This article is part of our CFB Waiver Wire series.
ACC
Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami (FL)
Streeter appeared to mostly be a deep-league option in previous weeks, but with eight touchdowns in his last seven games, he's a definite must-own in all but the shallowest of leagues. His upside is limited by the run-heavy nature of Miami's offense, but with an average of 20.8 yards per catch and a catch-to-touchdown ratio of four to one, Streeter doesn't need many targets to make a fantasy impact.
Tim Smith, WR, Virginia
Smith is only worth a look in deep leagues, but he has quietly produced consistently the last month, catching 14 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns in his last four games. With the recent improvement of quarterback Michael Rocco and a beatable Duke defense lined up this week, Smith could at least provide a decent spot start for deep-league owners.
Big East
Jawan Jamison, RB, Rutgers
The Rutgers offensive line is a mess, and it therefore generally takes a favorable matchup for Jamison to show up on the fantasy radar. This week's game against Army could be favorable enough for Jamison to make an impact on the stat sheet. Army allows 4.6 yards per carry, totaling 1,590 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns allowed in nine games. That's an average of roughly 177 yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game on the ground. As Rutgers' clear feature back, it would be a disappointment if Jamison didn't pile up 100 yards and make a trip to the end zone this
ACC
Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami (FL)
Streeter appeared to mostly be a deep-league option in previous weeks, but with eight touchdowns in his last seven games, he's a definite must-own in all but the shallowest of leagues. His upside is limited by the run-heavy nature of Miami's offense, but with an average of 20.8 yards per catch and a catch-to-touchdown ratio of four to one, Streeter doesn't need many targets to make a fantasy impact.
Tim Smith, WR, Virginia
Smith is only worth a look in deep leagues, but he has quietly produced consistently the last month, catching 14 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns in his last four games. With the recent improvement of quarterback Michael Rocco and a beatable Duke defense lined up this week, Smith could at least provide a decent spot start for deep-league owners.
Big East
Jawan Jamison, RB, Rutgers
The Rutgers offensive line is a mess, and it therefore generally takes a favorable matchup for Jamison to show up on the fantasy radar. This week's game against Army could be favorable enough for Jamison to make an impact on the stat sheet. Army allows 4.6 yards per carry, totaling 1,590 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns allowed in nine games. That's an average of roughly 177 yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game on the ground. As Rutgers' clear feature back, it would be a disappointment if Jamison didn't pile up 100 yards and make a trip to the end zone this week.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
The ball-control Louisville offense limits Bridgewater's upside, but the improvement he has shown recently, and a good on-paper matchup with Pittsburgh, could make him worth a spot start for QB-needy owners in deep leagues. Despite facing weak passing offenses like Buffalo, Maine, Rutgers, Utah and Connecticut this year, the Panthers have allowed 12 passing touchdowns compared to five interceptions. Bridgewater is coming off a two-game span in which he completed 74.5 percent of his passes with a YPA of 8.7.
Big Ten
Nick Toon, WR, Wisconsin
It wasn't long ago that Toon looked like one of the best receivers in the country, but a foot injury and three-game span of poor production could have him on the waiver wire in your league. Even if he's still limited by the foot issue, Toon has to start producing again any second now. Part of why he has just eight catches for 132 yards and no touchdowns in the last three games is likely due to seeing more attention from defenses. With Jared Abbrederis emerging as arguably the team's top receiver with 34 catches for 565 yards and five touchdowns in the last seven games, that pendulum should swing the other way very soon. Once defenses show more concern over Abbrederis, Toon should find himself open more often as Wisconsin takes on Minnesota, Illinois and Penn State.
Jacob Schmidt, RB, Northwestern
Schmidt is only a deep-league consideration, but with 164 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in his last two games, he could pay off as a spot starter against Rice this week. The Owls allow five yards per carry and have given up 15 rushing touchdowns.
Big 12
Roy Finch, RB, Oklahoma
It's a shame that Dominique Whaley suffered a broken leg against Kansas State, but Finch's presence means Oklahoma will be fine without him. Although his rushing average of 3.8 yards per carry against Texas A&M last week was unimpressive, Finch ran with a ferocious intensity and was more effective than the numbers suggest. With 16 catches in the last three games, Finch should be close to an every-down back for Oklahoma's explosive offense, making him a must-own in most leagues.
Joe Bergeron, RB, Texas
Malcolm Brown isn't going anywhere, but those in need of running back depth in deep leagues can still find worse gambles than Bergeron. The true freshman offers more of a power running element than Brown does, and after torching Kansas and Texas Tech for 327 yards and five touchdowns on just 42 carries (7.8 yards per rush), it's difficult to imagine that Texas won't make room for double-digit carries for Bergeron.
Conference-USA
Justin Hardy, WR, East Carolina
The status of Lance Lewis, East Carolina's No. 1 wideout, is unclear due to an unspecified foot injury. That leaves Hardy as the team's top receiver. Reese Wiggins and Danny Webster could step up in Lewis' absence, but Hardy is the safer bet. He is the team's second-leading receiver by a significant margin with 48 catches for 500 yards and four touchdowns in eight games.
Taylor Reed, QB, Memphis
Memphis' instability makes Reed approachable only in deep leagues, but he has performed respectably in his first year as a starter and takes on a very weak UAB defense this week. The Blazers allow 8.7 yards per attempt with opponents throwing for 21 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions in nine games.
Independents
Cody Hoffman, WR, BYU
Hoffman isn't the most consistent option, but his production seems to be stabilizing a bit thanks to Riley Nelson taking over the BYU offense. In the last three weeks, Hoffman has totaled 18 catches for 300 yards and three touchdowns. And this week he has a home matchup against an Idaho defense that has allowed 17 passing touchdowns in nine games despite only seeing a couple competent passing attacks this year.
MAC
Matt Brown, RB, Temple
Starting running back Bernard Pierce is questionable for Wednesday's game against Miami, Ohio, due to a potential concussion, which could result in a big day for Brown. He's no Pierce, but the elusive back is a skilled runner in his own right and should get a sizeable workload even if Pierce plays through the injury.
Donte Harden, RB, Ohio
Harden should probably be owned in all leagues, as he has been running quite strong in his last four games. Over that span he has run for 481 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.4 yards per carry and adding 11 catches for 132 yards and two more touchdowns. His remaining three opponents - Central Michigan, Bowling Green and Miami (OH) - are all vulnerable against the run.
Mountain West
Dionza Bradford, RB, UNLV
Bradford risks losing a significant number of carries to Bradley Randle and Tim Cornett, but he's still worth a gamble in plenty of leagues this week with an extremely weak New Mexico run defense on the schedule. Bradford has 77 carries over his last four weeks, and New Mexico has allowed 2,295 yards and 38 touchdowns on the ground in nine games this year.
D.J. Harper, RB, Boise State
It doesn't look like Doug Martin's leg injury is serious, but it still wouldn't be surprising if Boise State lightened his workload a bit this week. Harper has run well all year, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and scoring six touchdowns on 72 carries. That includes a 13-carry, 109-yard showing against UNLV last week. If the Broncos look to lighten Martin's carry total at all, Harper likely would be the recipient of those carries.
Pac-12
Toney Clemons, WR, Colorado
Clemons' extensive history of underachievement makes him primarily an option in deeper formats, but he has been promising the last two weeks and faces a weak Arizona defense this week. He totaled 13 catches for 209 yards and three touchdowns in matchups against Arizona State and USC, and a Wildcats pass defense allowing 8.5 yards per attempt and 17 touchdowns in nine games is far less threatening than either of those teams.
Tyler Hansen, QB, Colorado
Like Clemons, Hansen is mostly an option in deep leagues. Also like Clemons, though, Hansen stands to benefit quite a bit from this week's matchup against the vulnerable Arizona pass defense. Hansen has 535 passing yards and three touchdowns the last two weeks, and the Wildcats figure to be much less challenging than Arizona State and USC.
SEC
Jordan Rodgers, QB, Vanderbilt
Aaron Rodgers' brother has been red-hot for the Commodores lately, throwing for 723 yards and four touchdowns while running for 182 yards and four more scores the last three weeks. He's a must-own in all leagues until he slows - something he's unlikely to do against a weak Kentucky defense this week.
Zac Stacy, RB, Vanderbilt
If Stacy was dropped in your league in response to his disappointing 13-carry, 49-yard game against Florida, put in a waiver claim for him. Against a Kentucky defense allowing 4.9 yards per carry, you're more likely to get the version of Stacy that ran for 423 yards and five touchdowns in the previous three games. He's a justifiable start in all leagues.
Sun Belt
Javone Lawson, WR, Louisiana-Lafayette
The emergence of Blaine Gautier as a star quarterback has coincided with an upward spike in production for Lawson, who in his last eight games has 38 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns, making him worth owning and starting in most leagues. As long as Gautier keeps up his strong play (11 passing touchdowns in the last four weeks), Lawson should keep rolling, too.
Kolton Browning, QB, Louisiana-Monroe
Browning's fantasy utility is mostly limited to deep leagues, but those in need of help at quarterback can probably find worse players on whom to gamble. Browning has 623 passing yards and three touchdowns the last two weeks with 130 rushing yards and two touchdowns. An upcoming matchup with a Middle Tennessee squad that has allowed 12 passing touchdowns compared to three interceptions is not especially intimidating.
WAC
Adam Kennedy, QB, Utah State
It would probably be surprising if Chuckie Keeton played against San Jose State this week in light of the spinal sprain he suffered against Hawaii last week. If Keeton does sit out, Kennedy will start, and last week's showing as Keeton's replacement was promising. He threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 pass attempts and added 20 yards on the ground in his limited showing.
Billy Ray Stutzmann, WR, Hawaii
Stutzmann's yardage (564) and touchdown total (three) are not impressive, but he has 53 catches in nine games and figures to get even more work than usual against Nevada with Royce Pollard (knee/ankle) seemingly unlikely to play. Pollard has passed for 834 yards and seven touchdowns this year, so the void would not be a small one if he misses the game.
