CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 9

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Updated on October 27, 2020 11:30AM EST

Impossible to not be happy in Week 8 as Liberty's QB Malik Willis accounted for seven total touchdowns and 442 total yards. This Liberty team is undefeated, just put them in the Top 25, who cares if they haven't beaten anyone! My top three running back recommendations also all had 100-yard rushing performances with touchdowns, so proud of Appalachian State's Daetrich Harrington, Auburn's Tank Bigsby and Oklahoma's T.J. Pledger. Kansas State made my defensive recommendations right with three touchdowns from their D/ST!

As usual, I can't brag about my right recommendations without admitting my weak points as well. Not sure what happened to West Virginia's WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (zero catches on multiple targets and considering his QB threw 50 passes) and I was on the wrong side of the Michigan State game as Rutgers dominated that game with Sparty. Speaking of the Big Ten, how about those Badgers (more on them later) and Indiana with a crazy-exciting finish in their upset of Penn State!

Slate Background: Another huge slate of games as we continue welcoming the Big 10 and Mountain West who proved in Week 8 that they have plenty of fantasy firepower. We will potentially see Colorado State under their new regime on Thursday Night and we get a potent Minnesota offense versus what appears to be a bad Maryland team on Friday Night. Saturday's premier game is Ohio State vs. Penn State and there's a lot of good teams taking on bad teams which makes it

AAC

Gerrid Doaks, RB, Cincinnati
Doaks is coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances against USF and SMU. In those two games, he carried the rock a combined 42 times for 207 yards and two touchdowns which is optimal volume for a waiver wire add. He's also recorded two touchdown receptions this year as he should be involved in the passing game against a soft Memphis pass secondary. Quarterback Desmond Ridder ran wild in Cincinnati's dismantling of SMU with 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns, so I can see Memphis making sure he doesn't do that again. If the Bearcats want to stay undefeated, I believe their game plan will be to slow down Memphis and drag the game out with a ton of volume to Doaks. The senior back should be owned in most leagues anyways with soft American defenses the rest of the way.

Clayton Tune, QB, Houston
For some reason, fantasy owners haven't quite caught on with Tune who has three straight 300-yard passing performances and nine total touchdowns, including a couple of rushing scores in the Cougars' first three games. Houston has a fantasy-friendly match-up with UCF which I'm hoping is part of the DFS Main Slate because it has potential for major offensive production. As I've mentioned many times this season, the American Conference has some of the worst defenses in the nation, so no reason Tune shouldn't be rostered in pretty much all leagues.

Week 8 Rewind; Temple QB Anthony Russo (41/63 for 387 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT) & UCF WR Jaylon Robinson (Four catches for 63 yards)

ACC

Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
I've been on Mayer multiple times this season already and if you rostered him this past week, he had a season-high five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. He's still available in the majority of leagues and the Fighting Irish get a Georgia Tech team who is yielding 479.2 yards per game which ranks as one of the worst defenses in the nation. With Mayer being a true freshman, it's only a matter of time before he has that true breakout game for Notre Dame and there will be no finding him on the waiver wire after that.

Christian Beal-Smith, RB, Wake Forest
After running for 129 yards on 13 carries in an upset of Virginia Tech, I have a feeling that Wake Forest is going to start splitting the carries between Beal-Smith and Kenneth Walker (23 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown) more evenly. Since you can't get Walker in most leagues anymore, go get Beal-Smith who is still averaging double-digit carries each and every week. Moreover, they go up against a Syracuse team who has the 12th worst rush defense as they have given up 235 rushing yards per game in six contests this year.

Week 8 Rewind; Virginia Tech QB Hendon Hooker (17/33 for 223 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 17 carries for 98 yards) & Clemson TE Davis Allen (One 17-yard TD)

BIG 12

Xavier Hutchinson, WR, Iowa State
The Cyclones have a new number one receiver as Hutchinson has racked up 17 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown in his last two games. Although running back Breece Hall is playing out of this world, Hutchinson has carved out a reliable role in the passing game and has an above-average quarterback with Brock Purdy. Purdy and Iowa State should be unleashed against a horrible Kansas team, so go out and get this junior receiver if you're in need at that position.

Marvin Mims, WR, Oklahoma
It may be officially time to trade in your Charleston Rambo stock for the true freshman, Mims, who appears to be Spencer Rattler's favorite target by a large margin. Mims has 19 catches for 328 yards and six touchdowns through his first five collegiate games. It hasn't been feast or famine with the youngster either as he has at least three catches in each game and a score in four of five games. With Texas Tech next up on the schedule, there's good reason to believe Mims will find the end-zone once again. I'm fairly sure this will be the last time that I'll be able to recommend this guy on the waiver wire.

Week 8 Rewind; West Virginia WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (No catches) & Oklahoma RB T.J. Pledger (22 carries for 122 yards, 1 TD)

BIG TEN

Graham Mertz & Jake Ferguson, QB & TE, Wisconsin
The hype is beyond real for Mertz who was nearly perfect in his first game with the Badgers. I'm not really sure how he wasn't the starter before Jack Coan was injured as the youngster appears to have all the tools to be a great college quarterback. Wisconsin fans have been waiting a long time to find a quarterback prospect of this ilk. On three of his five touchdowns in the season-opener, he connected with Ferguson who will likely be his favorite and most reliable target on the season. They'll go up against Nebraska this week who gave up 491 yards of offense to Ohio State.

Isaih Pacheco, RB, Rutgers
Wow, this isn't your typical Rutgers team as they were downright impressive in a 38-27 win at Michigan State. Maybe I'll just refer to them as the University of New Jersey instead. Pacheco was their best fantasy option on Saturday afternoon as he rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries while also nabbing five catches for 37 yards. The University of New Jersey will have a Big Ten East showdown with Indiana in a game that will likely have no defense, so I like Pacheco to have himself a high volume day which should bode well for fantasy owners. The winner of that game will be 2-0 and tied at the top of the Big Ten, who would have ever thought?

Week 8 Rewind; Indiana TE Peyton Hendershot (Two catches for 13 yards) & Michigan WR Ronnie Bell (Four catches for 74 yards)

C-USA

Justin Garrett, WR, UTEP
Garrett is starting to heat up as he had nine catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns versus Charlotte this past Saturday. Outside of that standout performance, he's still been dependable with 31 catches for 445 yards through six games. He'll be a big target when UTEP welcomes in a North Texas team who is giving up 306.2 passing yards per game.

Mike Collins, QB, Rice
I'll take my chances with Collins as he surprisingly threw four touchdowns in Rice's season-opening loss to Middle Tennessee. He's not an unknown name as he transferred in from TCU and has dual-threat ability and a strong arm. Rice's opponent this week, Southern Miss, just gave up seven total touchdowns to Liberty's quarterback Malik Willis, so I would say it's an excellent match-up. I still like RB Juma Otoviano to get it going as well as he did see dependable volume in the loss to the Blue Raiders.

*Old Dominion is not playing in Fall 2020

Week 8 Rewind; Louisiana Tech WR Adrian Hardy (Four catches for 31 yards) & Rice RB Juma Otoviano (20 carries for 84 yards, One 8-yard catch)

MAC

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 10)

MWC

Chevan Cordeiro, QB, Hawaii
I wasn't sure how to feel about the Rainbow Warriors with a new coaching staff, but QB Chevan Cordeiro delivered in the run-game with a team-high 116 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries as Hawaii racked up 323 yards on the ground versus Fresno State. Even if that's not a realistic performance each week for Cordeiro, he does have a talented set of receivers, so I do think he'll do better than the 229 yards through the air in some weeks as well. As long as he's going to show dual-threat ability, the floor should be fairly high for the quarterback each and every week. This next week should be very plentiful as they go up against a Wyoming team who just gave up 496 yards to Nevada.

Bailey Gaither & Tre Walker, WR, San Jose State
If you stayed up after dark to watch San Jose State beat Air Force 17-6 in a game that was tied 0-0 at halftime, you could be as obsessed about college football as me! Gaither had eight catches for 110 yards and Walker had just four catches for 38 yards. These aren't necessarily noteworthy performances, but they were impressive to me against a tough Air Force defense. I think these Spartans can both have huge years as San Jose State is going to put up many more points against other bad Mountain West defenses.

Week 8 Rewind; Colorado State WR Nate Craig-Myers & QB Patrick O'Brien (Game postponed for COVID-19 concerns) & Boise State QB Hank Bachmeier (20/28, 268 yards, 3 TD and 1 rushing score)

PAC-12

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 10)

SEC

Snoop Conner, RB, Ole Miss
The Rebels' pace is so out of control that it makes sense to take a look at their back-up running back behind Jerrion Ealy. In fact, Conner has outperformed the starter in some weeks like when he had 21 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns versus Alabama in Week 6. With Vanderbilt on the schedule, it's very possible that Ole Miss is able to post a season-high in points and I would expect both Ealy and Conner to have big days in a game that shouldn't be very close.

Connor Bazelak, QB, Missouri
Circling back to Bazelak who did just enough in a hard-fought 20-10 win against a tough Kentucky defense. While he totaled just 241 yards and no touchdowns as Missouri leaned on the run-game with 37 carries to Larry Rountree, the offense should be opened back up against Florida this week. If the Tigers can compete with the Gators who are giving up 495 yards per game, it's time to start taking them seriously this year. It was just a couple of weeks ago when the freshman went for 406 yards and four touchdowns against LSU.

Week 8 Rewind; Auburn RB Tank Bigsby (24 carries for 129 yards, 2 TD) & South Carolina QB Collin Hill (12/22 for 234 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)

SUN BELT

Kaylon Geiger, WR, Troy
Going back to Geiger as Troy has an excellent match-up with Arkansas State's defense that gives up 488.3 yards per game. He has at least five catches in each of his last three games and just one touchdown on the season, so I like him to start getting more looks in the red-zone as his talent suggests he should. Fellow wide receiver Reggie Todd is also talented, so you could go that way if Geiger is unavailable as Todd is coming off a career game with eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. Both receivers could have scores against the Red Wolves.

Jaivon Heiligh, WR, Coastal Carolina
If you want an even more dependable receiving option than Troy's Geiger or Todd, you can go with Heiligh who started the season with a touchdown in four straight games. He, unfortunately, didn't have a score this past week in a 28-14 win over Georgia Southern, but he did have five catches for 107 yards for his second straight 100-yard receiving game. Star QB Grayson McCall was surprisingly inactive with an injury, but capable back-up Fred Payton was still able to find the star receiver this past weekend. The Chanticleers are undefeated and will go up against a Georgia State team giving up a ton of yards through the air.

Week 8 Rewind; Appalachian State RB Daetrich Harrington (18 carries for 137 yards, 1 TD) & South Alabama RB Carlos Davis (17 carries for 58 yards)

INDEPENDENTS

Dax Milne, WR, BYU
Only one independent game this upcoming week with BYU hosting Western Kentucky. With the Cougars undefeated and QB Zach Wilson having an outside shot at the Heisman, Milne has been crazy productive this season with 37 catches for 639 yards and five touchdowns in six games. How he's owned in just 31% of Fantrax leagues baffles me, so make sure to go out and get this guy as he has been as consistent as they come this year.

*New Mexico State and UConn are not playing in Fall 2020

Week 8 Rewind; Liberty QB Malik Willis (24/31 for 345 yards, 6 TD, 12 carries for 97 yards, 1 TD)

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Minnesota (at Maryland) – Northwestern was able to hold Maryland to three points, so I think it's possible Maryland is just that bad.

Iowa State (at Kansas) – Another road team, but doesn't matter because you have to start the opposing defense against Kansas. Kansas State had three D/ST touchdowns last week!

Marshall (at FIU) – I haven't been great with defensive recommendations this year, so I'm going unorthodox with three road teams. FIU just lost to a FCS team and Marshall has been impressive on the defensive side of the ball.

Week 8 Rewind; Michigan State vs. Rutgers (38 PA, 2 Sacks, 3 TAs), Kansas State vs. Kansas (14 PA, 4 Sacks, 2 TAs, 3 TDs) & Tulsa at South Florida (13 PA, 1 Sack, 3 TAs, 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: Hawaii Chevan Cordeiro, Houston Clayton Tune, Wisconsin Graham Mertz
RB: Cincinnati Gerrid Doaks, Rutgers Isaih Pacheco, Wake Forest Christian Beal-Smith
WR: BYU Dax Milne, Oklahoma Marvin Mims, Coastal Carolina Jaivon Heiligh
TE: Wisconsin Jake Ferguson, Notre Dame Michael Mayer
D/ST: Iowa State (at Kansas) & Marshall (at FIU)