Hot and Cold: Hot and Cold Week 5

ACC

Hot

N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson has been a big-time producer over the last two weeks. Over that span, he has thrown for 701 yards and racked up a combined seven touchdowns.

After catching just one pass in Week 1, Maryland wide receiver Torrey Smith has taken off. He caught a total of 14 passes for 349 yards and five touchdowns over his last three games.

Cold

Florida State running back Jermaine Thomas is averaging a sound 5.6 yards per carry, but he is sharing the workload with Ty Jones and has not helped fantasy owners much over the last couple weeks. Thomas has just 108 total yards in his last two games and has not found the end zone.

Despite throwing four touchdown passes in his first two games -- both wins -- Boston College quarterback Dave Shinskie's 11-for-25, three-turnover performance against Virginia Tech has him on the bench this week. Chase Rettig will likely start in Shinksie's place.

Big 12

Hot

Oklahoma wide receiver Ryan Broyles has hit the 100-yard mark in each game this season and has totaled 41 receptions for four touchdowns. The Longhorns pose a more difficult test this week, but it's hard to bet against that kind of consistency.

Since taking over as the starting running back job Week 2, Kansas running back James Sims has run for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Don't expect him to give the job back.

Cold

Baylor running back Jay Finley has run for at least 50 yards in every game this season, but he has run for more than 60 just once. He is not a great fantasy option because quarterback Robert Griffin soaks up a lot of carries in the Baylor backfield.

Texas running back Tre Newton led the team in rushing a year ago with 552 yards, but his carries have disappeared. None of the Texas running backs is a great fantasy option at this point given the amount of turnover on the depth chart.

Big East

Hot

Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros is not running the ball the way he did a year ago, but he has thrown for over 300 yards each of the last two weeks and has a total of 11 touchdowns in four games, with most of that coming in the last two weeks.

Cincinnati wide receiver D.J. Woods has been on the receiving end of a lot of Collaros' passes the last two weeks. Over that span, he caught 13 passes for 317 yards and three scores.

Cold

South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels' production has fallen off over the last two games after a big Week 1 performance. Daniels has thrown for under 100 yards each week and has just two total touchdowns compared to five interceptions.

Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis just cannot seem to get on track. He ran for 41 yards in a Week 4 loss to Miami (FL) after running for just 27 yards in Week 2. Lewis has a chance to turn things around against a Florida International team that is giving up 150 rushing yards per game.

Big Ten

Hot

Ohio State has faced a mid-major opponent each of the last two weeks, which has allowed quarterback Terrelle Pryor to flourish. Prior completed over 75 percent of his passes in the two games for 459 yards and six scores. He also added 139 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.

Wisconsin's Lance Kendricks is providing receiver production from the tight end position. Kendricks caught just one pass in Week 1, but he has scored a touchdown in each of his three games since and has gone over 100 yards in two straight contests.

Cold

Ohio St. running back Brandon Saine has four touchdowns this season, but he has just 133 total yards over his last three games and did not score in Week 4.

Northwestern running back Arby Fields received just seven carries in Week 4, and he is behind Jacob Schmidt and Mike Trumpy on the depth chart heading into the Wildcats' Big Ten opener against Minnesota. Don't use Fields this week.

Conference USA

Hot

Houston running back Bryce Beall ran for 123 yards and an impressive four touchdowns in a Week 4 victory over Tulane. He has nine touchdowns this season and will see an increase in carries due to the loss of quarterback Case Keenum.

Marshall wide receiver Antavious Wilson has been a touchdown machine over the last three weeks. Wilson found the end zone five times and recorded his first 100-yard game of the season in Week 4.

Cold

Despite receiving 32 carries over the last two weeks, Marshall running back Martin Ward ran for only a total of 86 yards. He found the end zone once, but he will need to be more productive to hold onto the primary running back role for the Thundering Herd.

Southern Mississippi quarterback Austin Davis recorded 44 touchdowns in his first 17 career games, but he has managed just a total of three through four weeks this season.

Independents

Hot

Notre Dame has lost three games in a row, but it's tough to pin the fault for those losses on quarterback Dayne Crist, who has thrown for over 300 yards each of the last two weeks and recorded eight touchdowns in his last three games.

Cold

Because Notre Dame has had to throw so much lately, running back Armando Allen has been quiet. Allen has not scored since Week 1 and he managed just 51 total yards in Week 4.

MAC

Hot

Northern Illinois running back Chad Spann has scored in each of the last three weeks, and he ran for a ridiculous 223 yards on only 15 carries in a Week 4 victory over Minnesota.

Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin is not throwing the ball much, but that has not stopped him from putting up strong fantasy numbers. Over his last three games, Dantin has thrown for five touchdown and run for four more.

Cold

Eastern Michigan running back Dwayne Priest has scored in three of his four games, but he has run for a total of only 81 yards over his last three games. Priest does not do enough in the passing game to make up for the lack of yardage.

Akron quarterback Patrick Nicely has not thrown for more than 175 yards in a game this season and has managed only four total touchdowns through four games.

MWC

Hot

Philip Payne is no longer the only UNLV wide receiver to own. Fellow wide out Michael Johnson caught eight passes for 138 yards and three scores in Week 4 and has a total of 279 receiving yards over the last three weeks.

Colorado State quarterback Pete Thomas has not played like a freshman the last two weeks. Over that span, Thomas has thrown for 691 yards and four touchdowns. Just be aware that he will have a tough time matching those numbers this week when TCU comes to town.

Cold

Wyoming wide receiver Zach Bolger had over 100 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1, but he has caught a total of just eight passes for 102 yards over the last three weeks and has not found the end zone.

Air Force's Jonathan Warzeka is a versatile option, but he does not see enough action to be a big fantasy contributor. Warzeka has just 23 total touches this season, and he racked up only 29 total yards in Week 4.

Pac-10

Hot

Despite sitting out the season opener, Oregon running back LaMichael James is leading the conference with 455 yards. He has scored four touchdowns in his three games and is averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

Oregon certainly is not missing Jeremiah Masoli right now. His replacement, former big-time quarterback recruit Darron Thomas, has recorded 11 total touchdowns in four games.

Cold

James' return has made Kenjon Barner an afterthought in the Oregon backfield. Since racking up 200 total yards and five touchdowns in Week 1, Barner has 83 total yards on just 15 touches in the last three games.

Arizona running back Nic Grigsby ran for five touchdowns in the first two weeks, but he has been held out of the end zone in each of the last two games. Arizona's spread offense and the presence of Keola Antolin limits Grigsby's workload most weeks.

SEC

Hot

Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton scored five touchdowns in a game for the second time in 2010 during Week 4, and he now has 14 total touchdowns through four weeks.

Kentucky running back Derrick Locke has run for over 100 yards in each game this season and has already scored five touchdowns after reaching the end zone a total of eight times last year.

Cold

Mississippi State's Chad Bumphis had a big performance in Week 1, but he has been held out of the end zone the last three weeks and has just 119 receiving yards over that span.

LSU is off to a 4-0 start, but quarterback Jordan Jefferson will need to make some big improvements if they hope to maintain that record. Jefferson has been held under 100 passing yards in each of the last three weeks and has not thrown a touchdown pass since Week 1.

Sun Belt

Hot

Troy redshirt freshman quarterback Corey Robinson has found replacing Levi Brown an easy task up to this point. Robinson's 1,244 yards are good for third in the nation, and he has thrown eight touchdown passes in four games.

Another redshirt freshman quarterback, Louisiana-Monroe's Kolton Browning, is also off to a fast start. Over the last two weeks, Browning has thrown for 516 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns.

Cold

Considering he ran for 1,378 yards and scored 19 total touchdowns last season, North Texas running back Lance Dunbar is performing a bit below what was expected of him. Dunbar has just 114 rushing yards over the last two weeks and has only scored twice this year.

Middle Tennessee State quarterback Logan Kilgore is finding the starting job a bit challenging. He has thrown for just 368 yards over the last two weeks, and though he threw two touchdown passes, he also tossed four interceptions. Moreover, Dwight Dasher is back this week, meaning Kilgore ideally won't see the field again this year.

WAC

Hot

Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz has thrown for over 300 yards in each of his last three games, and he was especially productive in Week 4. Moniz threw six touchdown passes and also added one on the ground in a big victory over FCS Charleston Southern.

Fresno State has played only three games, but quarterback Ryan Colburn has already racked up 10 total touchdowns this season. Colburn threw four touchdown passes in Week 1 and again in Week 4.

Cold

Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel's numbers have declined each week. He does have six total touchdowns, but he completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes in each of the last two weeks and was held out of the end zone completely in Week 4.

Hawaii wide receiver Rodney Bradley was in position to break out this season, but he has just 13 catches for 120 yards in four games this season and is now dealing with a hamstring injury. Expect him to remain in a secondary role until he shows the ability to stay healthy.