CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 9

Welcome to another installment of the waiver wire watch. 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

Kevin Mensah, RB, Connecticut
There's a good chance this will be the only time I recommend a Huskies player this season and that's because they go up against UMass this week. Mensah actually hasn't been that bad with double-digit fantasy performances in three of his last four games. He's sure to receive a decent volume and he has huge upside this week as Connecticut should be able to scrounge together some points against college football's worst defense.

Kylen Granson, TE, SMU
Most people have caught on to QB Shane Buechele, WR James Proche and WR Reggie Roberson, so I will go to the next best thing in their tight end. Granson was impressive in the 45-21 win over Temple on Saturday with three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Houston has one of the worst pass defenses in the nation, so there's a good chance Granson gets some targets as SMU should roll this week.

Last Week; Houston QB Clayton Tune (DNP – Injured), Temple WR Branden Mack (4 touches for 72 yards, 1 TD)

ACC

Clayton Welch or Tommy DeVito, QB, Syracuse
Behind Syracuse's suspect offensive line, DeVito was rocked by Pittsburgh and knocked out of the game on Friday Night. Welch entered the game and threw a couple of touchdown passes. Whoever ends up starting the game this week should have a bunch of success against a Florida State defense who is giving up nearly 300 yards passing to every signal caller they play. Both Welch and DeVito can run the ball which provides bonus upside for fantasy owners this week.

Joe Reed, WR, Virginia
Reed is the top receiver for the Cavs and is available in a ton of leagues. He averages roughly eight or nine targets a game. With upcoming bouts against Louisville, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Liberty, he could be a reliable option for fantasy teams looking for a receiver over the next month. I'm not really sure how he's not more owned already as he caught a touchdown in every game in September.

Last Week; Wake Forest WR Kendall Hinton (7 catches for 93 yards) & Miami QB N'Kosi Perry (16/28, 188 yards, 2 TD, 15 yards and 1 TD rushing)

BIG 12

Carter Stanley, QB, Kansas
Stanley has at least three touchdown passes in three of his last four games. If you stayed up late on Saturday night and watched the crazy fourth quarter against Texas, it appears new offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon has a few tricks up his sleeve. We all know that Kansas will have to throw the ball a ton against Big 12 opponents and that should be the game plan versus Texas Tech this week.

Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State
Hall was added in 17.9 percent of leagues last week, however, that's not nearly enough since he exploded for 256 total yards against the Red Raiders. He has five touchdowns in his last two games and received pretty much all of the carries for the Cyclones this past week. With Brock Purdy balling in the passing game, Iowa State can be a force if they continue to feed Hall who scored on rushes of 75 and 30 yards at Texas Tech. If you're not sold yet, Iowa State gets a bad Oklahoma State defense this week.

Last Week; Iowa State RB Breece Hall (19 carries for 183 yards and 2 TD, three catches for 73 yards) & Baylor WR Tyquan Thornton (Two catches for 96 yards)

BIG TEN

Brandon Peters, QB, Illinois
Peters was nothing special in the upset of the Badgers, but he did just enough with his nine completions and two touchdowns for me to believe he can have a big game versus Purdue this week. Back in the beginning of September, he did throw four touchdown passes versus Connecticut, so he can perform against bad defenses. My favorite play for the Illini would be running back Reggie Corbin, but Peters is available in far more leagues at a position which can be tough to fill.

King Doerue, RB, Purdue
On the flip side of that Illinois Purdue game, I would take a chance on the Boilermakers' freshman running back who has logged double-digit carries in five straight games. I would keep an eye on the health of Tario Fuller and Richie Worship, but nonetheless, I think Doerue should get a significant amount of snaps as he's earned it with solid performances against Minnesota and Maryland over the last month or so.

Last Week; Minnesota RB Rodney Smith (19 carries for 111 yards and 2 TD, two catches for 24 yards) & Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. (9/14, 141 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 35 yards rushing)

C-USA

Anthony Jones, RB, FIU
Jones is one of the best running backs in the nation that no one is talking about. The senior has three straight 100-yard rushing performances and a total of eight touchdowns in his last four games. With an upcoming game against Middle Tennessee who gives up over 230 rushing yards per game, it's far too easy to expect a huge game from Jones this week.

J'Mar Smith, QB, Louisiana Tech
I love to keep going back to J'Mar Smith because the Bulldogs are quietly 6-1 and keep putting up a ton of points. Most of their touchdowns go to running back Justin Henderson, but Smith does enough to eclipse 20 fantasy points most weeks. He's been even better over the last two weeks with four passing touchdowns and a rushing score. The Bulldogs should easily move to 7-1 when they play UTEP who is giving up over 400 yards of offense a game.

Last Week; Southern Miss RB/WR De'Michael Harris (five carries for three yards) & North Texas WR Jaelon Darden (13 catches for 125 yards and 1 TD)

MAC

Daniel Crawford, TE, Northern Illinois
I thought I would dig a little deeper on research this week to give out a couple of tight end options as this tends to be one of the toughest spots to fill each week, especially in deeper leagues. Crawford is one of the Huskies' top receivers with 27 catches for 346 yards. He has yet to record a touchdown, but that could all change this week when Northern Illinois goes up against Akron who is one of the worst teams in college football.

Justin Hall, WR, Ball State
Hall has been busy in his last four games with 24 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns as well as two rushing scores. The Cardinals have won three straight games and have scored a total of 108 points in wins over Toledo, Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois. I wouldn't expect their offense to slow down against Ohio or Western Michigan over the next two weeks.

Last Week; Ohio RB O'Shaan Allison (Six carries for 51 yards) & Ball State QB Drew Plitt (11/17, 206 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT and 14 yards rushing)

MWC

Jared Smart, WR, Hawaii
A fun game would be to try to guess how many passing yards Hawaii will put up on New Mexico who has the worst pass-defense in college football. Since there's no chance of getting Cedric Byrd, Jojo Ward or Cole McDonald, I would try to get a piece of the game with Smart. In a loss to Air Force late on Saturday night, Smart actually led the team in target share and had his second 100-yard receiving performance of the season.  

Jorge Reyna, QB, Fresno State
I'm back on Reyna who has thrown for 10 touchdowns versus just four interceptions with two rushing scores. The reason I'm back on him is because they take on Colorado State who is giving up 220.7 rushing yards per game. If you remember, I recommended Ronnie Rivers last week and he came through with two rushing scores. I think both he and Reyna are worth considering this week, but I like Reyna even more because he's going to have more opportunities with the ball.

Last Week; Wyoming QB Sean Chambers (9/15, 86 yards, 1 TD, 117 yards and 1 TD rushing on 18 carries) & Fresno State RB Ronnie Rivers (14 carries for 51 yards and 2 TD, two catches for six yards)

PAC-12

Jayden Daniels, QB, Arizona State
Daniels has been alternating good and bad fantasy performances which can drive a fantasy owner crazy. However, it makes sense when you add some context as he was particularly bad against Michigan State, Cal and Utah who all have great defenses. He was fantastic against Colorado and Washington State who both have terrible defenses. I'll take my chances over the next two weeks against UCLA and USC, even if he only had four completions for 25 yards this last week against Utah.

Tyler Vaughns, WR, USC
The USC receiver group and their fantasy ownership has been one of the most bizarre things I've seen this year as I have no idea how Vaughns is owned in just 33 percent of leagues. He has 42 catches for 534 yards and four touchdowns and has a pretty high floor considering he leads the team in targets. Michael Pittman Jr. is understandably owned in a ton of leagues and so should Vaughns. USC will throw the ball a ton versus Colorado on Friday night.

Last Week; USC QB Kedon Slovis (19/28, 232 yards, 2 TD) & Stanford WR Connor Wedington (three catches for 48 yards)

SEC

Brian Robinson Jr., RB, Alabama
With Tua Tagavailoa going down with an ankle injury versus Tennessee, I can definitely see Alabama leaning much more on their run-game in their next game with Arkansas. Since there's no chance of getting starter Najee Harris, Robinson is worth a look as he's had double-digit fantasy performance in three of his last four games anyways. This game should be an absolute blowout which means more touches for Bama's back-ups as they prepare for their inevitable playoff run.

Tavien Feaster, RB, South Carolina
Against Kentucky and Florida, Feaster racked up a pair of 100-yard rushing performances and three touchdowns. He can have a pass for having just seven carries for 27 yards against Georgia two weeks ago, so he should get double-digit carries against Tennessee this week. If he can have a productive week against the Vols, he's set up perfectly for a big week against Vanderbilt the following week.

Last Week; Ole Miss QB John Rhys Plumlee (4/12, 31 yards, 38 yards rushing on 13 carries) & Florida TE Kyle Pitts (Five catches for 29 yards and 1 TD)

SUN BELT

Shai Werts, QB, Georgia Southern
Every time I've recommended a Georgia Southern player this season, its backfired, so why not try again right? Werts should have a good week against a New Mexico State defense that gives up over 488 yards of offense a week, including 245 yards per game on the ground. Werts has just two passing touchdowns and no rushing scores this season, however, I think that changes this week.

Cornelius McCoy, WR, Georgia State
The Panthers are surprisingly 5-2 with recent wins over Army, Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State. And don't forget about the win over Tennessee earlier this season. McCoy has been their top receiver and is averaging nearly double-digit fantasy points per week. He has 40 catches for 450 yards and four touchdowns. With upcoming games against Troy and Louisiana-Monroe, his stats should continue to rise.

Last Week; Louisiana-Lafayette QB Levi Lewis (17/24, 181 yards, 1 INT and 36 yards rushing) & Appalachian State QB Zac Thomas (18/30, 214 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 58 yards and 1 TD on six carries)

INDEPENDENTS

Stephen Calvert, QB, Liberty
Calvert was outstanding in a 59-44 win over Maine with 351 yards and five touchdowns passing. You're not going to believe it, but Liberty plays Rutgers and UMass in their next two games. Calvert is a must-start in those two games as they are two of the worst teams in college football. I would also make sure running back Frankie Hickson is owned too.

Last Week; Liberty RB Frankie Hickson (nine carries for 98 yards, two catches for 21 yards and 1 TD)

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Northern Illinois (vs. Akron) – The Zips are averaging just 14.3 points per game and should have all kinds of trouble scoring on the Huskies.

Appalachian State (at South Alabama) – The Mountaineers should be moved out of the Sun Belt as they are much better than the other teams.

Cincinnati (at East Carolina) – The Bearcats lead the nation with 19 takeaways and have kept far better offenses in check this season.

Last Week; Appalachian State (vs. UL-Monroe – 7 PA, 1 Sack, 3 TA), Kansas State (vs. TCU – 17 PA, 2 Sacks), Minnesota (at Rutgers – 7 PA, 2 Sacks, 3 TA, 1 TD)

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

Utilizing the two players for each conference, I'll list out who my top recommendations are on a weekly basis by position:

QB: Liberty Stephen Calvert, Fresno State Jorge Reyna, Georgia Southern Shai Werts
RB: Iowa State Breece Hall, FIU Anthony Jones, South Carolina Tavien Feaster
WR: Hawaii Jared Smart, Virginia Joe Reed, Ball State Justin Hall
TE: Northern Illinois Daniel Crawford, SMU Kylen Granson
D/ST: Cincinnati (at East Carolina)