CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 11

Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 11

There were some huge performances from my recommendations in Week 10 and I hope to finish even stronger over the last few weeks of the season. I made sure to look ahead and make some playoff pickups this week as well. As a friendly reminder, make sure to keep up with injury news as this article is posted early in the week. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

AAC

Jonathan Banks, QB, Tulane: Banks has been steady on the 2017 season with 20.2 fantasy points per game in standard formats and is owned in only four percent of leagues. He can be a boom-or-bust type of guy, but that shouldn't matter much against a horrible East Carolina defense this week. The Pirates allowed Houston QB D'Eriq King to rack up four total touchdowns last week, so look for Banks to have similar success Saturday.

Adrian Killins Jr, RB, UCF: I recommended Killins a couple of weeks ago and he managed only 20 total yards versus Austin Peay. If you were brave enough to stick with him versus SMU last week (only seven percent ownership), you benefited from two touchdowns and over 100 yards rushing. He should be able to get going once again versus a soft Huskies' defense, which gave up 217 rushing yards to USF.

ACC

John Wolford, QB, Wake Forest: Wolford should be owned in every league, yet is owned in only 20 percent of leagues. In his last two games, the senior has seven passing touchdowns and two rushing scores. His rushing production has been quite consistent with a touchdown in seven of eight games this year. The Demon Deacons finish the season with Syracuse, NC State, and Duke, which makes him a strong play in two of his last three games.

Cam Akers, RB, Florida State: You may wonder why I'm recommending to pick up Akers against Clemson's nasty defensive line, but don't worry, I do have a trick up my sleeve. Even if you don't want to play him this week, I would scoop him up to have him available for matchups against Delaware State and Florida in the following weeks. Akers was owned in only 32 percent of leagues when he rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns versus Syracuse.
*North Carolina at Pittsburgh, Virginia at Louisville and Notre Dame at Miami are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

BIG 12

Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma: Brown took Bedlam by storm with a school-record 265 receiving yards and touchdowns of 84 and 77 yards. While he's not likely to replicate that type of production going forward, he has caught at least four passes in four straight games. I still like CeeDee Lamb's talent a bit more, but that doesn't mean Brown can't be productive with Baker Mayfield throwing with high volume. He's available in pretty much all leagues. RB Rodney Anderson should also be owned everywhere as well.

Charlie Brewer, QB, Baylor: Brewer showed me enough in a win versus Kansas to recommend him in a high-tempo game versus Texas Tech this week. He completed 79 percent of his passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears won their first game of the year. He has enough weapons around him in RB Terence Williams and WR Denzel Mims that he should have another productive week.
*Oklahoma State at Iowa State, West Virginia at Kansas State and Kansas at Texas are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

BIG TEN

Karan Higdon, RB, Michigan: Another repeat recommendation as Higdon is available in 80 percent of leagues. He's rumbled for at least 150 rushing yards in three of his last four games and has eight touchdowns over that span. I would be willing to bet that Maryland won't be able to slow the junior running back, who accounts for most of the Wolverines' offense. Chris Evans was also impressive versus Minnesota, but Higdon is Michigan's main guy.

Nathan Stanley, QB, Iowa: This guy keeps finding his way back to my recommendations as he torched the Ohio State Buckeyes with five passing touchdowns. I don't love him versus the Wisconsin Badgers this week, but he should be rostered for matchups against Purdue and Nebraska the following two weeks. He's owned in just five percent of leagues and has 22 passing touchdowns compared to just four interceptions. Who knows, maybe they can shock the Badgers and really mess up the Big Ten's chances at the playoff.
*Nebraska at Minnesota, Penn State (vs. Rutgers) and Indiana vs. Illinois are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

CONFERENCE USA

Korey Robertson, WR, Southern Miss: Robertson's ownership has slipped over the last month with the wide receiver available in nearly 70 percent of leagues. The only problem is that his production hasn't slipped as Robertson has at least five catches in four straight games, including eight catches for 122 yards versus Tennessee last week. Southern Miss should slaughter Rice and the hope is that QB Keon Howard and RB Ito Smith share the touchdowns with the star receiver.

Brent Stockstill, QB, Middle Tennessee: Stockstill made his return from a shoulder injury and threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-3 win over UTEP on Saturday. He should continue to sling touchdowns versus the likes of Charlotte, Western Kentucky and Old Dominion to finish the season. Scoop him up as he's available in most leagues due to missing a few games.
*Florida Atlantic vs. Louisiana Tech, North Texas (vs. UTEP), UAB vs. UTSA and FIU (vs. Old Dominion) are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

MAC

James Gardner, WR, Miami (OH): I'm not sure how it's possible that Gardner is owned in only 52 percent of leagues as he is pretty much the entire RedHawks' offense. He has five 100-yard receiving games and nine touchdowns this year. If he is available in your league, pick him up for the final stretch against Akron, Eastern Michigan and Ball State.

Jonathan Ward, RB, Central Michigan: Ward looked really good while running for 132 yards and a touchdown in the Chippewas' 35-28 win over Western Michigan on Wednesday Night. He also added four catches for 81 yards versus the Broncos and has 38 total receptions on the season to go along with his 592 rushing yards. Ward should be a solid contributor versus Eastern Michigan and Kent State the next two weeks. WR Corey Willis should also be owned in most leagues.
*Buffalo (vs. Bowling Green), Toledo at Ohio, Western Michigan (vs. Kent State) and Ball State at Northern Illinois are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Kelton Moore, RB, Nevada: Moore has three 100-yard rushing performances in his last four games and gets a really nice matchup with San Jose State this week. The Spartans are one of the worst teams in all of college football and could not tackle any of San Diego State's running backs last Saturday. Moore is available in pretty much all leagues. QB Ty Gangi and WR McLane Mannix should also be considered this week if available.

Dalyn Dawkins, RB, Colorado State: Dawkins is available in 72 percent of leagues and has rushed for at least 120 yards in five of his last six games. The Rams have really started to lean on the running game and that shouldn't change in their last two games against Boise State and San Jose State. Don't worry, quarterback Nick Stevens is still worth owning along with wideout Michael Gallup. They had no chance of producing in a snowy game in Wyoming.
*Fresno State vs. Hawaii is a soft matchup so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

PAC-12

Manny Wilkins, QB, Arizona State: Here's my weekly recommendation of a player going up against UCLA who has perhaps the worst defense in the Pac-12 conference. Wilkins is available in 85 percent of leagues and has been dependable with at least 22 fantasy points in each of his last two games versus USC and Colorado. Running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage are also worth playing this week.

Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon: If you have the room on your bench and you want another stud QB for the playoff run, Herbert could be your guy. The Ducks are off this week before playing Arizona and Oregon State to finish the season and he's available in just about half of fantasy leagues. He may be available in even more if his owners need to drop him this week.
*USC vs. Colorado and Oregon State at Arizona are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

SEC

Jordan Ta'amu, QB, Ole Miss: If you didn't take notice in my column last week, I'll give you another chance as Ta'amu was fantastic with 382 passing yards and four touchdowns versus Kentucky. He's still owned in just six percent of leagues and has a great matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette this week. His production will be somewhat tempered by RB Jordan Wilkins as the Rebels won't need to pass the ball nearly as much as they did when coming from behind versus Kentucky.

Trent Sherfield, WR, Vanderbilt: Sherfield was dynamic this past week with a 45-yard rushing touchdown and five catches for 82 yards and another score. The Commodores have been through the rough stretch of their schedule, so upcoming matchups against Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee should be opportunistic for Sherfield and QB Kyle Shurmur.
*LSU (at Arkansas), Georgia (at Auburn), Alabama (at Mississippi State), Texas A&M (vs. New Mexico) and Tennessee at Missouri are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

SUN BELT

Ike Lewis, WR, App State: Lewis has been unbelievable in his last four games with 24 catches for 381 yards and six touchdowns. Available in pretty much all leagues, Lewis is QB Taylor Lamb's favorite target and benefits from opposing defenses having to game plan against RB Jalin Moore. As mentioned last week, the Mountaineers have soft defenses for the rest of the year in Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette.

Elijah King, WR, Texas State: King has been busy in his past two games with 18 catches for 185 yards and a touchdown. The Bobcats won't stop throwing the ball anytime soon, so King's worth a chance if you need an extra wide receiver or flex player. WR Tyler Watts is also notable, but King's 37 catches on the season are slightly more impressive than Watts' 29 catches.
*Louisiana-Lafayette at Ole Miss, Troy at Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State at South Alabama are soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

DEFENSES to Stream for Week 11

Texas (vs. Kansas) – The Jayhawks have had many games without a touchdown and Texas has one of the best defenses in the Big 12, so what could go wrong here?
Western Michigan (vs. Kent State) – The Broncos should have no problem with the Golden Flashes on some Wednesday Night MACtion.
Texas A&M (vs. New Mexico) – Trust me, this will be different than last week (SEC defenses vs. non-conference foes) as the Lobos have a combined 13 points versus the Mountain West in their last two games.
North Texas (vs. UTEP) – If you didn't notice, I went with all home teams. UTEP has a total of three points in their last two road games.