We've seen pretty much every FBS team play at least a couple of games. We've seen upsets, breakthrough performances, and more. Week 3 features a few matchups with FCS teams, and a few big conference games. It's an intriguing, turning-point kind of week, and here are my players to start and to sit in the world of college football this week.
AAC Starts and Sits
START
Jeremiah Melvin, WR, East Carolina at Old Dominion
Avoiding the AAC teams playing FCS squads, Wake Forest transfer Melvin has stepped into East Carolina's offense seamlessly. He has 11 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown, including 60 yards against Alabama. In Old Dominion's one game against an FBS opponent, Virginia Tech, it allowed 327 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.
SIT
Will Henderson, RB, UTSA at Texas
At some point, Henderson will play outside the state of Texas, but he's worked his way up the Lone Star State pecking order to visit one of the top teams in the country. Last season, Henderson and UTSA played a different top-level Texas school in the Aggies. He had seven carries for 12 yards, and that sounds about right for this one.
ACC Starts and Sits
START
Walker Eget, QB, Duke vs. Stanford
Eget may feel at home facing Stanford, given that he was the starter at San Jose State the last two seasons. His first outing with Duke was rough, but he threw for three touchdowns on the road against
We've seen pretty much every FBS team play at least a couple of games. We've seen upsets, breakthrough performances, and more. Week 3 features a few matchups with FCS teams, and a few big conference games. It's an intriguing, turning-point kind of week, and here are my players to start and to sit in the world of college football this week.
AAC Starts and Sits
START
Jeremiah Melvin, WR, East Carolina at Old Dominion
Avoiding the AAC teams playing FCS squads, Wake Forest transfer Melvin has stepped into East Carolina's offense seamlessly. He has 11 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown, including 60 yards against Alabama. In Old Dominion's one game against an FBS opponent, Virginia Tech, it allowed 327 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.
SIT
Will Henderson, RB, UTSA at Texas
At some point, Henderson will play outside the state of Texas, but he's worked his way up the Lone Star State pecking order to visit one of the top teams in the country. Last season, Henderson and UTSA played a different top-level Texas school in the Aggies. He had seven carries for 12 yards, and that sounds about right for this one.
ACC Starts and Sits
START
Walker Eget, QB, Duke vs. Stanford
Eget may feel at home facing Stanford, given that he was the starter at San Jose State the last two seasons. His first outing with Duke was rough, but he threw for three touchdowns on the road against Illinois in his second start for the program. Stanford's pass defense so far has been porous, to say the least, and the team has allowed 353.5 passing yards and 36.0 points per contest.
SIT
Ousmane Kromah, RB, Florida State at Alabama
Florida State was off in Week 2, giving it a chance to stew on a loss as the athletics department and football team sit in turmoil. Kromah has not been the issue, but a trip to Alabama is still one to sit him against. The Tide have allowed 65 total rushing yards.
Big Ten Starts and Sits
START
Turbo Richard, RB, Indiana vs. Western Kentucky
Yeah, after I saw Western Kentucky give up 70 points to Georgia in Week 2, I definitely had that in mind when it came to Indiana's matchup in Week 3. Richard is over 200 total yards for the Hoosiers, and he has three rushing touchdowns, and he managed to rush for over 100 yards on 11 carries against Howard, so Richard can produce even if his touches are limited in a blowout.
SIT
Rodney Bullard, WR, Michigan State at Notre Dame
Bullard turned some heads in Sparty's opener with seven catches for 90 yards and a touchdown against Toledo, but then in his second game he only had three catches for 26 yards against Eastern Michigan. This is a step up from both of those MAC opponents. The Fighting Irish have faced Wisconsin and Rice and only allowed 140.5 passing yards and 6.5 points per game.
Big 12 Starts and Sits
START
Aiden Flora, RB, Iowa State vs. Bowling Green
In a way, turning 19 carries into 89 yards against Iowa isn't bad, and that's why Flora did. It's encouraging leading into a game with Bowling Green for me at the very least. The Falcons have allowed 38.0 points per game, but also a whopping 261.0 rushing yards.
SIT
Julian Lewis, QB, Colorado at Northwestern
I am not sold on Lewis yet, and throwing for four touchdowns against Weber State doesn't change that. He also lost a fumble in that game, and Lewis is not mobile out there and has generated positive rushing yards in one game in his entire college career. Northwestern has only played in one game this season, so we don't know much about him, but Lewis will be on the road, and I haven't seen him impress against an FBS team yet.
Conference USA Starts and Sits
START
Isaiah Myers, WR, Missouri State vs. Marshall
Myers is still a bit of a mystery. Against Texas A&M, he did nothing, which isn't surprising. Against Lindenwood, he had five catches for 155 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing score, which is impressive, but the competition was not remarkable. Marshall is a Sun Belt team, and it has allowed 283.5 passing yards and 35.5 points per game. Let's see what Myers can do here in Week 3.
SIT
Rickie Collins, QB, Kennesaw State at Tennessee
Collins, a Syracuse transfer, has been busy for the Owls. He's thrown for two touchdowns and rushed for three more, but also thrown a pick and lost a fumble. More to the point, he's played West Georgia and Georgia State. This time he has to visit Tennessee, and when you are a Conference USA team taking a trip to the SEC, it doesn't tend to go well.
MAC Starts and Sits
START
Connor Walendzak, RB, Toledo vs. Temple
Looking to avoid matchups with FCS teams, I found myself turning to Toledo, who is at home, at Walendzak, who has been able to deliver big plays so far. He ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on seven carries against Michigan State, and he had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown against Central Connecticut. The Owls have faced Rhode Island and Penn State, but last year allowed 197.3 rushing yards and 29.7 points per game.
SIT
Chance Morrow, WR, Buffalo at Penn State
Keep Morrow in mind, but also avoid him this week. He's emerged in a major way for Buffalo, picking up 18 catches for 221 yards and five touchdowns. However, he's also played Albany and Florida International. This is a trip to Penn State, not messing around under a new coaching staff and having allowed a mere 105.0 passing yards per game and nine total points.
Mountain West Starts and Sits
START
Jackson Williams, WR, North Dakota State at Sacramento State
This is a rough week for the Mountain West. Williams doesn't have a touchdown yet, but he has 11 catches for 149 yards, and he's rushed twice for 18 yards. Plus, he returns kicks and punts, which speaks to a belief in his big-play ability. Sacramento State, also new to the FBS, beat up on Mississippi Valley State, but gave up 28 points to Eastern Michigan and 49 to Fresno State.
SIT
Scottre Humphrey, RB, New Mexico at Oklahoma
I think Oklahoma might be a bit peeved in Week 3. Brent Venables might take out some of that Michigan-loss frustration on New Mexico, and Oklahoma's issue in that loss was offense, not defense. Humphrey may have been up to the task of facing Central Michigan and Mercyhurst, but last year his only game with over 60 yards rushing was against Idaho State.
Pac-12 Starts and Sits
START
Daniel Blood, WR, Washington State vs. Duquesne
I had to go with an FBS vs. FCS matchup here, but there are no clear-cut guys for Wazzu, so highlighting Blood may help. Plus, I just wanted to point out that in its last game, Duquesne allowed 70 points…to Youngstown State. Yeah, get a piece of this defense. Blood, for his part, has seven catches for 71 yards after games with Washington and Kansas State.
SIT
Javen Jacobs, RB, Utah State at Utah
One week can make a big difference. Jacobs ran for 80 yards and added four catches for 27 yards against Idaho State in USU's opener, but he had five total yards at Washington. Utah has allowed 83.5 rushing yards and 12.0 points per game, so this should be another tough outing.
SEC Starts and Sits
START
Austin Simmons, QB, Missouri vs. Troy
Simmons has completed 75 percent of his passes and thrown seven touchdowns against zero turnovers, which is probably even better than Mizzou hoped for when bringing him in from Mississippi. Troy has been good against the run, but also faced easy competition, and even against said competition, it's allowed 220.0 passing yards per contest.
SIT
CJ Baxter, RB, Kentucky at Texas A&M
Baxter handled his business against Youngstown State, sure, but Alabama held him to 29 yards on 11 carries. As a Texas transfer, we saw Baxter play Texas A&M last season. He was held to 10 yards on six carries, and that was with a better offensive line in front of him.
Sun Belt Starts and Sits
START
Jaquari Lewis, RB, Appalachian State vs. Charlotte
When a guy manages 618 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman, you take notice, and in his sophomore season Lewis already has 142 yards and two touchdowns. Charlotte has allowed 197.5 rushing yards per game, and also a whopping 42.0 points per game for good measure.
SIT
Kenyon Clay, RB, Arkansas State at TCU
Clay has tallied three total touchdowns, but he's also averaged 4.0 yards per carry after he averaged 3.8 last season. Plodding along isn't likely to work against the Horned Frogs. TCU has allowed only 110 rushing yards and 22 points on the campaign.
