‘MikeTTU’ - Geek message board poster

START ‘EM

QB Joey Elliott, Purdue (vs. Illinois)
Elliott has two nice options in Smith and Valentin.  My guess is they find plenty of room against a disinterested Illini defense.

RB Alfonso Smith, Kentucky (vs. ULM)
With Hartline out of commission, Kentucky has no passing game.  Locke appears to be out with a knee strain, and Smith will have a big day versus an over-matched defense.

WR Phillip Payne, UNLV (vs. New Mexico)
After performing admirably against two stout defenses back to back, Payne gets to sharpen his skills against a woeful New Mexico defense.

TE Taylor Wardlow, Rice (vs. UCF)
Wardlow has performed well at home against teams similar in stature to UCF.

SIT ‘EM

QB Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M (vs. Texas Tech)
A struggling Aggie offense travels North to face a defense whose starters have given up a total of 3 points in their last two conference games.

RB Montario Hardesty, Tennessee (vs. Alabama)
The outstanding touchdown per game consistency finally comes to an end versus an Alabama defense that is only giving up 63 rushing yards a game against and 3 rushing touchdowns against on the year.

WR Blair White, Michigan State (vs. Iowa)
This red hot/ice cold enigma goes cold again against a solid Hawkeye squad.

TE Jamie McCoy, Texas A&M (vs. Texas Tech)
See Jerrod Johnson above.

‘Neil Young’ - Geek contributor (BCS-only selections)

START ‘EM

QB - Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech (vs. Virginia)
This should be a +30 fantasy score, and GT is actually sitting with an outside chance at a national title birth.  Expect massive rush stats and 3 rush TD’s:  even a rare pass TD!

RB - Shane Vereen, Cal (vs. Washington State)
In this blowout, Vereen will get you at least 100-1 ... with a legit shot at 3 TD’s and far more yards. 

WR - Keith Smith, Purdue (vs. Illinios)
Smith has had just 1 bad game all year, and that was vs. a non-BCS team.  The Illini are just poor, and Smith is on FIRE!

TE - Drake Dunsmore, Northwestern (vs. Indiana)
Versus Indiana, need I say more!

TE - Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame (vs. Boston College)
They have to use him or LOSE!

SIT ‘EM

QB - Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M (vs. Texas Tech) 
I said his bubble would burst last week, and it did.  Don’t expect it to reinflate now, this is a sub 22 point fantasy score to be avoided.  You rode the wave, now get off!

RB - Ben Tate, Auburn (vs. LSU)
3 straight 100 yard games and beacoup carries, ends vs LSU.  See West Virginia game stats. 

WR - Blair White, Michigan State (vs. Iowa)
You don’t want any part of this game.  Iowa’s D is just on lockdown patrol, and Mr. White has to be target #1 to shut down.

TE - Anthony McCoy, USC (vs. Oregon State)
Not a single TD all season, his national TV game has over-valued him.

TE - Jamie McCoy, Texas A&M (vs. Texas Tech)
Even when JJ was killing it, he was a mid-level TE option.  This week, he should be sat right next to JJ, on your bench!

‘Neil Young’ - Geek contributor (non-BCS selections)

START ‘EM

QB - Tyler Sheehan, Bowling Green (vs. Central Michigan)
220 sick completetions so far ... nearly amazing!  The best part about him is that the worse your D, the better he stats.  Very predictable.  I see around a 30 score.

RB - Daniel Porter, La. Tech (vs. Utah State)
I believe in this kid and I like that statement he made 2 weeks ago about re-focusing his mind for the second half of the season.  Just a stud, with guts.  Kept out of the EZ last week, I don’t think it will happen a second week in a row.

WR - James Cleveland, Houston (vs. SMU)
The former all B10 frosh has a 4 game streak with a TD catch ... vs. SMU make it 5 in a row.

TE - Ladarius Green, ULL (vs. Florida Atlantic)
Tough enough game and now down 1 Stud RB ... it’s TIME for this FLORIDA native to RETURN to the endzone.

SIT ‘EM

QB - Max Hall, BYU (vs. TCU)
TCU’s D is nothing to mess with.  Hall against strong D’s hasn’t done much ... expect only around a 20 fantasy score ... to which you can do better getting a guy off the wire.  I had TCU pegged as this year’s BCS Buster.

RB - Lance Dunbar, North Texas (vs. Troy)
Troy is “down” on their D this year, however in the Sun Belt, I still have “sit respect” for them.  They may Shutout NT this week if they have to put out a new QB!

WR - Stephen Williams, Toledo (vs. Temple)
“Your Hot then your Cold” and right now, I’m not trusting the Toledo offense.  Add to that, they have several other large WR’s who have been taking his catches away since his week 1 dominance .... it’s just not the smart play this week.

TE - Jesse Rack, Buffalo (vs. Western Michigan)
Last week’s no stat game has to be concerning.  Add to that, in half the games this year, he has caught just 1 pass.  Is he Injuried?

‘RAISING_CANES’ - Geek message board poster

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QB - Rusty Smith, Florida Atlantic (vs. ULL)
Tough call because there are a lot of favorable match ups I like this week (Keenum, Kaepernick, Borel, Bo Levi and LeFevour to name a few.  Liked Kafka too vs. Indiana until I saw the weather forecast and as long as Foles keeps throwing it 50 times a game, he’s bound to put up good numbers even against UCLA), but I’ll go out on a limb and say that Rusty Smith will light up Lousiana Lafeyette this week to the tune of 340 yards and 4 TD’s.

RB - MiQuale Lewis, Ball State (vs. Eastern Michigan)
Obviously guys like Ingram, Matthews, Best and Gerhart are no brainers, but let’s go with a bit of a dark horse and a guy who had a big year last year because his team had the lead more often which should be the case this week versus a horrible Eastern Mich squad that has allowed almost 250 yards rushing and 20 TD’s on the ground thus far - Miquale Lewis Ball St.

WR - Randall Cobb, Kentucky (vs. ULM)
Give me some Randall Cobb action versus Louisiana Monroe.  121 rushing and receiving yards and a TD versus Auburn preceded by 151 rushing and receiving yards and 2 TD’s versus South Carolina translates well against Sun Belt opponents at home.

SIT ‘EM

QB - Max Hall, BYU (vs. TCU)
TCU made Hall look terrible last year in a 32-7 loss and BYU had a better team than this.  He threw for 274, but only had a rushing TD and 2 INT’s (he has 10 INT’s already this year for those leagues that penalize INT’s).  The TCU DB unit is ranked 4th in the nation by Steele and their corners are both Sr. studs with 78 starts between them (they returned 7 of their top 8 and added an Oklahoma transfer plus an LSU commit to a secondary that ranked #4 and #2 the last 2 years)!  Opponents are averaging a 45.3 completion percentage vs. TCU’s D.

RB - Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh (vs. USF)
The Freshman phenom is about to get a rude awakening from a USF D that will be motivated and played much better than the scoreboard indicated at the end of the Cincy game.

WR - Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas (vs. Oklahoma)
Look at Shipley’s stats from last week.  I think Mr. Briscoe will be seeing a lot of Dominique Franks this week.  Meier might have a better chance at some decent stats. 

Kevin Mount - Geek contributor

START ‘EM

QB - Landry Jones, Oklahoma (vs. Kansas)
He has looked good so far and Kansas can’t stop the pass. Big game for Landry.

RB - Charles Scott, LSU (vs. Auburn)
Auburn is terrible against the run and LSU will look to pound the ball all night long.

WR- Damian Williams, USC (vs. Boston College)
The Trojans are looking for revenge and Oregon State is terrible against the pass ranking 114th.

TE - Riar Greer, Colorado (vs. Kansas State)
KSU is terrible on defense and Colorado should be able to throw the ball on them.

SIT ‘EM

QB - Tim Tebow, Florida (vs. Mississippi State)
I just don’t think he will have to do too much to beat Miss State. The Gators could run a lot.

RB- Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State (vs. USC)
USC is out for vengance and I think they will bottle up Quizz.

WR- Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati (vs. Louisville)
I think the Pike injury will really hurt the pass game. Even if Pike plays, he won’t be 100%.

TE- Dennis Pitta, BYU (vs. TCU)
The TCU D is nasty and Pitta might get shut down. Plus they feature two TE’s which isn’t good in close games.

‘CASE KEENUM’ - Geek message board poster

START ‘EM

QB - Riley Skinner, Wake Forest (vs. Navy)
Sneaky good season versus a Navy defense he should shred

RB - Robert Turbin, Utah State (vs La. Tech)
Total yardage machine with a great matchup vs LA Tech

WR - Golden Tate, Notre Dame (vs. Boston College)
Since Floyds injury, he has become one of the best WR’s in the nation. Should maintain that status vs BC this week

TE - Tony Moeaki, Iowa (vs. Michigan State)
When healthy, he’s a great TE.  Hopefully he stays healthy in this game @ Mich ST.

SIT ‘EM

QB - Todd Reesing, Kansas (vs. Oklahoma)
Tough guy to sit, but Oklahoma brings a solid defense and will try to avoid a shootout.

RB - Noel Devine, West Virginia (vs. Connecticut)
Facing solid UConn D.  Only totaled 71 yards last year in this game with 0 TD’s.  I’m sitting all players involved in this game.

WR - Greg Salas, Hawaii (vs. Boise State)
With no Rod Bradley, expect Salas to get all the attention against an already very good Boise defense.

TE - Dennis Pitta, BYU (vs. TCU)
Best TE in the country vs. one of the best defenses in the country.  Somethings got to give. Pitta, by far, the best pass catcher for the Cougs should demand the majority of the attention form the Frogs. I believe they stop him and force someone else to beat them

Joe Arpasi - Geek Staff

START ‘EM

QB - Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon (vs. Washington)
Washington’s defense has been giving up chunks of yards in the air and on the ground. Masoli and the Oregon offense should find room to run in Seattle.

RB - Brynn Harvey, Central Florida (vs. Rice)
Harvey has been solid in 2009 and now his schedule gets real nice. Rice has one of the worst defenses in the country and Harvey should slash his way through them.

WR - Aldrick Robinson & Emmanual Sanders, SMU (vs. Houston)
The SMU passing game has been solid during their tough stretch of the season. Now they have a bad defense and a stage for an offensive shootout. Look for both WRs to start living up to preseason expectations.

TE: Ladarius Green, UL-Lafayette (vs. Florida Atlantic)
With Sails out there will be a larger load placed on the shoulder of QB Masson. That means that the Cajun pass catchers will benefit from this shift in emphasis. Look for Green’s stock to begin to rise.

SIT ‘EM

QB - Max Hall, BYU (vs. TCU)
Last season the TCU defense made Hall look awful. This year should be more of the same. Don’t expect a repeat performance of last week.

RB - Alexander Robinson, Iowa State (vs. Nebraska)
A-Rob has been play well all year, but Nebraska will bring a nasty attitude to stopping the run. This is not the week to see if A-Rob can score close to his average.

WR -Greg Salas, Hawaii (vs. Boise State)
This may be the toughest defense the Warriors see all year. Salas could be okay, but my gut says that the Hawaii offense will struggle big time. Look for other options instead of plugging in Salas and praying.

TE - Mike McNeill, Nebraska (vs. Iowa State)
With all the questions behind who will be playing at QB, the odds are the level of QB play will be down. Coaches may try and have RB Helu carry the load. McNeill getting more than 3 receptions is very risky this week.

Thomas Lee - Geek message board poster

START ‘EM

QB - Taylor Potts, Texas Tech (vs. Texas A&M)
Next Man Up.  With the foot injury to Steven Sheffield, Potts will have a chance to redeem himself and show Red Raider nation why Mike Leach picked him to start the season.  Texas A/M’s defense is ranked 94th in the country and their confidence won’t get any better after they leave Lubbock.

RB - Roy Helu Nebraska (vs. Iowa State)
Uncertainty at the QB position will force Bo Pelini to run the ball early and often.  Helu has been battling a shoulder injury for two weeks but he showed up to practice on Tuesday and is cleared to play this week.  The cornhuskers will be seeking to make up for their poor performance last week against Texas Tech and Helu should roll against an average Iowa State team.

WR - Golden Tate, Notre Dame (vs. Boston College)
Boston College’s two losses have been on the road this year and look for that trend to continue. Giving up 48 points to an anemic VT offense is unacceptable even in Blacksburg. With the USC loss fresh on their minds, look for the Irish to come out with a bang.  USC always accounted for Tate at the line of scrimmage and he still caught 8 balls for 112 yds and 2 td’s.

TE - Dennis Pitta, BYU (vs. TCU)
With College Gameday coming to Provo, both teams will be pumped and ready to go.  Yes, TCU is a beast of a defense but that is exactly why you should start Pitta.  The TE position becomes more vital in close game situations rather than in blowouts. BYU has no primary WR in what they had in Austin Collie last year but Pitta has been Hall’s security blanket over the years and when Hall is in the redzone he will look to Pitta as his primary target.

SIT ‘EM

QB - Ricky Dobbs, Navy (vs. Wake Forest)
Preparing for the triple option for the first time is a daunting task even for a team like USC or Alabama.  However, Wake has faced Navy 3 times in the last 2 years, once in 2007 and twice in the 2008 (regular season and bowl game).  This important statistic absolutely cannot be overlooked.  In the bowl game, the deamon deacons were effective in shutting down the triple option offense. I expect the same this week with Jim Grobe having his experienced defense ready to go after their humiliating loss to Clemson last week.

RB - Montel Harris, Boston College (vs. Notre Dame)
By no means is Montel Harris a one week wonder especially after his impressive peformance against a decent NC State team.  But the Irish will score early and often which will force BC’s QB Dave Shinskie to throw the rock to make up ground.  As I recall, once Virginia Tech took the lead against BC two weeks ago, Bud Foster let the dogs loose and blitzed Shinskie on almost every down.  Look for the same this week as Irish’s defensive coordinator, Jon Tenuta, is known to bring pressure on almost every down with his zone blitzing scheme.  As the game goes on, Harris will be in the game not to run the ball but to be an extra blocker to protect the inexperienced Shinskie.

WR - Stephen Williams, Toledo (vs. Temple)
Yes, Toledo has been banged up at the QB position over the last couple of weeks.  Yes, last week’s starter Austin Dantin is doubtful for this week and Aaron Opelt isn’t 100%.  But this is only part of the reason why Temple shuts down Williams.  Al Golden, the former Penn State linebacker has been quietly building an impressive resume at Temple which was one of the worst teams in Div I football when he took over.  Temple’s defense is ranked 33rd in the country ahead of the likes of LSU and Cincinnati and expect Golden to bring the pressure against a fragile Opelt.  Don’t be shocked if Temple pulls off the upset and Golden officially becomes a hot commodity for many athletic directors.

TE - Aaron Hernandez, Florida (vs. Mississippi State)
Florida barely escaped Arkansas last week in what could be called their letdown game after their win in Baton Rouge.  The Gators should be up big early in this one and Urban Meyer pulls the starters early for two reasons.  1. Not to embarass his close friend and former offensive coordinator Dan Mullens and 2. to get ready for the the Georgia Bulldogs next week in Jacksonville.

Todd DeVries - Geek Staff

START ‘EM

QB - Kellen Moore, Boise State (vs. Hawaii)
Moore has been steady this season, and should be able to light up Hawaii this weekend.

RB - Brynn Harvey, Central Florida (vs. Rice)
If you have Harvey stashed away on your roster, now is the time to play him as the match up doesn’t get any sweeter than this.

RB - Shane Vereen, Cal (vs. Washington State)
Vereen should see the ball plenty in this laugher.

WR - Keith Smith and Aaron Valentin, Purdue (vs. Illinois)
I’m riding the hot hands here.  Smith & Valentin were great last week against the Buckeyes defense, now they face the grease fire than is Illinois.

TE - Riar Geer, Colorado (vs. Kansas State)
Geer is a frequent redzone target for the Buffs.  He reminds me of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Brent Celek in body type and catching ability.  I like his match up this week against a below average KSU defense.

SIT ‘EM

QB - Tony Pike, Cincinnati (vs. Louisville)
I’ll be benching Pike this week whether he is cleared to start or not.  I don’t want to mess around with this injury, especially given the opponent.

QB - Blaine Gabbert, Missouri (vs. Texas)
Gabbert has struggled lately, is nursing a bum ankle, and has to face one of the best defenses in the nation.  Look elsewhere this week.

RB - Ben Tate, Auburn (vs. LSU)
Tate owners have been riding high on the hog in recent weeks.  The LSU defense will set them straight.

WR - Jarred Perry, Missouri (vs. Texas)
I don’t like Perry’s chances against a good Texas defense.

TE - Mike McNeill, Nebraska (vs. Iowa State)
I’m tired of waiting for McNeill to “come around” this season and live up to his preseason hype.  To boot, now the Huskers are dealing with QB issues.  He has a great match up here, but I don’t trust him and will look elsewhere for TE production.