Each Friday, we bust out a Rapid Fire Weekend Preview article.  The gist of the piece is to outline things to look for during the weekend's action.  So it's only natural that we revisit those questions to see if we found any answers.  Let's dive in...

SATURDAY

San Diego State at Michigan
What to Watch: Can Ronnie Hillman gash the Wolverine defense?  Will ANYONE not named Denard emerge in the UM running game?

What we Learned: Hillman was able to muster up 124 yards of offense, but did not find the endzone.  D-Rob rushed for 200 yards, while we learned nothing new about the UM running backs.

UNC at Georgia Tech
What to Watch: After pounding on Western Carolina, Middle Tennessee and Kansas, can the Rambling Wreck offense produce against a real, live ACC defense?

What we Learned: Yes sir.  G-Tech continued to pile up the yards (312 rushing, 184 passing).  Tevin Washington is probably one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the country.

Toledo at Syracuse
What to Watch: Will ‘Cuse RB Antwon Bailey show up in this one?  He’s been invisible the past few weeks.

What we Learned: Bailey did show up, rushing for 114 yards and a score on a whopping 28 carries.

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
What to Watch: Pitt’s pass defense is given up the 8^th most QB fantasy points in the country.  And that’s against Maine, Buffalo and Iowa.  ND’s pass game is far better than that trio, which is good news for Tommy Rees and Michael Floyd owners.

What we Learned: Doh!  Rees and Floyd owners were none to pleased with their pathetic performance. Pink Floyd only caught 4 balls for 27 yards on the day. 

SMU at Memphis
What to Watch: Will Zach Line play nice and share some touchdowns with his teammates?  5 TD’s last week was just plain selfish.  WRs Darius Johnson and Cole Beasley need some love, too.

What we Learned: Line scored three scores on the day, but Darius Johnson also found paydirt twice.  Beasley suffered a knee injury and did not finish the game.

Temple at Maryland
What to Watch: Bernard Pierce vs. Davin Meggett.  Let’s hope that vultures Matt Brown and D.J. Adams don’t spoil the fun.

What we Learned: Pierce exploded for 149 yards and 5 - count 'em - FIVE touchdowns.  Meggett?  9-20-0.  Neither of the vultures were a factor in this one.

UMass at Boston College
What to Watch: Will Montel Harris play, and play effectively, in this one?

What we Learned: Harris put up a 9-27-0 statline in this one, while Andre Williams was the bell cow with 20-95-0.

Bowling Green at Miami (OH)
What to Watch: Are there enough balls to go around to please Kamar Jorden and Eugene Cooper owners?

What we Learned: After a surprising start to the season with Cooper getting more love than Jorden, things seemed to be shifting back to normalcy.  Jorden hauled in 9 balls for 91 yards and a score.  Cooper chipped in with 3-51-0.

Ohio at Rutgers
What to Watch: Can the Scarlet Knights’ o-line create any holes for freshman RB Savon Huggins?  He’s averaging LESS THAN 2.0 YARDS PER CARRY on the season.

What we Learned: Huggins' struggles continued on Saturday as he carried the ball 5 times for 10 measly yards.  He did score a TD, but also lost two fumbles and was yanked in favor of Jawan Jamison.  Jamison wound up rushing 29 times for 97 yards.

Arkansas at Alabama
What to Watch: Can the Arkansas offense get anything going against the country’s top defense?  Will Tyler Wilson get through the game unscathed?

What we Learned: Wilson was unable to get anything going in this one, but as far as we know he did make it through without injury.

Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
What to Watch: Will Jeff Fuller wake up out of his slumber?  The Man Beast was unable to find the endzone against SMU and Idaho.

What we Learned: Fuller saw a ton of balls thrown his way, but he only snagged six of them for 55 yards.  The good news?  Two of them went for touchdowns.  Still, it was encouraging to see Tannehill look his way early and often.

Florida State at Clemson
What to Watch: Can freshman Sammy Watkins produce against one of the ACC’s best defenses?

What we Learned: Oh yes he can.  Watkins is quite simply the most dominating freshman in the country.  He sliced through the FSU secondary for 8 catches, 141 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Western Michigan at Illinois
What to Watch: Is Nathan Scheelhaase still banged up?  He looked uncomfortable last week after getting knocked around by the Sun Devils.

What we Learned: The fact that Scheelhaase rushed the ball 17 times lends one to believe he felt healthy enough heading into this one.  His performance was less than stellar as he only accounted for 133 passing yards, 40 rushing yards and 1 pass TD.

UAB at East Carolina
What to Watch: After facing South Carolina, Virginia Tech and a bye week, East Carolina finally gets to pick on someone their own size.  Can UAB’s once-promising duo of QB Bryan Ellis and RB Pat Shed play through their injuries and put up some stats, or do we throw them into the fantasy wasteland?

What we Learned: Davis passed for 361 yards and 3 TDs, as he should have.  Ellis wasn't effective, and his injury problems continue to mount.  Pat Shed looked pretty solid.  He rushed for 59 yards and a score, and caught 11 balls for 62.  Shed is coming around, folks.

UCLA at Oregon State
What to Watch: James Rodgers makes his much-anticipated return.  Does he resemble the Rodgers of old or is he a shell of himself?

What we Learned: Rodgers looked pretty good, catching 5 balls for 76 yards in his 2011 debut.

Southern Miss at Virginia
What to Watch: Austin Davis, we know you’re banged up.  Just get through this game healthy and be ready to rock in C-USA.

What we Learned: Davis looked much healthier in this one, leading his team to a big win over an ACC team.  Davis passed for 313 yars and 3 scores. 

Cal at Washington
What to Watch: Are we underestimating Cal RB Iso Sofele this year?  272 rushing yards and 4 TDs on the young season.

What we Learned: Sofele toted the rock 17 times for 98 yards.  He's looking pretty viable as a fantasy RB3.

Kansas State at Miami(FL)
What to Watch: This will be the first real test for the K-State offense.  Will Bryce Brown see significant action?  Can Miami RB Lamar Miller keep up his torrid pace?

What we Learned: All that talk about Bryce Brown finally seeing some significant time?  It was all hogwash.  He had ZERO carries in this game.  QB Colin Klein and RB Mike Hubert both played pretty well.  Lamar Miller produced, but hurt his shoulder in the process and could miss some time.

La-Lafayette at FIU
What to Watch: Two of the Sun Belt’s best players are coming off injuries in his one.  Is FIU wide receiver T.Y. Hilton a go?  Can ULL tight end Ladarius Green get involved in the offense?

What we Learned: Hilton is clearly hurt and should not be plugged into fantasy lineups until he proves he is healthy again.  Green caught 3 balls for 56 yards, and scored a touchdown.

Vandy at South Carolina
What to Watch: Can the Gamecocks figure out a way to get he ball into the hands of WR Alshon Jeffery?  Fantasy owners demand an answer!

What we Learned: What the hell is going on in Steve Spurrier's head?  He continues to play Stephen Garcia despite just horrid play.  Garcia threw 4 more INT's on Saturday.  As long as Garcia is the QB, Alshon Jeffery owners will suffer.  The big WR only caught 2 balls on Saturday.

Rice at Baylor
What to Watch: The RG3 show rolls on.  Is Baylor WR Terrance Williams healthy after his ankle injury?  Can the Rice offense show any sign of life coming off a bye week?

What we Learned: Williams wasn't used much in this one.  He only caught 2 balls, but one went for a score.  Rice's offense looked pretty good putting up 31 points in the loss.  Vance McDonald hit paydirt twice. RB Sam McGuffie was a flop, though, touching the ball only 11 times for 26 total yards.

Indiana at North Texas
What to Watch: Come on, Mean Green!  Let’s get Lance Dunbar on track before hitting he meat of the Sun Belt slate!

What we Learned: THANK YOU!  Dunbar racked up 279 total yards from scrimmage (and a TD) in a dominating performance.

La Tech at Mississippi State
What to Watch: Can Lennon Creer play through his nagging injuries and produce against a decent SEC defense?  Will Vick Ballard rebound from a poor effort last week?

What we Learned: Creer surprisingly out-performed Ballard, albeit not by much.  Creer went for 24-82-1 while Ballard checking in with 17-68-1.

Nevada at Texas Tech
What to Watch: This is the third straight road game for Nevada.  Will it show on the field?  They looked terrible last week against a bad San Jose State squad, and this is a major step up in class.

What we Learned: The Nevada offense came to play.  Rishard Matthews caught 5 passes for 107 yards and a score.  Mike Ball rushed 27 times for 139 yards, and secret weapon back up QB Cody Fajardo (who we've had a man crush on for over a year now) rushed for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns, and also passed for a score.  This was a real positive step for Nevada as they embark on the WAC schedule.

Missouri at Oklahoma
What to Watch: Will Dominique Whaley continue to lead the Sooners in carries?  Should Ryan Broyles owners be concerned with Kenny Stills stealing some of the spotlight in the passing game?  Or is Stills’ emergence a good thing for Broyles?

What we Learned: Whaley led the team in rushing with 16-68-1, and he caught 5 balls for another 82 yards.  He's still clinging to the RB1 role in the Sooners offense.

LSU at West Virginia
What to Watch: Can the Mountaineers figure out a way to move the ball on that rugged LSU defense?

What we Learned: The 'Neers moved the ball much better than anyone expected.  Geno Smith passed for 463 yards and 2 TDs, and Tavon Austin caught 11 balls for 187 yards.

Tulsa at Boise State
What to Watch:  Will the Broncos decide to gash Tulsa on the ground or beat them through the air?

What we Learned: As a team, Boise State was only able to average 2.9 yards per carry against Tulsa.  This is a concern.  What is not a concern is the passing game, as Kellen Moore went 23-for-29 for 288 yards and 4 scores.

Oregon at Arizona
What to Watch: Can Nick Foles get back to chucking it 45-50 times per game?  Last week’s 33 pass, 239 yard effort was a real bummer.

What we Learned: That's more like it, Nick.  57 pass attempts!  Classic fantasy garbage numbers in a blowout loss - 398 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.

USC at Arizona State
What to Watch: Will Marc Tyler step up in the USC running game?  Will Aaron Pflugrad catch any Brock Bombs this week?  Will the TV broadcast do us a favor and show Pflugrad’s sister Amanda at some point during a lull in the action?

What we Learned: Tyler was solid for the Trojans, putting up a 22-149-1 statline.  Pflugrad had an off night, only amassing 39 receiving yards.  And I watched the first 3 quarters of this game and did not see any shots of our Amanda.  Thumbs down, ESPN. 

Follow Todd DeVries on Twitter: @CFFGeek


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