A lack of sleep coupled with ESPN's constant reminder of the championship my 'Canes had taken away from them in 2003 have left me cross-eyed, and thankfully the scheduling gods have given me another week of easy matchups to dissect. This week is pretty simple across the ACC - start your running backs. I don't care if you are worried about split carries; some of these matchups make third stringers intriguing in ACC heavy leagues.
Jamie Harper/Andre Ellington, Clemson vs. Presbyterian - Fellow league mates Wake Forest ran for 415 yards on 50 carries last week against Presbyterian. Seriously, Presbyterian is playing two ACC schools in consecutive weeks? I guess when the economy goes south and church donations are down, may as well send your student athletes out for a slaughter and cash in. This duo carried 21 times for 224 yards last week against North Texas, and won't need that many touches to eclipse that total in week 2. Roderick McDowell may even be worth a deep spot start.
Davin Meggett/Da'Rel Scott, Maryland vs. Morgan State - The Fridge mentioned playing two, maybe even three quarterbacks this season (read week). Who knew job insecurity meant you had to go senile? In truth, this is a great spot for QB Jamarr Robinson to gain some confidence with his arm, but if we take the coach at his word, look for more big runs. D.J. Adams is another 3rd back worthy of consideration if you are desperate in ACC leagues.
Ryan Williams/Darren Evans, Virginia Tech vs. James Madison - This may not be as much of a slam dunk as it would appear. No doubt the Hokies will be suffering from a Boise State hangover, and JMU is one of many talented CAA teams. This might be a score that'll make you say hmmm early in the day Saturday. But when the day is done, I expect VaTech to impose their will, Williams will do what he does (score TDs) and Beamer and company will get Evans back in a groove with consistent touches. My record player is clearly broken here, because David Wilson is an option too as he has to play since his redshirt is being wasted. Oops, damn typo, I mean used.
In the painfully obvious category falls Boston College's Montel Harris (vs. Kent St.), while Georgia Tech's Anthony Allen had better put something up against Kansas or it's officially panic time. Equally as obvious should be you benching all Miami rushers (and most 'Canes in general) as well as Perry Jones and Keith Payne as the Cavs travel to Los Angeles to battle a pissed off Trojan defense. The Wolfpack backfield has me confused, so the easy answer is to avoid it. Central Florida only gave up 82.7 yards per game on the ground last season, but yielded 116 last week to South Dakota. Go figure.
Some non RB options include the obvious (Russell Wilson) and the have to start regardless of matchup (Christian Ponder @ Oklahoma). I'm staying away from Josh Nesbitt if I have other options. He is still a great bet to score, but the aforementioned Allen has to do something. He has to! Or, at least he better.
The one matchup I'm really interested in across the board is the lone conference tilt - Duke at Wake Forest. I'm not seeing eye to eye with Mr. McDonald this week. There is a decent chance Duke running back Desmond Scott had his season high in rushing last weekend (77 yards) and I think the Devils run game will be bottled up, making Sean Renfree, Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner attractive. On the other side, Wake Forest wide receiver Devon Brown will be the most dynamic player on the field. Wake's backfield is more jumbled than it should be, but Josh Adams should perform if you trust he'll get touches. Just promise me you won't play a Deacon quarterback this week!