Booms and Busts of Week 1 College Fantasy Football

The Auburn Realist: Overview

Follow me on Facebook, YouTube,  and Twitter!

They say that the most growth of a football team is from week one to week two. The same can be said for fantasy football. In my case, I slipped out of week one with three wins and one loss on my money leagues. My lowest score was a 96 point win, amazingly enough, though I spent more time on this particular team and lineup, it had the most busts of any of my other leagues. Anyway, let's break down all the players on my different rosters. 

Cody Kessler had a pretty solid day, but that 4 point per passing TD sure hurts. Still, can't argue much with 27 points. 

Alex Collins didn't exactly look like the premier back in the Hogs offense, which surprisingly (to many) featured a passing game against UTEP. Honestly, I should have considered it. After all, I have preached at you guys about how Allen and Keon Hatcher were viable options. 18 points from your RB1 isn't going to win any leagues. Come SEC games, however, expect 20+ touches.

Additionally, the bet that Kody Walker would emerge as the second back in the Hogs system didn't go as planned. While he did score a TD, he didn't see any other meaningful touches. Right now, he isn't worth owning other than as a stash or handcuff. 

Nor is the 15 I got from Aaron Jones from UTEP, who was one of the highest rated backs when I applied my Quality Factors. But, it was Arkansas who has a stingy run defense. He'll get better. 

Switzer was an absolute bust. Not only did he not return any punts, but Williams wanted to throw the ball every BUT at Switzer. He had 6-7 targets on mostly screens, but Williams managed to miss him. Williams couldn't miss the South Carolina defense, however. 

Taywan Taylor had a rough outing against Vandy, but the same can be said for every owner of any member of the Hilltopper offense, who struggled mightily for 14 sorry points total.

My TE steal, Deaver from Duke, recorded a lone catch for a 14 yad gain as Duke steamrolled 37-7 over Tulsa. 

Tre Madden was a gem, as he managed to leave the IR list and be named the starter. He responded with 15 receiving yards and a TD plus another 100 yards and rushing TD. Solid pick up for me, as he was a last round draft pick. Many other owners must be proud of their gambles, as he was largely ignored by the public.

Jeff Driskell was on my bench, as I simply didn't know how he would perform. I did think enough of him to draft him, just not enough to start him. He responded with 36 fantasy points against Southern. It remains to be seen just how he can be. But, he does have a fantastic set of weapons surrounding him. His running ability makes him a huge threat in fantasy land. Just not enough to convince me for a week 2 start. 

Raise your hand if you had Ricardo Louis, Auburn's second class citizen WR? I did. He gave me 21 solid points, despite how Auburn's offense struggled against a very good defense. What's more interesting than the number of targets he received was the number of rushes (5) he had. While he is a seller's type guy, expect big things from him against Jacksonville State. Then sell him.

Braxton Miller was everything I hoped he would be and more.  The converted QB looked unstoppable, scoring 25 punts and leaving fans wondering why he didn't have more touches. Heck, he needs to return catches. If you thought ahead enough to draft this guy, you may have a league winner on your hands. All you need to do is field a solid team around him. 

Nebraska's Westerkamp was as-advertised. The little used WR looks the part of a Kenny Bell replacement. He may only have three targets a day, but they are as likely to turn into 16-20 points as they are to turn in to zero. Have faith, he is about the only skill player the Huskers have aside from Armstrong, and it showed against BYU. If you are solid at the other positions, he is a guy that can blow up any time. 

Seth Russell was everything we all expected. 5 TDs in the air and 1 on the ground made him the top 5 overall player, depending on your scoring system. The question isn't whether to start him, but what WR to pair with him to get the Teammate Double Up. 

Speaking of, I had Baylor's Lee on the bench, who benefited from 3 TDs from Russell. Starting him is a tough decision because of the depth of the WRs on the Bear's offense. But, if you have Russell and you have Lee, you better have somebody REALLY good if you sit him.  

Though Devon Johnson won me my leagues last year, being the top over all RB, but listed at the TE position, he is still a top RB. He scored 24 points on Saturday in a win over Purdue. Expect more of the same from a team that lost the vast majority of it's playmakers last year. 

Lowe from Texas State was a top returning RB, but was hammered by Florida State. I didn't have much choice other than to start him and it hurt. He registered only 1.2 points. 

DJ Foster will end up being a top WR player, but it wasn't to be against a swarming TAMU defense. Foster did get backfield carries, as promised, which makes him a legitimate WR1. 

Penn State's Hamilton, and the whole Lion offense in general, needs to be scrapped at all levels. Saturday looked just as bad as the 2014 offense. While they may get better, I won't get bitten again. Even if he does manage another 90 catch year, it won't matter without TDs. 

Seals-Jones? Anyone? Par for the course when it comes to the Aggie WRs. You simply don't know who will have  the big game, which confirms that I should avoid them all. 

Oh look. Utah State's DST does what it always does. 9 points allowed. 5 sacks. 1 defensive TD. Crazy that they are consistently undrafted. 

Elsewhere

ECU's Hairston became a very large blip on everyone's radar. Despite losing their offensive coach, all time passer and pass catcher, many wrote the Purple Pirates out. Hairston was drafted 7% of the time at around the 400th pick. Apparently we all need to re-evaluate. He scored 40 points and was a top performer. Can he do it again? It isn't worth passing on him to find out. I didn't get him in the waiver wire process and it burns me. If you are like me, there are plenty of dead-weight players on your roster to cut loose. 

Ball State's Green wasn't an unknown. He was drafted 100% of the time around the 175 mark. But no one saw him claiming the top scorer of the weekend. However, he will NOT repeat a 9 rush, 3 TD performance. Nor add another 74 receiving yards and a TD. Keep in mind he did that against VMI, which I didn't even know had a football team. He faces a very good TAMU defense. So, yeah. 

Howard's move from UAB to Indiana fooled no one. He was drafted around the 65th pick. He was already a strong runner and how he had a run-first program with a decent line. He responded with 145 yards and 3 TDs. 

Ohio State's Elliot was an over-whelming first round pick, usually a top five guy. I warned against throwing the eggs in his basket.  Last year, the exact same thing happened. People forget that he scored almost half his fantasy points in the last three games of the season. Most leagues were already in the playoffs by that point. His 18 points against VT were more than just disappointing. With Samuel and Miller emerging, he may win games...but he won't win fantasy matchups.