CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 9

CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 9

This article is part of our CFB Waiver Wire series.

ACC

Danny Coale, WR, Virginia Tech

Logan Thomas is hitting his stride as a passer for Virginia Tech, throwing for 858 yards and six touchdowns the last three weeks. The trend should continue, and as Virginia Tech's top receiver this year, Coale should benefit as much as anyone. He had two 100-yard games even before Thomas was passing efficiently, so with Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia on the schedule to close the year, Coale should provide a boost at wideout for those in deeper leagues.

Devonta Freeman, RB, Florida State

With consecutive 100-yard games, Freeman seems to be emerging as Florida State's top runner. While neither defense is impressive, the true freshman torched Duke and Maryland for 209 yards and two touchdowns on just 30 carries the last two weeks. He's certainly a must-own in ACC-only leagues, and he could be worth a look in a number of other scenarios, as well. Just don't expect him to get a huge workload.

Big East

Nick Provo, TE, Syracuse

He likely won't score multiple touchdowns in one game again this year, but Provo is permanently on the fantasy radar in most or all leagues after totaling 61 yards and three touchdowns on six catches against West Virginia. He has at least three catches in all but one game this year and averages four receptions per game.

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville

Bridgewater is only a Big East-only league consideration, but it's difficult to not be a bit

ACC

Danny Coale, WR, Virginia Tech

Logan Thomas is hitting his stride as a passer for Virginia Tech, throwing for 858 yards and six touchdowns the last three weeks. The trend should continue, and as Virginia Tech's top receiver this year, Coale should benefit as much as anyone. He had two 100-yard games even before Thomas was passing efficiently, so with Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia on the schedule to close the year, Coale should provide a boost at wideout for those in deeper leagues.

Devonta Freeman, RB, Florida State

With consecutive 100-yard games, Freeman seems to be emerging as Florida State's top runner. While neither defense is impressive, the true freshman torched Duke and Maryland for 209 yards and two touchdowns on just 30 carries the last two weeks. He's certainly a must-own in ACC-only leagues, and he could be worth a look in a number of other scenarios, as well. Just don't expect him to get a huge workload.

Big East

Nick Provo, TE, Syracuse

He likely won't score multiple touchdowns in one game again this year, but Provo is permanently on the fantasy radar in most or all leagues after totaling 61 yards and three touchdowns on six catches against West Virginia. He has at least three catches in all but one game this year and averages four receptions per game.

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville

Bridgewater is only a Big East-only league consideration, but it's difficult to not be a bit impressed by his winning effort against a Rutgers pass defense that has been almost demonic for most of this year, allowing just four touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions before Saturday while holding opponents to completion percentages of 48.5 or less in four of its previous six games. The Louisville offense could open up a bit for Bridgewater after he turned the ball over just once against the Scarlet Knights, particularly against West Virginia.

Big Ten

Stephen Houston, RB, Indiana

Houston has been quite impressive this year, putting up entirely respectable numbers despite playing in an awful situation. In the last four weeks he has 70 carries for 335 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, as well as seven receptions for 74 yards. As Indiana takes on a vulnerable Northwestern defense, Houston looks like a viable on-paper start in basically all scenarios.

Tre Roberson, QB, Indiana

Roberson is probably only a deep-league option, but the true freshman impressed in his first career start against Iowa on Saturday, throwing for 197 yards and a touchdown while running for 84 yards on the road. He has another favorable matchup against Northwestern this week, so there are worse desperation starts at quarterback out there.

Big 12

Alexander Torres, WR, Texas Tech

Torres' season started out quite slow, as he totaled just 166 yards and no touchdowns in the first four weeks. In the three games since, however, Torres has been on fire, posting 24 catches for 309 yards and four touchdowns. With Seth Doege leading a seemingly unstoppable passing game for Tech, Torres should probably be owned in all scenarios until he cools off.

DeAndre Washington, RB, Texas Tech

Aaron Crawford was given more carries against Oklahoma, but Washington predictably was easily the more productive player. While Crawford totaled 62 yards on 17 carries (3.7 yards per carry), Washington took his 16 carries for a rather impressive total of 84 yards (5.3 yards per carry). If Texas Tech is interested in putting the best players on the team, Washington should emerge as the team's leading ballcarrier.

Conference-USA

A.J. Graham, QB, Marshall

He seems like a bit of a liability as a passer, but Graham's standout rushing ability makes him an intriguing fantasy option. He has 203 rushing yards and three touchdowns the last two weeks, and his next matchup is against a UAB defense that just doesn't look good. If you missed emerging quarterbacks like Blaine Gautier and Cody Fajardo, take a shot on Graham.

Reggie Bullock, RB, East Carolina

Bullock has been up-and-down all year, but hopefully he can stay on a high note two weeks in a row. He ran well against Navy last week, taking 26 carries for 104 yards and three touchdowns. With a Tulane defense that has allowed 22 rushing touchdowns through eight games next on the schedule, Bullock has a good chance of finding the end zone in consecutive games.

Independents

Trey Miller, QB, Navy

Kriss Proctor's (arm) status is unclear, but Miller is a decent speculative addition just in case Proctor misses time. Of course, Notre Dame's defense isn't an ideal matchup this week, as the Irish allow only 4.0 yards per carry and have surrendered just three rushing touchdowns, but Troy's defense the week after is far less intimidating.

MAC

Chazz Anderson, QB, Buffalo

Anderson is hit-or-miss at best as a passer, but his rushing ability gives him surprising upside when he has a good matchup. Last week provided such a matchup, as Anderson threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns while running for 56 yards and another touchdown. He takes on a Miami defense this week that has allowed nine passing touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.

Chris Givens, WR, Miami, Ohio

As defenses single out the dynamic Nick Harwell, Givens will continue to see favorable coverage. That scenario is particularly appealing against Buffalo this week, a team that has allowed 11 touchdowns to just two interceptions through the air. It's easy to forget that Givens started the year by catching seven passes against both Missouri and Minnesota, on the road in both cases, before a concussion disrupted his season the next week. Givens is showing some signs of breaking out again, though, as he has eight catches in the last two weeks, against two of the MAC's toughest pass defenses (Kent State and Toledo).

Mountain West

Dionza Bradford, RB, UNLV

Bradford is primarily a deep-league option due to the presence of Tim Cornett and Bradley Randle, but he's worth a gamble in some scenarios after totaling 40 carries the last two weeks. His upcoming matchup is against a Colorado State defense allowing 5.6 yards per carry.

Alvester Alexander, RB, Wyoming

Alexander is a risky play outside of deep leagues, but he could be a decent desperation play this week against an Air Force defense that has surrendered 15 touchdowns on the ground through seven games, as well as a rushing average of 5.0 yards per carry. Outside of tough matchups against Nebraska and Utah State, Alexander has scored on the ground in each game.

Pac-12

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington

The super-talented true freshman is a regular in the Washington offense. After catching just five passes in the first three weeks, Seferian-Jenkins upped his workload to 15 catches over the next four games. He also totaled 205 yards and three touchdowns over that span. With 324 yards and four touchdowns at the seven-game mark, Seferian-Jenkins should be owned in most formats.

Devin Aguilar, WR, Washington

Aguilar is too inconsistent to be regularly relied upon as a fantasy option, but a matchup with Arizona's weak pass defense gives him better odds to produce than usual this week. The Wildcats have allowed 14 touchdowns to five interceptions through the air with a 70.9 completion percentage and an average of 8.2 yards per pass.

SEC

Dennis Johnson, RB, Arkansas

Ronnie Wingo has proven to be a bit of a disappointment as a runner, giving Johnson a chance to re-establish himself in the Arkansas backfield. A better natural runner than Wingo, Johnson has unsurprisingly impressed with his increased workload. In the last three weeks Johnson has run for 256 yards and a touchdown on just 35 carries, including a 15-carry, 160-yard showing against Mississippi last week.

Chad Bumphis, WR, Mississippi State

Bumphis' offense is too unstable to make him a weekly fantasy option, but the Kentucky defense should make life easy for him this week. The Wildcats allowed 351 passing yards and five touchdowns against a generally less-than-impressive Connor Shaw three weeks ago, so the Aggies should be able to move the ball through the air this week.

Sun Belt

William Pratcher, RB, Middle Tennessee

The presence of Ben Cunningham and D.D. Kyles makes Pratcher a risky option outside of deep and Sun Belt-only leagues, but with consecutive 100-yard rushing games, he might be too good to keep off the field. The last three weeks he has 48 carries for 311 yards and a touchdown.

Centarius Donald, RB, Louisiana-Monroe

Another week, another productive game for Donald, who has to emerge as Monroe's top back any second now. He ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries against North Texas last week, raising his rushing average on the year to 7.0 yards per carry. The next-most productive runner on the Warhawks roster (Jyruss Edwards) averages just 3.9 yards per carry.

WAC

Joey Iosefa, RB, Hawaii

The big back is close to must-add in most leagues, as he has had three productive games in a row in the explosive Hawaii offense. He has taken 36 carries for 270 yards and four touchdowns in his last three games, and this week's matchup is against an Idaho defense that has allowed more than 190 yards on the ground in consecutive weeks.

Matt Christian, QB, New Mexico State

Christian has always impressed as a runner, but his 2010 passing numbers (48. 1 completion percentage, 5.8 yards per attempt) made him a liability. This year, though, he's averaging 8.3 yards per attempt while completing 57.3 percent of his passes, throwing for eight touchdowns versus one interception in the process.

Want to Read More?
Subscribe to RotoWire to see the full article.

We reserve some of our best content for our paid subscribers. Plus, if you choose to subscribe you can discuss this article with the author and the rest of the RotoWire community.

Get Instant Access To This Article Get Access To This Article
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only College Football Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire College Football fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mario Puig
Mario is a Senior Writer at RotoWire who primarily writes and projects for the NFL and college football sections.
College Football Spring Practice: SEC Storylines
College Football Spring Practice: SEC Storylines
College Football Spring Practice: ACC Storylines
College Football Spring Practice: ACC Storylines
College Football Spring Practice: Big 12 Storylines
College Football Spring Practice: Big 12 Storylines
College Football Spring Practice: Big Ten Storylines
College Football Spring Practice: Big Ten Storylines