Start vs. Sit: Who to Play, Who to Bench Week 10

Start vs. Sit: Who to Play, Who to Bench Week 10

This article is part of our Start vs. Sit series.

PLAYERS TO START

John O'Korn, QB, Houston (vs. South Florida)

It is safe to believe in O'Korn. The freshman just threw for 364 yards and five touchdowns on the road against Rutgers. Not all of his games have been good, but most have, and he has 19 touchdowns to four interceptions. Also, and perhaps most important, the Cougars are entertaining South Florida this week. If he can torch Rutgers, who knows what sort of gaudy numbers he can put up against the Bulls?

Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall (vs. Southern Miss)

After being so great last year, Marshall's passing attack, and by extension Cato, have taken a step back. Cato still has 1,807 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions, but his only truly huge numbers came in the season opener against Miami (OH). However, the passing system is still the same, and you know who is almost as bad, if not worse, than Miami of Ohio? Marshall's opponent this week, Southern Mississippi. Expect Cato to put up numbers reminiscent of last season this week.

Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA (vs. Colorado)

Hundley has had a couple bad weeks recently. In each of his last two games, he has thrown one touchdown to two interceptions, and last week he only had 64 yards passing. However, those two games were road contests against Stanford and Oregon. It should be all smoother sailing from here, and a home game against Colorado should be good for what ails him.

Johnathan Gray, RB, Texas

PLAYERS TO START

John O'Korn, QB, Houston (vs. South Florida)

It is safe to believe in O'Korn. The freshman just threw for 364 yards and five touchdowns on the road against Rutgers. Not all of his games have been good, but most have, and he has 19 touchdowns to four interceptions. Also, and perhaps most important, the Cougars are entertaining South Florida this week. If he can torch Rutgers, who knows what sort of gaudy numbers he can put up against the Bulls?

Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall (vs. Southern Miss)

After being so great last year, Marshall's passing attack, and by extension Cato, have taken a step back. Cato still has 1,807 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions, but his only truly huge numbers came in the season opener against Miami (OH). However, the passing system is still the same, and you know who is almost as bad, if not worse, than Miami of Ohio? Marshall's opponent this week, Southern Mississippi. Expect Cato to put up numbers reminiscent of last season this week.

Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA (vs. Colorado)

Hundley has had a couple bad weeks recently. In each of his last two games, he has thrown one touchdown to two interceptions, and last week he only had 64 yards passing. However, those two games were road contests against Stanford and Oregon. It should be all smoother sailing from here, and a home game against Colorado should be good for what ails him.

Johnathan Gray, RB, Texas (vs. Kansas)

Texas has a handful of players who share the load at running back, but Gray is the best, and most prolific, of the bunch. He has rushed for 656 yards on 133 carries, and he has four touchdowns. That also includes the season opener against New Mexico State where he only got a few carries in a blowout. This week's game against Kansas could also be a blowout, but Gray has been getting the bulk of the carries recently, so he should have plenty of chances to rack up fantasy numbers.

Trey Watts, RB, Tulsa (vs. UTSA)

After a bad season opener, Watts has been pretty much the entire offense for Tulsa. He has scored at least one touchdown in four of his last five games, and in the one where he didn't he rushed for 142 yards. Watts is also a big part of the passing game, racking up 32 receptions. A home game against UTSA, who has given up plenty of points so far, is another nice matchup for him.

Joey DeMartino, RB, Utah State (vs. Hawaii)

DeMartino has emerged as Utah State's top running back, which was not a given at the start of the season, and he is coming off his best game of the year. Two weeks ago, on the road against New Mexico, he rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns, and he had 41 yards receiving for a score as well. Now he gets to face Hawaii, a team that has given up at least 31 points in every game this season, and the Aggies don't have to travel either, which only helps DeMartino.

Eric Thomas, WR, Troy (vs. Louisiana-Monroe)

Thomas didn't score a touchdown last week, but that's not too much of a concern, considering he scored in the seven games prior, and has 10 touchdowns total already. He also has 42 receptions for 667 yards, and Troy has the 16th-best passing offense in FBS. Against Louisiana-Monroe, there is a good chance Thomas returns to form and finds the end zone once more.

Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State (vs. Illinois)

Ohio State may have kept the Penn State offense in check, but it had no answer for Robinson, who caught 12 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. Robinson has five games with at least 129 yards and a score, and now he gets to face Illinois. Last week, the Fighting Illini gave up 42 points at home to Michigan State, and the Spartans aren't exactly Baylor on offense. It could be a huge game for Robinson.

TJ Jones, WR, Notre Dame (vs. Navy)

Jones has scored in five straight games, though in one of those games he did only have 15 yards receiving. However, that was against Michigan State, which has a formidable defense, and Jones has 631 yards total in eight games. He is clearly the top option for Tommy Rees, and Navy is a pretty good matchup for the Fighting Irish.

PLAYERS TO SIT

Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan (at Michigan State)

Gardner certainly makes things interesting. He's thrown for 13 touchdowns and rushed for nine, but he's also turned the ball over quite a bit, including 10 interceptions. He's coming off a bye week and before that he had a huge game against Indiana. That said, a road game against Michigan State is a much tougher challenge. The Spartans have one of the best defenses in FBS, and they aren't likely to let Gardner throw for 500 yards again. The turnovers might still occur, however.

Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia (vs. Florida)

Injuries around him seem to have caught up with Aaron Murray. In his last game, an upset loss to Vanderbilt, he only threw for 114 yards with one interception. Sure, he rushed for two touchdowns, but he isn't a running quarterback, so you can't rely on that. The team is off a bye, and it might be somewhat healthier, but this is still a tough matchup with Florida on a neutral site, even though the Gators are dealing with injury woes of their own.

Bryn Renner, QB, North Carolina (at North Carolina State)

The Tar Heels are 19th in passing yards per game in FBS, and Renner is certainly a part of that. The issue for him is that increasingly Marquise Williams is a part of that as well, as North Carolina likes to use him because his running ability gives the team a different look. Renner has thrown 10 touchdowns and four interceptions, but Williams now has five touchdown passes of his own. This fact combined with a road game against N.C. State does not bode well for Renner.

Rajion Neal, RB, Tennessee (at Missouri)

Neal has scored in his last four games, including a huge game against Georgia, and he has nine touchdowns on the season. Neal's only two less-than-stellar outings were road games against Oregon and Florida where he posted matching 12-carry, 42-yard performances. Even last week, he rushed for 70 yards and a score against Alabama. However, those aren't necessarily great fantasy numbers, and Missouri's defense is arguably as good as Alabama's. If Neal can't find the end zone, his numbers likely will disappoint.

Duke Johnson, RB, Miami (FL) (at Florida State)

Johnson is a talented back, there's no doubt about that. He averages 6.7 yards per carry and has six touchdowns, as well. On the other hand, Dallas Crawford has rushed for nine touchdowns, so clearly there is a risk of Johnson getting a touchdown vulture. More pressingly, Miami is on the road against Florida State this week, and that is an imposing matchup. Combine that with the fact the Hurricanes will likely fall behind and need to pass a bunch, this could be an off week for Johnson.

Andre Williams, RB, Boston College (vs. Virginia Tech)

Williams has already surpassed 1,000 yards on the season in seven games, and he has eight touchdowns. However, five of those touchdowns, and 263 of those yards, came against Army. Virginia Tech's defense is better than Army's. In fact, the Hokies have one of the best defenses in college football. This game could look more like Williams' outing against USC, when he was held to 38 yards rushing. He also has exactly zero yards receiving so far, so don't expect that to help.

Jared Abbrederis, WR, Wisconsin (at Iowa)

With his 207-yard performance against Ohio State, Abbrederis showed that he can do well against pretty much any opponent. However, it's not like he is doing that every week, and he has had mediocre games, as well. Iowa has a good defense, and the Badgers are still a run-first, and run-second, team. Abbrederis likely will need to make a big play, which he is capable of, to have a good fantasy game. You don't want to have to rely on that.

Jordan Leslie, WR, UTEP (at Texas A&M)

Leslie had three good games in a row before last week's game against Rice. Then, he was held to two catches for four yards. He completely disappeared. Perhaps not coincidentally, starting quarterback Jameill Showers got injured in the first quarter of this game, and he may not be able to play against the Aggies. Without Showers under center, even against a somewhat porous Texas A&M defense, you don't want to start Leslie.

Richard Mullaney, WR, Oregon State (vs. USC)

Oregon State has the top passing offense in FBS, so you would think that it would have more than one wide receiver with gaudy numbers. However, the passing game has been pretty much just Brandin Cooks. Mullaney has been good, he has 606 yards and three touchdowns, but Sean Mannion clearly is mostly focused on getting the ball to Cooks. Additionally, USC still has a defense that is at least somewhat imposing, if not what it seemed early on. If you want a piece of this Beavers passing game, it needs to be Mannion or Cooks, and nobody else.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is a writer of sports, pop culture, and humor articles, a book author, a podcaster, and a fan of all Detroit sports teams.
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