In honor of the first college football Saturday of the season, let’s go through the skill positions and try to predict where Big East players will fall in the fantasy rankings this weekend (Pitt and Rutgers excluded since they played Thursday).

Quarterbacks

1) Zach Collaros – Cincinnati (at Fresno State)
2) B.J. Daniels – South Florida (vs. Stony Brook)
3) Zach Frazer – UConn (at Michigan)
4) Geno Smith – West Virginia (vs. Coastal Carolina)
5) Ryan Nassib – Syracuse (at Akron)
6) Adam Froman – Louisville (vs. Kentucky)

Collaros and Daniels will have the potential to make the Top Two in this category just about every week. Collaros goes ahead of Daniels mainly because Daniels will probably play only three quarters vs. Stony Brook. Frazer is the dark horse to eclipse both Collaros and Daniels with a big day at the Big House. Nassib gets the nod at the number five spot only because Akron’s defense is coming off several rough seasons and will be in rebuilding mode during the first half of the year.

Running Backs

1) Noel Devine – WVA
2) Jordan Todman - UConn
3) Isaiah Pead – Cincinnati
4) Moise Plancher – South Florida
5) Bilal Powell – Louisville
6) Victor Anderson – Louisville
7) Delone Carter – Syracuse
8) Antwon Bailey – Syracuse

The top four spots are almost interchangeable. Plancher is the real wild card as nobody seems to know what to expect from him. Louisville and Syracuse are likely to use some form of platoon running game in order to let their players prove their own worth. Try to avoid Louisville and Syracuse running backs until one of them emerges from the pack on each team.

Wide Receivers

1) Armon Binns – Cincinnati
2) Jock Sanders – WVA
3) D.J. Woods – Cincinnati
4) Kashif Moore – UConn
5) Dontavia Bogan – South Florida
6) Vidal Hazelton – Cincinnati
7) Doug Beaumont – Louisville
8) Michael Smith – UConn
9) Van Chew – Syracuse

The Bearcat trio of Binns, Woods and Hazelton all crack the top nine fantasy receivers from within the Big East. Expect big things out of Sanders and Moore, both of who will be faced against weak defenses. Bogan should also make some noise in the USF – Stony Brook game.

Final Thoughts

Remember to drink a lot of water at your tailgate this weekend. It’s the first one of the season and you’ll want to be able to pace yourself accordingly.

Oh, you wanted fantasy advice and half-baked opinions on who to start sit on Saturday? Sorry, fresh out … But check on the preview from two days ago for a more in-depth breakdown.

Here’s the best we can do: Start everyone you believe will help you win then come back next week and we’ll discuss your triumph (or your heartache).