Start vs. Sit: Who to Play, Who to Bench Week 7

Welcome to our Week 7 installment of Start vs. Sit as we reach the midway point of the season. We have an interesting slate of games this weekend, highlighted by Wisconsin at Michigan, Washington at Oregon and Georgia at LSU. I will be on site in Baton Rouge for said Georgia-LSU game but will still do my best to get to your questions (cell reception permitting). Without further adieu, let's jump into this week's most pressing start-sit conundrums.

AAC

Jordan Cronkrite, RB, South Florida

Cronkrite has raced up my rankings and is now a top-5 play this week after an astonishing 302-yard effort against Massachusetts. He isn't just a one-week wonder, however. He has averaged no less than 6.0 YPC in any of his last three games and has scored in each of those contests, establishing himself as the clear No. 1 in the Bulls' backfield in the process. This week he'll see a Tulsa defense that ranks 110th in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game (207.4). I'm not saying Cronkite will match that number on his own, but it wouldn't shock me, either.

ACC

Dexter Williams, RB, Notre Dame (vs. Pittsburgh)

I know Notre Dame is an independent but it gets five ACC opponents this season and, well, have you seen the rest of the ACC slate this week? Williams is my pick as someone who, like Cronkrite above, has skyrocketed up the ranks in recent weeks. Two games against good defenses and Williams has posted 38 carries for 339 yards and four scores. Jafar Armstrong is still working his way back from a knee injury and Tony Jones Jr. is mostly a change of pace guy at this stage, so Williams is an elite option in Week 7 with as soft of a Power 5 matchup as one could hope for.

BIG 12

Keaontay Ingram, RB, Texas (vs. Baylor)

Texas will need to resist the temptation to go on cruise control this week against Baylor and this could be an uncomfortably close game for the Longhorns if they're not careful. That said, Texas should have no problem running the ball on the Bears, and Ingram is primed to shine. Ingram has out-carried grad transfer Tre Watson in back-to-back weeks and gets to face a Baylor defense that coughs up more than 6.0 yards per carry to opponents. Look for Ingram to push for double-digit carries and snap his touchdown drought in a soft matchup Saturday.

BIG TEN

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin (at Michigan)

Taylor looked unstoppable with a 221-yard outing against Nebraska in Week 6. While Nebraska does have a bottom-5 run defense among Power 5 schools, it was an impressive feat nonetheless. This week is a completely different story with Wisconsin heading to the Big House. Michigan holds opponents to 2.64 YPC and hasn't let a single team average more than 4.0 yards per carry in any game. This profiles as a classic strength vs. strength Big Ten matchup between an elite rushing offense and a vicious run defense. Taylor is one of the few backs in the nation I'd bet could find success against the Wolverines. He ran for 113 yards against an Iowa defense on the road that's right on par with Michigan and Taylor is essentially a lock for 20-plus carries in Week 7. Even if the efficiency takes a hit and Taylor averages less than 5.0 yards per carry, the workload and short-yardage ability should net him a strong fantasy point total even in a brutal matchup.

CONFERENCE USA

Spencer Brown, RB, UAB (at Rice)

Brown has been a consistent producer throughout the year with six touchdowns in five games, but he's lacked explosiveness. He averages just 4.6 YPC, which is well below his 5.3 mark from 2017 when he finished with 1,329 yards in 13 games. Well, this is the week he puts up his biggest rushing total of the season. This is the week he goes off. Rice surrenders 4.9 yards per carry and has surrendered 11 rushing scores through six games. Look for Brown's workload to be in the 20s with a season-high YPC.

MAC

Papi White, WR, Ohio (at Northern Illinois)

White's targets have trended down the last two weeks, but his efficiency has gone way up. He's caught 11 of 14 targets in that span for 173 yards and two scores. There's some reason for concern regarding Ohio's quarterback situation with Nathan Rourke (shoulder) dinged up, but backup Quinton Maxwell is experienced enough to know to get White the ball if Rourke is sidelined. Northern Illinois has a defense I tend to avoid, but White has the floor-ceiling combo to still warrant a spot in your starting lineups.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Jordan Love, QB, Utah State (vs. UNLV)

Love is on a roll, having accounted for seven total touchdowns and 521 passing yards the last two weeks. Don't look for UNLV to slow that roll, as the Rebels rank 109th defensively in S&P+ and have surrendered multiple passing touchdowns in three consecutive weeks.

PAC-12

Dillon Mitchell, WR, Oregon (vs. Washington)

The biggest game in the Pac-12 regular season is upon us with the Ducks playing host to the Huskies on Saturday afternoon. Washington sports one of the best secondaries in the nation that even held Arizona State's N'Keal Harry to 20 yards. Admittedly, Mitchell has enough shaky games on his ledger this season to doubt this pick. But he is coming on strong as quarterback Justin Herbert's No. 1 option, having seen 26 of Oregon's 55 targets the last two weeks. He's turned that target volume into 21 grabs for 344 yards and a touchdown. If you scooped up Mitchell after the Cal game and held onto him through the bye, now is the time to toss him in your lineup even against a tough Washington secondary.

SEC

Ty Storey, QB, Arkansas (vs. Mississippi)

This is more a play for two-quarterback and superflex plays, but with plenty of teams on bye, Storey is a viable streaming option. He just completed 64 percent of his passes for 230 and two touchdowns against Alabama (who might've taken its collective foot off the gas Saturday, but I digress). It's still impressive nonetheless and enough to warrant looking at Storey as a fill-in against an Ole Miss defense that's among the weakest in the Power 5. Look for this to be a back-and-forth affair with Arkansas going to the air early and often against the Rebels, which will pay dividends for those taking the plunge on Storey.

SUN BELT

B.J. Smith, RB, Troy (vs. Liberty)

With Kaleb Barker (ACL) down for the season, the runway is clear for takeoff when it comes to Smith. He picked up 46 percent of Troy's rushes Thursday against Georgia State and responded with 140 yards and two touchdowns. New quarterback Sawyer Smith is a capable rusher, but not the threat to Smith's volume that Barker was. Smith should see heavy volume against a Liberty defense that has one of the weakest run defenses in the nation. ULL's Trey Ragas is also primed for a huge game Saturday against New Mexico State
SIT
AAC

Brady White, QB, Memphis (vs. Central Florida)

This game has an implied total of 78.0 and Memphis is only a 4.5-point underdog, so the Tigers are expected to put up some points in the AAC's marquee matchup Saturday. White has been a solid contributor throughout the season, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes while tossing 15 touchdowns – the same number as McKenzie Milton. And he'll likely throw his most passes of the season this weekend. So why bench him? Well, much of White's success has come against lesser competition. Throwing five touchdowns on Georgia State or completing 88.9 percent of your passes against Connecticut is all well and good, but we must factor in what he's done against tougher (AAC) competition. He threw for just 145 yards on 25 attempts against Navy and completed just 46.7 percent of his passes against Tulane. Central Florida has an athletic and opportunistic pass defense that's picked off eight passes while allowing just five touchdowns. If Memphis has offensive success Saturday, it'll come on the ground in the form of Darrell Henderson and Patrick Taylor.

ACC

Bryce Perkins, QB, Virginia (vs. Miami)

Perkins has been an undoubted revelation at Virginia and ranks in the top 15 in quarterback points per game at 30.5 – a better number than the likes of Jordan Ta'amu, Justin Herbert and Nick Fitzgerald. Miami's defense is unlike anything Perkins has faced to this point, though. Yes, the 'Canes nearly lost to Florida State, but defense wasn't the issue. They racked up six sacks and 12 tackles for loss on Florida State's Deondre Francois. Perkins' mobility will help him avoid some of those sacks, but he'll be facing a chaotic defense nonetheless. He falls outside my top-30 at quarterback this week and is only worth consideration in deep superflex leagues.

BIG 12

Alex Barnes, RB, Kansas State

Barnes is coming off a 250-yard, three-touchdown outing against Baylor and is the unquestioned catalyst of the Kansas State offense. Recency bias can distract from what Barnes had done this season heading into Saturday, though. Barnes averaged just 4.4 yards per carry and had just two rushing touchdowns through the first five games of the season and now he runs into the Big 12's best rushing defense. Oklahoma State allows just 3.2 yards per carry and 117.8 rushing yards per game while Baylor, the team Barnes clowned in Week 6, gives up 6.07 YPC and 193.1 rush yards per game. The people rushing to get Barnes into their lineup this week might wind up regretting it in a big way, even if he has a high volume floor.

BIG TEN

Stevie Scott, RB, Indiana (vs. Iowa)

Scott is easily one of the top freshman running backs in the nation and owns a massive 48-percent share of Indiana's rushing attempts. He even averaged 7.1 yards per carry against Ohio State on a limited workload that can be chalked up to game script not working in his favor. The sledding doesn't get much easier this weekend with Iowa coming to town, however. The Hawkeyes have surrendered just two rushing touchdowns all season and even held Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor out of the end zone. Iowa is also fifth in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game at just 84.4. Starting Scott simply isn't worth the risk this weekend.

CONFERENCE USA

North Texas backfield (DeAndre Torrey and Nic Smith) vs. Southern Mississippi

Southern Miss has a run defense that is as good as any in the the Group of Five. It held Auburn to just 2.67 yards per carry and 96 rushing yards overall. Now, that's not as impressive of a feat on Oct. 9 than we would've thought back in September, but it's a strong showing nonetheless. Now that North Texas is without top back Loren Easley, the Mean Green is trying to figure out its backfield situation. Torrey had the most carries last weekend but averaged just 3.7 yards per carry against UTEP. Meanwhile, Smith saw 13 carries for 64 yards and a score. With that, it seems North Texas will be going with a flimsy running back committee as a minor supplement to its explosive passing attack.

MAC

Riley Miller, WR, Ball State (at Central Michigan)

Miller doesn't get enough buzz considering that he ranks eighth in the nation in targets (65). The catch rate could be better (54 percent), but Miller is still a focal point with value in both standard and PPR formats. However, Central Michigan (despite the Kansas loss) is strong against the pass and could hold Miller in check Saturday. The Chips give up just 145.3 passing yards per game, have more picks (7) than touchdowns allowed (6) and rank in the top-20 in passer rating allowed. Miller's inefficiency (7.7 YPT) and lack of red-zone ability (one receiving touchdown) make him a less appealing option than what he might've been at first glance.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Marcus McMaryion, QB, Fresno State (vs. Wyoming)

I know Cole McDonald, but Wyoming holding the Hawaii to 17 points in Hawaii is a major accomplishment nonetheless given the Warriors' weapons across the board on offense. McMaryion and company don't have that same level of explosiveness (neither does Wyoming), and with the tough defenses on both sides, we see a game with an implied total of 45.0 – the second-lowest total on the board this week. McMaryion's 27.0 fantasy points per game average will take a dip after a low-scoring outing Saturday.

PAC-12

Khalil Tate, QB, Arizona (at Utah)

I hate to pile on the guy because I don't believe Tate's struggles this year are all his fault. That said, if you take away the name and look at a 54.0 completion percentage with 1,412 passing yards and 109 rushing yards along with 13 total touchdowns through six games, you get a middling fantasy asset. Riley Neal, Peyton Ramsey, and K.J. Carta-Samuels all average more fantasy points per game than Tate, for instance. Toss in the fact that Tate is facing a borderline top-20 defense on the road and we get a sit decision for Tate.

SEC

D'Andre Swift, RB, Georgia (at LSU)

Swift had the biggest workload in the Bulldog backfield Saturday and finally started to look like his 2017 self by averaging 7.1 YPC and catching four of five targets for 49 yards and a score. Make no mistake, Georgia will tighten up the running back rotation Saturday and trim down the carries for the James Cook's and Brian Herrien's of the world in an effort to funnel most of the carries to Swift and Elijah Holyfield. In fact, there's a decent chance Swift sees his season-high in carries Saturday. Still, it's just difficult to warrant starting Swift in such a tough matchup on the road when we know Georgia doesn't rely on just one running back. There are likely 2-3 better options on your roster at running back this weekend.

SUN BELT

Keenan Brown, TE, Texas State (vs. Georgia Southern)

Brown is basically the only show in town for the Bobcats as the only pass-catcher with more than 11 percent of the target share. Even with the reliable target volume and red zone role (four touchdowns), it's still a tough spot for him this week against Georgia Southern. A big concern is time of possession. Georgia Southern's run-based offense will keep the Bobcat offense on the sideline and limit the play count and reduce Brown's target volume upside.