CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 5

Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 5

Week 4 was an interesting one with some surprising outcomes and some huge fantasy performances. A big positive for my column going forward is that four weeks of games have laid out what teams have the worst defenses in the nation. 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

McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF: The Knights appear to be one of the most underrated teams in the nation and Milton is the guy who leads the way for them. In a 38-10 win at Maryland on Saturday, Milton completed 18-of-30 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown to go along with 94 rushing yards on six attempts. Milton should have success against a Memphis defense who has allowed over 700 yards passing and eight touchdowns through the air over their last two games.

Kahlil Lewis, WR, Cincinnati: Lewis has at least four catches and a touchdown in all four of the Bearcats' games this season. He's the most consistent target for quarterback Hayden Moore which should continue when the team takes on C-USA's Marshall this week.
*Houston (vs. Temple), South Florida (at East Carolina) and SMU (vs. UCONN) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be picked up for this week.

ACC

Qadree Ollison, RB, Pittsburgh: The Panthers did not fare well in losses to Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech over the past two weeks, but it gets a lot easier with Rice this week. The Owls have one of the worst defenses in the nation and they likely won't be able to stop the versatile Ollison, who is the Panthers' top running back. With Pittsburgh in the midst of a quarterback controversy between Ben DiNucci and Max Browne, it's hard to recommend anyone for the passing game.

KirVonte Benson, RB, Georgia Tech: Benson wasn't expected to be the Yellow Jackets' starting running back, but took over the job when Dedrick Mills was dismissed from the team prior to the season. Through three games, Benson has double digit carries in each game, including 20+ carries in two of those games. Benson showed what a running back can do in the triple option offense with 196 yards and two touchdowns versus Pittsburgh on Saturday. He and quarterback TaQuon Marshall should run all over North Carolina this week.
*NC State (vs. Syracuse) and Louisville (vs. Murray State) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be picked up for this week.

BIG 12

Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor: Mims has been on fire to start the season with six touchdowns in four games and he's owned in only 1% of leagues. Quarterback Zach Smith looked competent against Oklahoma with 463 yards through the air, 192 of those yards going to Mims who had 11 catches and three touchdowns. While the Bears looked much improved against Oklahoma, their defense isn't going to stop anyone anytime soon. Chris Platt should also be owned in most leagues.

Justin Stockton, RB, Texas Tech: Stockton was a big name on fantasy draft boards a year ago and mostly underwhelmed with only three touchdowns in 2016. He already has three this season and posted a total 124 yards versus Houston on Saturday. The Red Raiders upcoming matchup with Oklahoma State should be a big one as these two teams combined for 99 points and over 1,000 yards of total offense last season. Texas Tech receivers Dylan Cantrell and Cameron Batson should also be picked up for this week and beyond.
*Texas (at Iowa State) has a soft matchup so if any of their starters are available, they should be picked up for this week.

BIG TEN

Mikale Wilbon or Tre Bryant, RB, Nebraska: Since it's not advisable to rely on the Nebraska passing game with receiver Stanley Morgan dealing with a neck injury and quarterback Tanner Lee throwing interceptions left and right, let's focus on the run game. Bryant is working his way back from a knee injury and could be ready to go versus Illinois. If not, insert Wilbon, who rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown versus Rutgers on Saturday. Devine Ozigbo also looms, but I would rather own Bryant or Wilbon.

Shannon Brooks, RB, Minnesota: Brooks dressed two weeks ago with a shoulder injury, but did not record a snap versus Middle Tennessee. If he can go this week, he's worth playing as Maryland just gave up 250 rushing yards to UCF. If he doesn't play, Kobe McCrary and Rodney Smith will be the guys to target versus the Terps.
*Ohio State (at Rutgers) has a soft matchup so if any of their starters are available, they should be picked up for this week.

Conference USA

Mason Fine, QB, North Texas: Fine has been great against all competition not named Iowa as the sophomore had over 23 fantasy points in each game against Lamar, SMU and UAB. Most of the teams in the conference have fairly bad defenses, so Fine could be stashed for an upcoming schedule that includes Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, UTEP and Rice.

Kwadra Griggs, QB, Southern Miss: In a blah kind of week for the conference, I'm making both of my recommendations on the game between the Mean Green and the Golden Eagles. Griggs has been relatively mistake-free on the season with seven touchdowns and just one interception. Southern Miss is also coming off a bye week, which gives the team a bit more time to prepare for North Texas. In leagues which start multiple quarterbacks, Griggs could provide some relief in the midst of bye weeks for a lot of major teams across the college football landscape.

MAC

Warren Ball, RB, Akron: Ball notched his second 100-yard game of the season with 112 rushing yards versus Troy on Saturday. Take away a tough matchup against Penn State in the first week and Ball has 59 carries for 298 yards and four touchdowns in his last three games. Bowling Green hasn't been able to stop the run all year long, so it will be a great opportunity for Ball.

Nathan Rourke, QB, Ohio: Rourke is another signal caller on a good team who is not owned in nearly enough leagues because his team flies under the radar in the MAC Conference. In four games this season, the youngster has five passing touchdowns compared to no interceptions to go along with four rushing scores. The Bobcats have upcoming games with Massachusetts, Central Michigan, Bowling Green and Kent State which are all games that they should win.
*Buffalo (at Kent State), Western Michigan (vs. Ball State) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be picked up for this week.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Nick Stevens, QB, Colorado State: Stevens isn't rostered in most leagues because the Rams are coming off a bye week and a tough matchup with Alabama prior to the that. What's impressive about Stevens is that he had a salvageable fantasy day versus the Crimson Tide with three total touchdowns. Not many players or even teams can say they scored three touchdowns on Alabama. Upcoming games with Hawaii, Utah State and Nevada should yield elite production for Stevens.

Trey Woods, RB, Wyoming: Woods provided a spark with 15 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown en route to the Cowboys knocking off Hawaii 28-21 on Saturday. In the previous three games, Woods had only 28 carries for 192 yards and a touchdown. With the team desperately looking for some help for quarterback prospect Josh Allen, look for the team to lean on Woods in the upcoming game with Texas State.

PAC-12

Bryce Bobo, WR, Colorado: Bobo has hauled in at least six catches in each of his past three games and has two touchdowns on the year. Colorado will play UCLA this week, who is fresh off giving up 58 points to Stanford and 48 points to Memphis. Phillip Lindsay should get churning in the running game, which will open up the field for Bobo to go to work. QB Steven Montez should also be owned in most leagues this week.

Jamal Morrow, RB, Washington State: I've recommended RB James Williams in the past, but that doesn't mean that Morrow shouldn't be owned too. The Cougars offense is one of the most dynamic in the country and Morrow is averaging about 13 fantasy points per game. In a 45-7 win over Nevada on Saturday, he totaled 113 yards and a touchdown on 15 touches. Williams totaled 19 touches, so the split isn't so bad. The Cougars have a marquee matchup with USC, so expect both Williams and Morrow to see significant snaps.
*Stanford (vs. Arizona State), Washington (vs. Oregon State) and California (at Oregon) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be picked up for this week.

SEC

Damien Harris, RB, Alabama: We might as well put the Crimson Tide in the National Championship Game because Alabama absolutely dominated Vanderbilt on the road behind Harris' career-high 151 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries. Teammate Bo Scarbrough is owned in most leagues; however, Harris is owned in only 23 percent of leagues, which is far too low. Alabama will continue to dominate opponents, meaning Harris and Scarbrough will get significant carries.

Stephen Johnson, QB, Kentucky: If Johnson can throw three touchdowns against Florida's vaunted defense, he should have decent weeks against Eastern Michigan and Missouri. On the season, Johnson has thrown for 765 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for two more scores. This Kentucky team is better than advertised.
*Arkansas (vs. New Mexico State) and LSU (vs. Troy) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be picked up for this week.

SUN BELT

Caleb Evans, QB, Louisiana-Monroe: Evans should be picked up solely for the rushing production he has created over the last two weeks which includes 219 yards and seven rushing touchdowns. While he only has two passing touchdowns on the season, he was somewhat decent through the air this past week while completing 28 of 34 passes for 343 yards. It's worth noting this was in a double overtime 56-50 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, so that production is probably not realistic on a week-to-week basis. Nonetheless, Evans will go up against a Coastal Carolina team who lost 52-10 to a FCS team on Saturday.

Xavier Johnson, RB, South Alabama: Johnson is coming off a huge performance versus Idaho with 20 carries for 155 yards and two touchdowns. This after scoring a couple of touchdowns the week before against Alabama A&M. The Jaguars will play the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs who are pretty good, but can be attacked on the ground.