We don’t need a bunch of cats in here, folks.  We’re lookin’ for DAWGS.

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Week 3 is typically is the final weekend of (mostly) non-conference matchups, which can be tough to navigate from a lineup perspective.  As we opined in this space last week, the key is to survive the first couple of weeks and have your lineup ready to rock once the more predictable conference slate takes shape. 

There are still many moving parts as offenses continue to take shape around the country.  Anomalies will turn into trends right before your eyes - if you're paying attention.  Here’s what you need to be looking for when you peruse the stats on CFG come Sunday morning:


FRIDAY

Boise State at Toledo
What to Watch: Come on Doug Martin, be the stud running back you’re supposed to be.  Coming off a bye, Boise State should be well-prepared for a Toledo team reeling after a close loss to Ohio State.  If Martin doesn’t dominate in this one, it will raise an eyebrow for fantasy owners.

Iowa State at Connecticut
What to Watch: The Lyle McCombs-D.J. Shoemate saga.  Shoemate was supposed to return last week but was held out.  Does he return?  If so, how do the carries get divvied up?


SATURDAY

West Virginia at Maryland
What to Watch:  Have the Mountaineers been holding back in their first two games?  Let’s hope so.  They struggled a bit on offense against Marshall in the opener, and were down 12-10 last week at the half to mighty Norfolk State.  It’s still undetermined who will be the go-to in the passing game.  Will Tavon Austin post back-to-back solid weeks?

Auburn at Clemson
What to Watch:  Tajh Boyd has performed well against the cupcakes.  Now, he gets to face a real live SEC defense.  Granted, Auburn’s defense is not up to LSU or Alabama’s standards, but they are far more athletic than what Boyd has faced thus far (Troy and freaking Wofford).

Wyoming at Bowling Green
What to Watch: One of the more interesting non-BCS games on the docket.  Will Bowling Green WR Eugene Cooper keep up his torrid pace?  Will we have a Kamar Jorden sighting?  How does Cowboy QB handle his first road trip?

Penn State at Temple
What to Watch: Aside from Temple pulling off the upset, which is entirely possible given the sad state of the Penn State quarterback situation, we’ll have our eye on Bernard Pierce.  He played very well up in Happy Valley last fall before leaving the game with an injury.
 
Pittsburgh at Iowa
What to Watch:  Ray Graham vs. Marcus Coker.  First one to 100 yards wins.

Central Michigan at Western Michigan
What to Watch:  Both offenses have been stuck in first gear so far on the season.  Cody Wilson, Jordan White and Alex Carder – it’s SHOWTIME.

Kansas at Georgia Tech
What to Watch: We still don’t know who to count on in the G-Tech running game.  B-back David Sims?  A-Back Orwin Smith? Even QB Tevin Washington Show has been spotty on the ground.  Somebody step it, would ya?

Colorado State at Colorado
What to Watch: CSU QB Pete Thomas is completing 74 percent of his passing.  Big whoop.  That doesn’t help us fantasy-wise.  Put up some numbers, son!

Duke at Boston College
What to Watch:  Montel Harris remains out, which means Andre Williams will carry the load again.  He stunk at UCF last week.  Without his offensive coordinator, who took a mysteriously ill-timed “leave of absence”, can Williams run rough-shed over a bad Duke defense?

Coastal Carolina at Georgia
What to Watch:  You want “more dogs”, Coastal Carolina?  Here ya go.  After an 0-2 start, the Bulldawgs have to be rippin’ pissed.  This could be good news for Isaiah Crowell owners as their RB was officially named the team’s starter.

Wisconsin at No. Illinois
What to Watch: What the heck happened to James White last week?  17 carries for 53 yards and NO scores?  That’s not going to cut it.

Washington at Nebraska
What to Watch: Will Rex Burkhead become more involved in the running game, or will this be all T-Magic, all the time?  Burkhead is averaging a measly 13 carries per game.

Missouri State at Oregon
What to Watch:  The Black Mamba (De’Anthony Thomas) is quickly emerging as the most dangerous playmaker in America.  8.6 yards per attempt on the ground, and 17.5 yards per catch through the air.

Michigan State at Notre Dame
What to Watch:  Can the Irish triplets of Rees-Wood-Floyd continue to put up monster stats?  Sparty is by far the toughest defense they have seen yet.

Tennessee at Florida
What to Watch: Can Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers get open against a stout Florida secondary?

Texas at UCLA
What to Watch: Will Malcolm Brown get more goal line reps?  Burly fullback Cody Johnson has been vulturing all of Brown’s touchdowns inside the 5-yard line so far.

South Carolina State at Indiana
What to Watch: My “Super Sneaky Desperation Play of the Week” is Hoosier RB Matt Perez.

Virginia at North Carolina
What to Watch: With UVA RB Kevin Parks banged up, will Perry Jones take advantage?  Will Tar Heel WR Dwight Jones put up another good statline?

Tulane at UAB
What to Watch: Lots of questions in this one.  Will Pat Shed play?  Will Orleans Darkwa and Bryan Ellis finally have breakout performances?

Nevada at San Jose State
What to Watch: Mike Ball was clearly the top running back option for Nevada last week against Oregon (14-99-0).  If he gets the ball 20 times in this one, how much damage will he do?

UCF at FIU
What to Watch:  Is this the game where TY Hilton finally gets shut down?

Idaho at Texas A&M
What to Watch: Jeff Fuller’s health. Does he look 100 percent out there after two weeks of rest or is his hamstring still a problem?

Stephen F. Austin at Baylor
What to Watch: Alright, RG3, what do you have in store for us as an encore?

Arizona State at Illinois
What to Watch: This is one of the more intriguing games of the weekend.  Can Brock Osweiler go on the road and continue his hot streak?  Will Nathan Scheelhaase have the same success against the Sun Devils as Mizzou’s dual threat James Franklin a week ago?

Nicholls State at La-Lafayette
What to Watch:  Does tight end Ladarius Green suit up?  He was held out of last week’s game with a mysterious shoulder injury and information has been tight coming out of Ragin’ Cagins camp on his prognosis.

Houston at La Tech
What to Watch:  We know what Houston is going to do.  Score bucket loads of points.  But can La Tech keep up with the Cougs on the scoreboard?  WR Quinton Patton had a monster day last week.  Is he a flash in the pan or the real deal?

Troy at Arkansas
What to Watch: Two weeks in, and the most impressive fantasy component of the Razorbacks has been their defense.  Not what we had hoped for back in July.  With Greg Childs and Jarius Wright both likely to miss this one, will Tyler Wilson (who suffered a concussion last week) produce?

Ohio State at Miami(FL)
What to Watch: Can Lamar Miller follow up his 19-118-1 statline with another strong performance?  Does Buckeye RB Jordan Hall make a fantasy impact?

Oklahoma at Florida State
What to Watch: Can the Seminoles slow down Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles?  Broyles caught 12 balls on the Noles in last year’s blowout win.  How about Sooners’ RB Dominique Whaley?  Does he continue to see a large share of the carries?

Syracuse at USC
What to Watch:  The running games.  Marc Tyler came back from suspension and looked sharp a week ago.  Can he keep it up or will we see the same inconsistency from the Trojan RBs that has plagued them for the past, oh, 5 years?

Northwestern State at SMU
What to Watch:  Who catches the ball for the Stangs?  With J.J. McDermott at the helm, are Darius Johnson and Cole Beasley still fantasy worthy or does their value take a huge hit?

Oklahoma State at Tulsa
What to Watch: Will G.J. Kinne finally perform well against a big-time opponent?  He’s had his struggles against Top 20 BCS schools in the past.

Hawaii at UNLV
What to Watch: With Miah Ostrowski banged up, it’s time for Darius “Big Puppy” Bright to become a bigger part of the passing game.  UNLV’s defense is horrid.

Stanford at Arizona
What to Watch: Does he play or doesn’t he?  That’s the question.  We’re referring to Juron Criner, of course, the star WR for the Wildcats.  Also worth a look is Stanford RB Stephan Taylor, who’s off to a disappointing start to the season.

Follow Todd DeVries on Twitter: @CFFGeek


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