The dreaded bye-mageddon is upon CFF diehards with only 48 games and over 30 teams on the sidelines. I already looked at all of my rosters and there are a few with major holes to be filled. On one team, I have nine players off and already mined the free-agent pool for replacements. If you have a roster that looks like mine in need of a bye-week starter, Ryan Cobbett and I have uncovered players to target on the college fantasy football waiver wire this week.
Week 8 College Fantasy Football Waiver Wire
Quarterbacks
DJ Irons, Akron (Laub)
Fantrax Ownership: 8%
Yards Per Attempt: 7.0
P-TD%: 2.5%
I have been watching DJ Irons closely for three weeks and mentioned him as a long shot on last week’s Rookie Big Board CFF Show in the Marvelous Matchups segment. Against Kent State, he performed well above my forecast with over 30 fantasy points. Irons passed for 383 yards, rushed for 37, and totaled three touchdowns (two rushing and one passing).
“Irons threw 43 passes and ran 22 times, so 65 of their 86 snaps he impacted. He warrants the attention that he gets. He’s a really good player. He’s going to make some plays,” Kent State coach Sean Lewis stated in regard to Irons’ performance against the Golden Flashes (beaconjournal.com).
In the past four games, Irons has eclipsed 20 fantasy points in each outing and twice surpassed 30 points. For the season, the redshirt junior is CFF QB37 with 2,199 passing yards, 224 rushing yards, and 12 total touchdowns.
The Zips have won only once and are not likely to be favored in any of the team’s final four MAC conference games, which forces Akron to put the ball in the air often. With so many teams on bye, Irons is worth scooping up this week on the waiver wire.
Matt McDonald, Bowling Green (Cobbett)
Fantrax Ownership: 17%
Yards Per Attempt: 6.8
P-TD%: 6.6%
Talk about consistency. McDonald has turned in performances of 20-plus fantasy points in five-of-seven games this season. He has led his Falcons to bowl contention with his consistently solid play, coming off a 253-yard and two-touchdown outing.
Earlier in the season, McDonald had an incredible performance when he posted 56.55 fantasy points. He averages 26.6 FPPG which ranks him the fifth-best option, factoring injuries. He plays in the MAC so CFF diehards know how crazy the games can get.
Austin Aune, North Texas (Laub)
Fantrax Ownership: 12%
Yards Per Attempt: 8.9
P-TD%: 8.8%
The Mean Green trot out a very beatable defense, and the offense must put points on the board to have any opportunity to win. North Texas is ranked sixteenth in total offense, averaging 484.3 yards and 35 points per game. Austin Aune remains overlooked and is a nice option this week for CFF owners who are desperate at the position.
Not a dual-threat signal caller, Aune has a limited ceiling as a fantasy producer. He has only scrambled for 25 yards and one touchdown. Nevertheless, the 29-year old junior succeeds in the air: He has thrown for 2,017 yards and 20 touchdowns against nine interceptions.
“I love Aune because of the way that he has solidified the starting spot for us and kind of unlocked our winning potential. He has a certain edge to him that makes you want to follow him. Like, dude is 29 and still playing college football. Obviously, something is driving him…it’s like, how can I not get on board with a dude that’s still out here fighting for his dreams?” declared teammate and playmaker Roderic Burns.
In the next two weeks, the Mean Green travel to Western Kentucky and host Florida International. Both opponents are defensively challenged and should surrender tons of yards and points. Aune is more valuable in six-point, passing touchdown scoring formats but can be used in all if necessary.
Honorable Mention Quarterbacks
Chandler Rogers, UL-Monroe
Fantrax Ownership: 5%
Yards Per Attempt: 8.2
P-TD%: 6.1%
Running Backs
Damien Martinez, Oregon State (Cobbett)
Fantrax Ownership: 29%
Scrimmage Yards: 532
Touchdowns: 5
Total Fantasy Points: 85.2
The freshman back has seen a steady increase in production over his last three outings. Though Damien Martinez has been in the mix since the beginning of the season, it appears he is now the No. 1 ball carrier for the Beavers.
Martinez is coming off a nearly 200-yard outing, posting 37.8 fantasy points with 178 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns. He has now recorded back-to-back 100-plus yard performances and has four scores in his last three games. With the exception of Washington after the bye week, the Beavers’ opponent’s defenses rank 81st, 95th, and 105th in total defense. Look for Martinez to replicate his recent success down the stretch as Oregon State looks to land a solid bowl invite.
Deneric Prince, Tulsa (Laub)
Fantrax Ownership: 15%
Scrimmage Yards: 326
Touchdowns: 4
Total Fantasy Points: 57.6
In the fall, I love Friday nights and college football games. Last week, I flipped back and forth between the Tulsa-Temple and UAB-WKU games. Surprisingly, the most impressive player was Deneric Prince of the Golden Hurricanes. He rambled for a career-high 231 yards on 20 carries, snatched two passes for 29 yards and scored twice, earning CFF All-American honors with 40 fantasy points.
“I just want to start off by thanking my O-Line. It just feels good to be out here with my team, there’s no better feeling. That’s all we wanted, just to come through and get a win,” voiced Prince, who played in just his third contest after missing the first four (tulsaworld.com).
His 84-yard touchdown jaunt was the fourth-longest touchdown in program history. It was the first time in his career that Prince posted 200 yards rushing and the first 200-plus rushing game since D’Angelo Brewer rushed for 255 yards for Tulsa five years ago.
A consensus three-star high school recruit in 2017, Prince was named second-team all-district honors after rushing for 863 yards and 10 touchdowns. 247Sports and ESPN listed him in the Texas Top-150, and he enrolled at Texas A&M. During COVID, he transferred to Tulsa and shared the backfield with Corey Taylor, and last season, he backed up Shamri Brooks.
Averaging 7.1 YPC, Prince leads the team and looks poised to take over the backfield duties down the stretch for coach Philip Montgomery. The remaining schedule appears promising for Prince with SMU, Memphis and South Florida on the upcoming docket.
Avery Morrow, Colorado State (Cobbett)
Fantrax Ownership: 5%
Scrimmage Yards: 522
Touchdowns: 3
Total Fantasy Points: 77.2
The junior runner posted his third straight 115-plus yard outing. Over the last three games, Avery Morrow has averaged 22.17 FPPG, 143.67 YPG on 25.67 carries, and a score. Despite the Rams’ struggles, CFF owners have seen a steady increase in Morrow’s workload, and with performances like these, can only expect more of the same to finish in 2022. The Rams’ playmaker is a good depth piece if a team is facing any injuries.
Roman Hemby, Maryland (Laub)
Fantrax Ownership: 33%
Scrimmage Yards: 920
Touchdowns: 8
Total Fantasy Points: 166
It was a day to remember for Roman Hemby, who sprinted for 179 yards and three touchdowns versus Northwestern. He recorded his fourth 100-yard game this season while establishing a career-best with three scores on the ground. With seven rushing touchdowns on the season, he leads all Big Ten freshmen in that category.
After the game, Hemby detailed his game-winning touchdown: “It’s a simple play that we worked on all week in practice and it was the perfect time to run it in the game. We saw the front that we wanted and I just came through the mesh. The linemen got their blocks, the wide receivers worked to the secondary to get their blocks. I just had to run and beat two people and I was able to out-run the guys on the edges and score a touchdown.” (umterps.com).
A home run hitter, Hemby has four carries over 40 yards, which includes his game-sealing 75-yard touchdown–the longest at Maryland since 2019 when Anthony McFarland scampered 80-yards. His 179-rushing yards are the most since Jake Funk’s 180 in 2020.
At 6’0” and 200-pounds, the redshirt freshman was a three-star prospect, who also ran track (100 and 200 meters) in high school. For the season, Hemby is the CFF RB16 in PPR formats with 681 rushing yards, 26 receptions for 239 yards and eight touchdowns. The Terps are off this week before concluding the campaign with Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State and Rutgers. Hemby is a good Flex option over the final month of the season.
Honorable Mention Running Backs
Malachi Thomas, Virginia Tech
Fantrax Ownership: 15%
Scrimmage Yards: 182
Touchdowns: 2
Total Fantasy Points: 41.2
Twitterverse on Fire!
Who is the most impressive transfer quarterback in 2022?
- Michael Penix, Jr., Washington: 10%
- Bo Nix, Oregon: 54%
- Jayden Daniels, LSU: 8%
- Caleb Williams, USC: 28%
“Even though Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams probably have more upside, Bo Nix is the most impressive because we didn’t see ANY of the athleticism he’s shown at Oregon when he was at Auburn.” @rstern33
“That’s so tough because I expected greatness from Caleb Williams but a 19-1 TD:INT Ratio is even better than I thought. Meanwhile, I had zero expectations of Bo Nix, and he has been superb!” @copieps
“Bo Nix for me. Situation Matters!” @DevyDeepDive
“Bo Nix!!! Nix was damn near flawless with two huge NFL dime throws to Troy Franklin yesterday!” @NinoBrown_T2T
“Michael Penix for me. Watching him play all these years was so frustrating. Really shows how much coaching helps.” @aceholesrule
Identify the most impressive freshman runner this year.
- Jaydn Ott, California: 8%
- Quinshon Judkins, Mississippi: 84%
- Roman Hemby, Maryland: 7%
- Other, post below: 1%
“Quinshon Judkins has a bright future.” @CffNation
“Going against the grain here and going Baylor’s Richard Reese! Averaging 5.5 YPC and coming off 186-yards and two touchdowns vs Kansas. Quinshon Judkins is the consensus favorite.” @NinoBrown_T2T
“Quinshon Judkins for me. I think Zach Evans is stout, and Judkins is every bit as good.” @aceholesrule
Who is the biggest disappointment in College Fantasy Football this season?
- TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State: 18%
- Kayshon Boutte, LSU: 17%
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State: 45%
- Anthony Richardson, Florida: 20%
“Kayshon Boutte for me…disengaged most games! And Jayden Daniels is playing well. JSN has disappointed but the injury is lingering and why risk it.” @NinoBrown_T2T
“JSN is injury related so at least you knew to bench him until yesterday’s disappointment. The other first-round ADP in TreVeyon Henderson has been thoroughly meh. One game over 20 fantasy points against Arkansas State. What happened to the receptions?” @copieps
“Jaxon Smith-Njigba, an early first-round pick in every CFF draft, has five catches and 43 yards through seven games. Honorable mention to Rasheen Ali, although that one is more mysterious.” @Dave_MaGee
“JSN by a mile.” @aceholesrule
“It always feels wrong, to me, to call a player in CFF a disappointment when it’s their health holding them back. Anthony Richardson and Kayshon Boutte have been healthy and playing most of the year so they’re bigger disappointments to me than Jaxon Smith-Njigba or TreVeyon Henderson.” @CFF_Jared
“Had three-of-four players in my dynasty league. In terms of how my roster was constructed, it’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He had 350 yards in one game the last time he was healthy!” @IndyFuel
“I have Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cedric Tillman in my keeper league, and I’ve experienced pure pain this year.” @S_EthanKoch
Wide Receivers
Xavier White, Texas Tech (Laub)
Fantrax Ownership: 6%
Targets: 41
Team Target Share: 13%
Total Fantasy Points: 89.9
Until Saturday, I had considered Xavier White as a DFS value only in CFB contests. He was an underpriced option at receiver and a nice player to plug into lineups over the past three weeks. White has scored 27, 20.2 and 27.9 fantasy points with Myles Price sidelined. It is now time to place him on season-long rosters in CFF.
White made the move from running back to wide receiver in the offseason when new offensive coordinator Zach Kittley was hired: “When I heard Kittley was coming, I thought it was a good opportunity just to go back to receiver. That is just where I am more natural at. Just having that offense and having those playmakers around me just puts me in a great position to be where I am right now” (texastech.com).
While I would prefer to insert White into a receiver slot in CFF lineups, he is listed as a running back on Fantrax and a better Flex option in PPR formats than running back. In the next three weeks, the Red Raiders play Baylor, travel to TCU, and host Kansas. All three matchups should be high-scoring affairs with plenty of opportunities for White to score fantasy points.
Luke McCaffrey, Rice (Cobbett)
Fantrax Ownership: 31%
Targets: 65
Team Target Share: 31%
Total Fantasy Points: 142.5
Yes, I am doubling up on Luke McCaffrey as he qualifies at both quarterback and wide receiver. He had himself a game against Louisiana Tech as he brought in 10 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns while also adding 31 yards and another score on the ground for the Owls.
McCaffrey’s 48.2 fantasy points were the most he recorded this season, but the third time he has totaled over 26 points. He is averaging 20.4 FPPG and has a very favorable remaining schedule, which makes him an attractive option for any last-minute, Hail-Mary moves for your team.
Troy Franklin, Oregon (Laub)
Fantrax Ownership: 33%
Targets: 46
Team Target Share: 22%
Total Fantasy Points: 121.1
After traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee for the Crimson Tide-Volunteers game two weeks ago, ESPN’s “College GameDay” visited Eugene, Oregon for the Bruins-Ducks skirmish last Saturday. What amazing preludes to the upcoming offensive explosions: The four teams combined for 176 total points, All-American performances and an abundance of fantasy goodness.
So many players caught my eye in the two games: Troy Franklin flew the highest this weekend. The Ducks’ playmaker is not amassing enough CFF attention for a dynamic game breaker in a Top Five offense in the nation: Oregon averages 517.1 yards and 42.2 points per game.
Against the Bruins, Franklin snatched eight passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, with a long of 49 yards, which was his second-longest since joining the program. He also logged the first career multi-touchdown game of his tenure at Oregon and his second 100-yard effort. Amazingly, all of Franklin’s production came in the first half versus UCLA.
In 2022, Franklin is CFF WR44 and since September 24, he is CFF WR38 in PPR formats. He has produced 24.7, 15.2, 6.8, and 33.2 fantasy points in the past four games. At 6’3” and 178-pounds, the sophomore speedster has averaged 16.0 YPC on 35 catches and scored five times.
Examining the Ducks’ upcoming schedule, none of the opposing defenses–California, Colorado, Washington, Utah and Oregon State–are likely to slow down Bo Nix, and the aerial assault will continue to soar with Franklin benefiting CFF diehards who pick him up.
Honorable Mention Wide Receivers
Colbie Young, Miami
Fantrax Ownership: 2%
Targets: 28
Team Target Share: 9.8%
Total Fantasy Points: 70
Jake Bobo, UCLA
Fantrax Ownership: 25%
Targets: 42
Team Target Share: 22%
Total Fantasy Points: 116.6
CFF All-Americans: Week 8
- QB Jayden Daniels, LSU: 48 points
- QB Sam Hartman, Wake Forest: 37.2 points
- RB Deneric Prince, Tulsa: 40 points
- RB Roman Hemby, Maryland: 39.3 points
- WR Luke McCaffrey, Rice: 48.2 points
- WR Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee: 36.4 points
- WR Tre Harris, Louisiana Tech: 35.5 points
- TE Michael Mayer, Notre Dame: 23.5 points
- Flex Damien Martinez, Oregon State: 37.8 points