Daily Blog • November 22nd

Three years ago I started a weekly blog that included my surprise fantasy picks for each week of the college football season. Each week I picked the players that were flying under the radar and I am pleased that I finished my first year at a very successful 83-29-7 (74%). In 2010 I had another successful year with a winning week every week and an overall 103-45-17 (70%) record. Last year I went 82-44-11 (65%). So far this year I am 101-34-9 74%.

This year I will again be giving you the surprise fantasy picks each and every week in my Thursday daily blog and here are my picks for Week 10. Keep in mind you will not find players like Denard Robinson, Matt Barkley or Montee Ball in my picks. These are strictly surprise picks of players who are flying under the radar.

My QB's Of The Week:
Sam Richardson, Iowa St • Logan Kilgore, Middle Tennessee
• David Fales, San Jose St

QB Sam Richardson, Iowa St vs West Virginia – Sam Richardson is a big sleeper for us this week after coming off the bench last week vs Kansas and subsequently lighting up the Jayhawks, hitting on 23-27 passes for 250 yds and 4 td’s. He now gets his 1st start of his career against a WVU defense that has been gashed on a weekly basis (allowing 356 ypg passing on the road this year). In WVU’s last 5 games an opponent’s skill player has been named the B12 Offensive Player of the Week!

QB Logan Kilgore, Middle Tennessee vs Troy – Another Sun Belt Conference shootout could be on the docket this weekend between the Blue Raiders and Trojans. Logan Kilgore has been a consistent presence behind center all year with a 16-4 ratio and judging by Troy’s lack of pass defense against Tennessee (530 yds) and Arkansas St (369 yds) over the past 3 weeks, we like our chances with Kilgore here.

QB David Fales, San Jose St vs Louisiana Tech – The Spartans continue to impress and David Fales is a big reason why. On the season Fales has thrown for 312 ypg with a 28-8 ratio and he now gets a match up with a Louisiana Tech squad that is off a loss to Utah St and have allowed 371 ypg passing on the road.

My RB's Of The Week:
Jahwan Edwards, Ball St • Dri Archer, Kent St
• Lache Seastrunk, Baylor

RB Jahwan Edwards, Ball St vs Miami, Oh (Friday) – Good time to take Jahwan Edwards here as he is on an absolute tear over the past 5 games, surpassing the 100 yard plateau in each contest while also adding 6 td’s. Ball St now takes on a Miami def that is allowing 242 ypg rushing, including giving up 399 yds just 2 weeks ago against Kent St.

RB Dri Archer, Kent St vs Ohio (Friday) – Judging by his performance of a week ago and the struggles of the Bobcat DL due to injuries, Dri Archer gets the nod this week in our fantasy article. Over his past 3 games Archer has rushed for 518 yds and 5 td’s as the Flashes continue to run the table within the MAC. Ohio on the other hand allowed 357 yards on the ground last week against Ball St and now journey away from home for a 2nd consecutive contest.  

RB Lache Seastrunk, Baylor vs Texas Tech – After a premature departure from Oregon and sitting out last year in Waco due to transfer regulations it appears that the very highly touted Lache Seastrunk has finally begun to show his potential for the Bears the past 3 weeks, rushing for 126 ypg and 4 td’s including a 185 yd performance in last week’s upset of #1 Kansas St. While beginning the 2nd month of the season atop some of the statistical leader boards on the defensive side of the ball, Texas Tech has now found its share of struggles since entering conference play, especially on the ground where they have given up 390 and 256 yds to Kansas and Oklahoma St the past 2 weeks respectively. 

My WR's Of The Week:
Alec Lemon, Syracuse • Quinshad Davis, North Carolina
• Brent Leonard, ULM

WR Alec Lemon, Syracuse vs Temple – A big reason for Syracuse prevailing last week in Missouri was the play of Alec Lemon who pulled in 12 catches for 244 yards and 2 td’s. Over the past 5 games Lemon has pulled in 41 catches for 727 yards and 7 td’s and shouldn’t stop there with a match up against a Temple team that is allowing 501 ypg over their last 4 contests. 

WR Quinshad Davis, North Carolina vs Maryland – It appears that North Carolina’s top 2012 recruit is beginning to pay dividends as the year wears down. Quinshad Davis has now surpassed the 100 yard receiving mark in each of the last 2 weeks including a 16 reception feat a week ago in their victory over Virginia. In Maryland’s last conf road trip 2 weeks ago against Clemson the Terps allowed 301 yards passing and assuming those numbers repeat themselves this week in Chapel Hill, Davis should find himself near that 100 yard plateau again.

WR Brent Leonard, ULM vs FIU – Despite the QB injuries that ULM had to face in the middle of the season, Brent Leonard has continued to be a stable part of the Warhawk offense. Over the previous 4 games Leonard has pulled in 42 receptions for 521 yards and 6 td’s. A meeting with an FIU squad that allowed 403 passing yards last week against FAU has us confident that Leonard’s strong season will continue here. 

My Defenses Of The Week:
Florida St • Utah St • Northwestern

Florida St Defense vs Florida  – Big matchup as far as BCS bowl implications are concerned and we expect the Seminoles defense to dominate here as they are allowing just 199 ypg at home this year (9 ppg) while the Gators offense has mustered up just 272 ypg in their last 5 meetings with BCS conf members. We expect that dominance to continue here giving FSU confidence heading into next week’s ACC Championship Game.

Utah St Defense vs Idaho  – The Utah St defense allowed 654 yards last week vs La Tech, but who hasn’t been gashed by the Bulldogs this year? The fact is that the Aggies were able to win and have the momentum here against a Vandals squad that is averaging just 13 ppg and 275 ypg on the road. Utah St meanwhile allowed a total of just 457 yards the 2 games prior to UTSA and Texas St and we expect their defense to return to form again here.

Northwestern Defense vs Illinois – Judging by the porous offense that Illinois has shown on almost a weekly basis (232 ypg on the road this year), we’ll go ahead and go against the Illini here as Northwestern has given up just 363 ypg this season at home.

 



A special thanks to our friends at CollegeFootballGeek.com for providing us with their Sneaky Plays for Week 13

CollegeFootballGeek.com’s Sneaky Plays – Week 13
By Kevin Mount, CollegeFootballGeek.com

It’s championship week in many leagues and for those of you competing in your leagues Title game, here is a look at some guys who might fill in nicely for owners in need of a potential diamond in the rough.

QUARTERBACKS

Kevin Hogan, Stanford vs. UCLA:
This freshman has shown real dual threat ability since taking over the starting QB job two weeks ago. He showed great poise in leading Stanford to an upset victory over Oregon in Eugene last week. The match up this week against UCLA could provide fantasy owners with solid numbers both through the air and on the ground. Don’t be surprised if Hogan approaches 300 total yards and adds a couple of scores this week against the Bruins.

Stephen Morris, Miami FL vs. Duke:
Morris has been an “all or nothing” type this year with three games over 400 yards passing and seven games under 220 yards passing. This match up with Duke could prove to be one of the “all” games that Morris throws out there. Neither one of these teams play much in the way of defense and this could be a classic ACC score fest. Look for Morris and the Canes to throw the ball very well this week. Morris appears to be a high risk- high reward option this week.

RUNNING BACKS

Jeremy Hill, LSU vs. Arkansas:
This freshman has been very impressive since being thrown into the rotation five games ago. He has three games with over 100 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns last week against Ole Miss. He could run roughshod against an Arkansas defense that has struggled to stop anyone this season. Look for Hill to top the 100-yard mark and likely find the end zone at least one time against the Razorbacks in Week 13.

Chris Nwoke, Colorado State vs. New Mexico:
Nwoke has been a huge fantasy disappointment this season, but appears to be turning it around just in time for the playoffs. He ran for 119 yards and a score last week against a stout Boise State run defense and could make mince meat out of New Mexico this weekend. Fantasy owners may finally get to use Nwoke this week like they had intended to all season long.

Montel Harris, Temple vs. Syracuse:
Harris turned in a fantasy performance for the ages last week against Army, rumbling for 351 yards and a ridiculous seven rushing touchdowns. While those numbers seem out of reach this week, he could still be a very productive option against Syracuse. The Temple rushing attack is really clicking right now and will likely be a huge challenge for the Syracuse defense. Expect to see Harris eclipse the century mark and throw in a score or two this week.

Rolandan Finch, Boston College vs. NC State:
Finch started last week for the injured Andre Williams and responded with 191 total yards. He could have another productive afternoon this week against NC State assuming Williams is still out. The Wolfpack defense is nothing special and will be challenged by the bruising Finch. It is not crazy to expect 100 plus yards and a score out of Finch in Week 13.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Kasen Williams, Washington vs. Washington State:
Williams has scored in the last two games and could do some real damage against Washington State in the Apple Cup. The Cougars pass defense comes in ranked 100th in the country and has shown no reason what so ever to believe they will be able to slow down Washington at all. Williams looks like a good bet to approach 100 yards and likely make at least one trip to pay dirt.

Josh Huff, Oregon vs. Oregon State:
Huff has scored five times in the past three games and also has gone over 100 yards receiving in two of those games. The Civil War looks to be a high scoring affair and Huff will likely see plenty of passes coming his way. It would come as no surprise to see Huff find the end zone against the Beavers and neither would a nice yardage total either.

SNEAKY DEFENSES:


Nebraska vs. Iowa
Northern Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan
Utah vs. Colorado
Central Michigan vs. UMASS
Cincinnati vs. South Florida
Louisville vs. UCONN
Rutgers vs. Pitt
North Carolina vs. Maryland
Utah State vs. Idaho
Vanderbilt vs. Wake Forest
BYU vs. New Mexico State

There you have it everyone, enjoy this week’s action and always remember to have fun playing college fantasy football. Good luck this week!

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