CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 5

Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 5

Throughout the college football season, I'll pick two guys from every conference who either caught my eye in the previous week or who have a favorable match-up in the near future. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

AAC

Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
Ridder led the Bearcats on a 92-yard fourth-quarter drive to help Cincinnati beat Ohio, which capped off a 19-for-29 for 274 yards and three total touchdown performance. The freshman has thrown only one interception on the season and gets to go up against a Connecticut defense which was completely shredded by Eric Dungey and the Syracuse offense in Week 4.

Braeden West, RB, SMU

The Mustangs haven't been very good this year, yet I'm still recommending West for a spot start in Week 5 as SMU plays Houston Baptist. He's coming off his best performance of the year with 185 total yards on 32 total touches. He's had double-digit touches in each game this season and will potentially have a few scoring opportunities this week.

ACC

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

It was only a matter of time before the highly touted Lawrence would get a chance to play the bulk of a full collegiate game. That's what happened when Kelly Bryant produced just 12 yards and one first down on Clemson's first two possessions versus Georgia Tech on Saturday. Lawrence came in and looked masterful with four touchdowns on just 18 attempts. He's already been extremely efficient from a reserve role this season with nine touchdowns on only 60 passing attempts. Imagine what this guy can do with a couple of starts against Syracuse and Wake Forest. Please make it happen, Dabo Swinney.

Antonio Williams, RB, North Carolina

Williams logged his first 100-yard game this season with 114 yards and two touchdowns versus Pittsburgh. He likely would have eclipsed the century mark versus East Carolina in Week 2 but was ejected for the second half of the game after rushing for 96 yards on six carries. Any starting running back averaging over six yards per carry should be owned in most fantasy leagues.

BIG 12

Marcus Simms, WR, West Virginia

Will Grier is ballin' so hard at West Virginia that Simms should be owned with the likes of David Sills and Gary Jennings as the Mountaineers offense is fully capable of supporting three fantasy receivers. Simms has 13 catches for 255 yards and a touchdown in his last two games. I wouldn't worry much about the running game in West Virginia as I believe the team is fully committed to having Grier be a Heisman candidate which means slinging it around all over the place. Simms is in line for another good game at Texas Tech.

Jalen McCleskey, WR, Oklahoma State

Don't be alarmed that I have McCleskey listed here as I still love Tylan Wallace and he definitely should be your choice if he's still not owned. However, I also like McCleskey this week because Oklahoma State will be motivated to put up as many points as possible after losing at home to Texas Tech. Kansas returned to being a conference doormat versus Baylor and it should be much of the same versus the Cowboys. McCleskey caught seven passes against the Jayhawks in 2017.

BIG TEN

Peyton Ramsey, QB, Indiana

Ramsey almost pulled a rabbit out of helmet with an admirable performance at home versus Michigan State. I'm not recommending Ramsey long term, yet I absolutely love him versus a horrible Rutgers team in Week 5. Ramsey had dual-threat ability and should produce multiple touchdowns on Saturday. Running back Stevie Scott should also be started as he has a touchdown in three straight games and will likely make that four games versus Rutgers.
David Blough, QB, Purdue

The Boilermakers were shockingly good against Boston College with Blough completing 21 of 28 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns. This coming after throwing for 572 yards and accounting for four touchdowns versus Missouri in Week 3. Maybe we can reap some fantasy benefits from this run when Purdue travels to play a Nebraska defense that doesn't have a lot of great things going for it at the moment.

CONFERENCE USA

J'mar Smith, QB, Louisiana Tech

Smith went into Baton Rouge and threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns to stick with the LSU Tigers through most of the game on Saturday. If he can do that versus SEC competition, there's no reason he can't have decent fantasy performances during the conference season. Smith will have another high volume outing when Louisiana Tech takes on North Texas, arguably the best team in Conference USA.

Jonathan Duhart, WR, Old Dominion

Still not owned in nearly enough leagues, Duhart is a must start each and every week after torching the Hokies with nine catches for 142 yards and three touchdowns. I'll admit I was worried about him facing the Virginia Tech defense, but he proved that he's matchup proof and can be deployed against anyone. QB Blake LaRussa, RB Jeremy Cox, and WR Travis Fulgham are also worth considering in an intriguing offense.

MAC

Mitchell Guadagni, QB, Toledo

The Rockets were on fire this past weekend with Guadagni exploding for six total touchdowns en route to an impressive 63-44 win over Nevada. Toledo is averaging 51 points per game including a pesky 24 points versus a formidable Miami defense in Week 3. If they can manage that versus Miami, there likely good for at least 30 against Fresno State which means that Guadagni should be owned in most leagues this week.

Kevin Marks, RB, Buffalo

Marks has been consistently good the last three weeks with a total of five touchdowns as Buffalo notched wins over Temple, Eastern Michigan and Rutgers. The undefeated Bulls get an Army team who experienced an emotional roller coaster at Oklahoma and could be on letdown alert. Teammate Jaret Patterson had a strong performance versus Rutgers, but that had more to do with the game being out of hand.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Toa Taua, RB, Nevada

After rushing for 170 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries versus Toledo, I think it's safe to say that Taua should continue to see significant touches. The freshman will have an opportunity to score each and every week as Nevada's defense gives up all kinds of points. They have given up at least 35 points to three different FBS opponents this season.

Isaiah Sanders, QB, Air Force

On the other side of that Nevada team in Week 5 is Air Force and their run-happy offense which will logically have some success against the Wolfpack. In the last two weeks, Sanders has at least 18 carries in each game and has seemingly taken the starting job from Arion Worthman. As long as Sanders keeps the job, he should be good for a score or two against a soft Nevada defense which yielded 230 rushing yards to Toledo in Week 4.

PAC-12

J.J. Taylor, RB, Arizona

Everyone expected quarterback Khalil Tate to be racking up 100-yard rushing performances this season, but he's been hampered by an ankle injury. This helped Taylor have a monster 284-yard two touchdown performance against Oregon State in the Wildcats conference opener. With just one touchdown previous to this outing, Taylor is available in pretty much all leagues.

Dillon Mitchell, WR, Oregon

Mitchell was targeted a ridiculous 17 times and hauled in 14 catches for 239 yards in Saturday's meltdown loss to Stanford. He did temporarily limp off the field, but returned and seemed to be the only receiver that quarterback Justin Herbert trusted throwing to. Even though he managed just six catches in the Ducks' first three games, he's far too talented to not be targeted often as he was versus Stanford.

SEC

Kalija Lipscomb, WR, Vanderbilt

The Commodores are the lucky SEC team with a cupcake opponent in Tennessee State in Week 5. That means Lipscomb can build upon his impressive start to the season with 34 catches for 306 yards and four touchdowns. I suppose that means quarterback Kyle Shurmur will also have a decent performance.

Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M

Mond has provided some nice dual-threat production in 2018 with seven touchdowns through the air and four touchdowns on the ground. The Aggies next opponent, Arkansas, is probably the worst team in the conference and the sophomore quarterback is still available in over 50 percent of leagues.

SUN BELT

Jamarius Way, WR, South Alabama

In his last two games, Way has 21 catches for 358 yards and two touchdowns. That type of volume cannot be ignored, so even if you don't have any idea how South Alabama will fare in the conference season, at least know that they can throw a bunch of passes towards Way. Moreover, Way does have a track record of decent production with 47 catches for 762 yards and three touchdowns during the 2017 season.

Derrick Gore, RB, UL-Monroe
I've made the decision that I'm going to recommend a player who goes up against Georgia State (quite possibly the worst team in college football) each and every week. Since quarterback Caleb Evans is owned in most leagues, I'll go with Gore who is fresh off rushing for 52 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to go along with seven catches for 38 yards. At the very least, he should have double-digit touches against a Panthers team who gave up 679 yards to Memphis in Week 3 and 528 yards to Western Michigan in Week 4.

INDEPENDENTS

Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame: This one is easy and obvious as Book was fantastic while picking apart Wake Forest with 368 total yards and five total touchdowns. Fantasy owners absolutely love rushing scores from their quarterback and Book certainly came through with three of them in his starting debut. The Fighting Irish will host Stanford this week and it's not like the Cardinal have an elite defense, so expect Book to have plenty of opportunity once again.

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Texas (at Kansas State): The Wildcats struggled their way to only six points versus West Virginia in Week 4 and the Longhorns looked formidable against a decent TCU offense.

Oklahoma State (at Kansas): Just when we thought Kansas was back, they fell completely off against Baylor, so I would have no problem siding with the Cowboys in this one.

Indiana (at Rutgers): I could be wrong about going with all these road teams, but do we really trust Rutgers to create any signs of life offensively after Buffalo manhandled them at home in Week 4?

Texas A&M (hosting Arkansas): Perhaps my favorite play of the week because Arkansas is really bad.