Fall is here, and this weekend we will be seeing October college football action. That's Week 5, baby! It's a mix of big conference games and, still, some non-conference cupcake-style matchups. LSU is playing McNeese State! Let's kick a new month off with gusto. Here are my Week 5 starts and sits on the college football front.
AAC Starts and Sits
START
Tyvonn Byars, RB, Rice vs. UTSA
With Quinton Jackson out for the season, and with Rice's offense built around running the ball, somebody has to step up. Maybe it will be Byars, who has averaged 4.8 yards per carry after averaging 5.7 yards per carry in a limited role last season. The Roadrunners' defense has been run all over, having allowed 213.3 rushing yards per game. If Byars gets double-digit carries, he could make an impact.
SIT
Colin Chase, WR, Temple at South Florida
In each of his last two games, Chase has had over 75 yards with a touchdown, but he also has five total receptions in that time. It's hard to be that productive with so few touches, and now he will be on the road facing South Florida. The Bulls' defense has stood out in the AAC thus far, and they have only allowed 14.0 points per game.
ACC Starts and Sits
START
Gio Lopez, QB, Wake Forest vs. Stanford
Lopz is coming off his worst game of the season, but he's over 1,100 yards passing with eight touchdowns and
Fall is here, and this weekend we will be seeing October college football action. That's Week 5, baby! It's a mix of big conference games and, still, some non-conference cupcake-style matchups. LSU is playing McNeese State! Let's kick a new month off with gusto. Here are my Week 5 starts and sits on the college football front.
AAC Starts and Sits
START
Tyvonn Byars, RB, Rice vs. UTSA
With Quinton Jackson out for the season, and with Rice's offense built around running the ball, somebody has to step up. Maybe it will be Byars, who has averaged 4.8 yards per carry after averaging 5.7 yards per carry in a limited role last season. The Roadrunners' defense has been run all over, having allowed 213.3 rushing yards per game. If Byars gets double-digit carries, he could make an impact.
SIT
Colin Chase, WR, Temple at South Florida
In each of his last two games, Chase has had over 75 yards with a touchdown, but he also has five total receptions in that time. It's hard to be that productive with so few touches, and now he will be on the road facing South Florida. The Bulls' defense has stood out in the AAC thus far, and they have only allowed 14.0 points per game.
ACC Starts and Sits
START
Gio Lopez, QB, Wake Forest vs. Stanford
Lopz is coming off his worst game of the season, but he's over 1,100 yards passing with eight touchdowns and one interception, and he's added two rushing scores as well. I would not be surprised if, in turn, this is Lopez's best game of the season. Stanford has a horrendous defense; it has allowed at least 27 points in every game, and it ranks 98th in defensive SP+. Plus, you know, it is traveling pretty far for a conference matchup.
SIT
Jeffrey Overton, RB, Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh
Overton has 409 rushing yards and four touchdowns, but 104 of those yards and two touchdowns came against VMI. As easy as Pitt's schedule has been, the defense has handled its business against said competition, and that's all you can really ask. The Panthers have allowed a paltry 53.3 rushing yards and 8.5 points per game.
Big Ten Starts and Sits
START
Aidan Laughery, RB, Illinois vs. Purdue
Will Laughery's performance lead to more touches? He's only carried the ball 33 times, but he's averaged 8.2 yards per carry and hit 100 yards against Ohio State. The Purdue defense remains a sieve, as it has given up 199.5 rushing yards and 39.5 points per game. Laughery might not even need more carries than he usually gets in this one.
SIT
Chris Durr, WR, Maryland at Nebraska
Durr got his usual heavy dose of targets against UCLA in Week 4, but with Malik Washington looking particularly erratic, he managed seven catches for 56 yards. A road trip to Nebraska will be a bigger challenge for Durr with Nebraska fans presumably feeling good about how this defense has looked. The Cornhuskers have allowed 143.0 passing yards and 12.0 points per contest.
Big 12 Starts and Sits
START
Nik McMillan, WR, Kansas vs. Middle Tennessee State
While their conference colleagues battle it out in Week 5, the Jayhawks host a Conference USA team in Middle Tennessee State. Inherently, hosting a team like the Blue Raiders is a point in favor of any Kansas players in this one, given relative quality levels. McMillan had 62 catches for 981 yards for Buffalo, and he has 12 catches for 226 yards and two scores with Kansas.
SIT
DJ Epps, WR, West Virginia at Iowa State
Epps has 279 yards and three touchdowns in his first season with West Virginia, but that is on only 10 receptions. Big-play potential aside, the Cyclones haven't been allowing many big plays in the passing game. Iowa State has given up 158.8 passing yards and 16.0 points per game.
Conference USA Starts and Sits
START
James Jones, RB, New Mexico State vs. Western Kentucky
Jones spent a season at Louisiana-Monroe, dropped down to the FCS to play for Delaware State, averaged almost 10.0 yards per carry as an FCS back, and then came back to the FBS to play for New Mexico State. So far, so good, as Jones has averaged 7.1 yards per carry against the three opponents that are not Florida State, which seems fair. Western Kentucky has played Georgia and Indiana, that is true, but it has also given up 220.5 rushing yards per game. That's bad even against the Hilltoppers' schedule.
SIT
Antonio Martin, RB, Middle Tennessee State at Kansas
The flip side of the Jayhawks hosting a Conference USA team in Week 5. Against an easy schedule, Martin has picked up 345 yards and a touchdown on 64 carries. Kansas is a Big 12 team that has allowed 115.0 rushing yards per contest. It seems likely this won't be a productive day for Martin, but at least after this it's all conference games the rest of the way!
MAC Starts and Sits
START
John Alan Richter, QB, Toledo at Ball State
Richter isn't set up to take advantage of Ball State's bad run defense, but he's thrown for 1,161 yards with 12 touchdowns and one interception. His sole turnover came in a road trip to Michigan State. While this is a road game for Richter, Ball State has allowed 254.5 passing yards and 37.5 points per game. It should not be as tough of a road trip, and Richter didn't even play poorly in East Lansing.
SIT
Amareon Blue, RB, Eastern Michigan at Massachusetts
Blue has rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but that is over five games already. Plus, the schedule has largely been easy. Massachusetts' schedule has been even easier, almost inexplicably easy. That being said, the Minutemen have only allowed 74.8 rushing yards and 12.8 points per game. The MAC's defenses don't look great as a whole, so maybe Massachusetts' is, in fact, near the top of the conference.
Mountain West Starts and Sits
START
Tama Uiliata, WR, Hawaii vs. San Jose State
In three of four games this season, Uiliata has gotten 10 targets. Across those three games he's tallied 24 catches for 208 yards and a score. The Rainbow Warriors are home in Week 5, which tends to be to their benefit. San Jose State has allowed the most passing yards per game in the Mountain West, making this a good day for Uiliata to get 10 targets once again.
SIT
Tavorus Jones, RB, UTEP at New Mexico
In three seasons with Missouri, Jones barely saw the field. Dropping down to UTEP hasn't necessarily seen his college career take off. The bulk of the damage Jones has done came against Texas Southern. He hasn't topped 40 yards against an FBS team, and New Mexico has only allowed 83.8 rushing yards per game.
Pac-12 Starts and Sits
START
Donovan Brown, WR, San Diego State vs. Texas State
The Aztecs are not known for airing it out, but if there were a day to do it, it would be here in Week 5. Texas State has allowed a remarkable 348.3 passing yards per game, not to mention 33.8 points per contest. Back healthy in Week 4, Brown had four catches for 51 yards against Toledo, and this is an easier matchup than that one.
SIT
Josiah Freeman, WR, Fresno State at Washington State
Freeman has rebounded from being held without a catch by USC, as he has 18 receptions for 261 yards and two touchdowns since then. However, trips to Washington State are rarely easy, and Washington State has been good against the pass this year. Wazzu has allowed 207.0 passing yards per game.
SEC Starts and Sits
START
Donovan Olugbode, WR, Missouri vs. Florida
Fear Florida's offense, but not its defense, specifically its passing game. Removing Campbell from the equation, the Gators have given up over 280.0 passing yards per contest to FBS opponents. Olugbode has clicked well with Austin Simmons, to say the least. He has at least three catches and a touchdown in all four games this year.
SIT
Byrum Brown, QB, Auburn at Tennessee
Brown has bounced back from throwing three picks against Baylor in the opener…kind of. He has thrown two more picks, and he only managed 140 passing yards against Vanderbilt (though he added 57 yards and a touchdown on the ground). Tennessee has allowed 163.5 passing yards and 15.5 points per game, and it hasn't allowed a passing touchdown at home yet.
Sun Belt Starts and Sits
START
Keenan Phillips, RB, South Florida vs. Louisiana-Monroe
PJ Martin is in the top 10 of Rotowire's running back rankings for Week 5, and reasonably so, but this is the kind of week where multiple backs can get theirs. Plus, Phillips isn't some afterthought behind Martin, as he's touched the ball 55 times and he ran for 116 yards and a touchdown against Ohio. As to the matchup, the Warhawks have allowed 242.3 rushing yards and 42.8 points per game. Yeah, like I said, multiple backs can get theirs in Week 5.
SIT
Trey Owens, QB, Arkansas State at Louisiana
A different Louisiana-based team in the Sun Belt is having a better year defensively. The Ragin' Cajuns have allowed 260.8 total yards and 19.3 points per game. Owens is coming off his best game of the season, and he did throw for 325 yards and a touchdown against Memphis. However, he also threw four interceptions against Memphis, and playing well against Kennesaw State at home isn't the same as playing well against Louisiana on the road.
