks, we think so as the Tide takes on Houston this week. Expect Michigan State to pound the ball on Northwestern. The key becomes picking the right back, Caulcrick or Ringer, to get the scores. Caulcrick is tailor-made for pounding the pigskin, and he should be looking at a couple endzone celebrations. Northwestern's Omar Conteh is my sleeper this week. In Michigan State's haste to get to the quarterback they'll be susceptible to draws and screens. Conteh will bust a few big plays. Sit 'Em An interesting match-up is developing this week over in the State of Kansas where the state rivals face-off. It is interesting in the fact that both squads have fantasy starters on their roster in Kansas’ QB Todd Reesing (Kansas), RB Brandon McAnderson, and TE Derek Fine and Kansas State’s RB James Johnson and WR Jordy Nelson. You’ll note that we don’t list any of them in our Top 20 rankings. The reason is the both Kansas’ and Kansas States’ defenses have been spectacular to this point. We were anxious to see how Kansas State’s D would fare against Texas last week and we were given our answer. As was Texas gunslinger Colt McCoy, who was tossed around like a rag doll. Now we get a chance to see if Kansas’ defense, currently yielding less than 300 yards per game is all that and a bag of chips. So far Kansas’ and Kansas State's schedule have been unimpressive. That said they’ve taken care of business and it is time to battle this one out. We've been loving the carries that Kory Sheets has earned in Jaycen Taylor's absence. With that said the arrival of the Buckeye defense always gives us cause to pause and reconsider starts. If there is a comparable option you may want to give Sheets a little break. Wyoming's Devin Moore is coming off a 200 yard, two score performance. He'll remember that fondly after he gets done dealing with the TCU defense. Sit Moore for this week. Week Rank Pos Name School 1 RB Steve Slaton WVU 2 RB Eugene Jarvis KentSt 3 RB Ian Johnson Boise 4 RB Kevin Smith UCF 5 RB Michael Hart Mich 6 RB P.J. Hill Wisc 7 RB Chris Wells OhioSt 8 RB Darren McFadden Ark 9 RB Tarrion Adams Tulsa 10 RB Justin Anderson NoIll 11 RB Jorvorskie Lane TexAM 12 RB Anthony Allen Louis 13 RB Marcus Thomas UTEP 14 RB Felix Jones Ark 15 RB Ray Rice Rut 16 RB Rashard Mendenhall Ill 17 RB Cedric Peerman Vir 18 RB Matt Forté Tulane 19 RB Shannon Woods TexTech 20 RB Kahlil Bell UCLA Wide Receiver Start 'Em If there has ever been a wide receiver about whom we didn't have to say anything, it's Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree. In fact I've grown tired of coming up with superlatives to describe what he’s doing. Sure he’s doing it in the Texas Tech offense, but even this is impressive when one considers the way receiving numbers have been evenly distributed over the years. It's fun to wonder what type of numbers he'll have accumulated by the time he has to deal with Texas and Oklahoma at season's end. It appeared that Adarius Bowman would go the way of Mario Manningham and Jarrett Dillard and spend all of 2007 on the “I took him in what round?” list.< Alas, Zac Robinson’s emergence, coupled with Coach Gundy yelling really loud, has Adarius Bowman back in the top ten. The Thomas boys, Michael and Devin, are getting stronger as the season goes on. Each is taking a much more active role in his respective offense, and each has the potential to put a fantasy team over the top. If you were fortunate enough to get your hands on one of these receivers as your number two or three, then you’re getting incredible value. D.J. Hall joins his quarterback on the start list. We see each playing well against Houston. Others to Watch Adrian Arrington should see his numbers improve with the return of Henne and with Mario Manningham in timeout. Northern Illinois’ wide receiver Matt Simon went for over 200 yards receiving with a score in a losing effort to Central Michigan last week. Like Justin Anderson, Simon must be chomping at the bit to get at Temple. Of course, the student managers are probably looking to get well against Temple. What would my list be if I didn't include Darius Reynaud? I see 90 yards and a touch. Ride Rudy Burgess again. The fantasy tank isn't empty just yet. Tiquan Underwood has yet to come in below the 100 yard receiving barrier. Stats are like hips. Kevin Jurovich is my sleeper wide out this week. The SJSU Spartan could give Idaho fits. Sit 'Em We have WR Keenon Burton and in our Top 20, but it is not without some trepidation. If there is one thing South Carolina has going for it is its pass defense. The Gamecocks are only giving up 102 yards per game through the air. If it weren’t for the fact that he has been hot and he has a Heisman caliber quarterback throwing him the ball, he would be on our sit list. The same could be said for Andre’ Woodson. The difference being it is easier to shut down one receiver. Dorien Bryant has been hot and could give the Ohio State secondary some fits this week. But our advice would be to sub in another receiver if you have one of similiar caliber. Give Juaquin Iglesias a little break. The Texas defensive unit will not be taken by surprise. We are also taking a wait and see approach on Danario Alexander as he returns to the line-up this week. Week Rank Pos Name School 1 WR Michael Crabtree TexTech 2 WR Dante Love BallSt 3 WR James Hardy In 4 WR Davone Bess Haw 5 WR Ryan Grice-Mullen Haw 6 WR Brian Robiskie OhioSt 7 WR Adarius Bowman OkSt 8 WR Michael Thomas Ariz 9 WR Kenny McKinley SoCar 10 WR Jeremy Maclin Mizzou 11 WR Chris Williams NMSU 12 WR Arrelious Benn Ill 13 WR Devin Thomas MichSt 14 WR Kenneth Moore Wake 15 WR Brandon Gibson WashSt 16 WR DJ Hall Al 17 WR Donnie Avery Hou 18 WR Brennan Marion Tulsa 19 WR Keenan Burton Ky 20 WR Danny Amendola TexTech Tight End Start 'Em Last week we were pleased to see Arizona's Rob Gronkowski finally break out. The super talent cracks our top ten this week, and something tells me he's going to be here for a while. Get used to the name Gronkowski. Those that say Travis Beckum isn't really a tight end are likely right. He's more of a big, fast wide receiver that lines up as a tight end. However he is listed as a tight end, and this makes him one of the more valuable pieces of most teams' lineups. He should cause a plethora of problems for the Fighting Illini defensive unit. Darius Hill shoots up from the twelve spot to the top spot as we expect a big game from the Ball State tight end against Central Michigan. Others to Watch Play your horses. We don't care if Dustin Keller is playing the Buckeyes. He's your best tight end, and if he's playing LSU, New England or the 1985 Bears, the tight end spot must be one of your very few no-brainers. Sit Em Remember, there are few options at the TE spot. If he's playing, you play him. Week Rank Pos Name School 1 TE Darius Hill BallSt 2 TE Travis Beckum Wisc 3 TE Jed Collins WashSt 4 TE Shawn Nelson SoMiss 5 TE Cody Slate Marsh 6 TE Branden Ledbetter WMU 7 TE Martin Rucker Mizzou 8 TE Chase Coffman Mizzou 9 TE Rob Gronkowski Ariz 10 TE Fred Davis USC Kickers Start 'Em Good kickers likely to be in shootouts are your guys. Here are a few that fit the bill: Thomas Weber, Jeff Wolfert, Arthur Carmody, Austin Starr, Jared Tracy. Others to Watch You've likely been riding steady kickers like LSU's Colt David. Often owners are concerned about playing kickers against solid defensive clubs, however good teams will still move the ball even if they struggle to hit for six. These games often end turn into kicking contests, and this is when you clean up. Sit 'Em At this point in the season you should likely sit kickers less and less based on matchups. Instead, play your kicker that has proven he can score points. If a kicker is getting opportunities and pounding them through, then he has to stay in the lineup. Week Rank Pos Name School 1 K Alex Trlica TexTech 2 K Alex Tejada Ark 3 K Dan Kelly Haw 4 K Thomas Weber ArizSt 5 K Jeff Wolfert Mizzou 6 K Arthur Carmody Louis 7 K Austin Starr In 8 K Pat McAfee WVU 9 K Taylor Mehlhaff Wisc 10 K Brett Swenson MichSt Defense Start 'Em TCU remains in the top spot. This unit should devour Wyoming. Iowa and Penn State are ranked two and three respectively. Do ya think we're expecting an ugly game in Iowa City? This week's winner of the "We get to play Notre Dame!!!" sweepstakes is the UCLA Bruin defensive unit. Start em! Others to Watch Although they've been much-maligned and are a little banged up on the defensive side of the ball, a week six game with Eastern Michigan may be too good for Michigan owners to pass up. Sit 'Em Several defensive match-ups left us scratching our collective heads this week, namely: Florida @ LSU, Virginia Tech @ Clemson, Rutgers @ Cincinnati, Texas @ Oklahoma, and Kansas @ Kansas State. There is a fine line in these games between having a good defensive week and getting lit up like a Christmas tree. If you’re faced with the dilemma of having to play one of these match-ups, we would lean toward playing the home team. Emotion certainly fuels a defensive unit, and having 70,000+ alchohol-fueled fans screaming certainly helps. Week Rank Pos School 1 D TCU 2 D Iowa 3 D Penn St. 4 D South Fla. 5 D Southern California 6 D Florida St. 7 D Georgia Tech 8 D Miami (Fla.) 9 D UCF 10 D UCLA The second season is nearly upon us. Whether you’re sitting at 5-0 and on top of the world or wallowing in last place, trust us, there’s still time. A 3-1 stretch, or four good weeks in a row are often all it takes to turn it around. The key is determining when to truly trust your talented stars and knowing when a tasty matchup is simply too good to pass up.

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