This article is part of our CFB Waiver Wire series.
ACC
Danny Coale, WR, Virginia Tech
With just six catches for 52 yards over the last two weeks, Coale is due for a big game, particularly against a Clemson squad that figures to dare the Hokies into a shootout. The Tigers are coming off consecutive embarrassing losses to in-state teams (North Carolina State and South Carolina) and will look to take it out on the Hokies, whose offense is looking much sharper than it did in the team's Oct. 1 loss to Clemson.
Big East
Deonte Welch, WR, South Florida
Welch is mostly a deep-league consideration, but he could pay off as a gamble for some owners as South Florida attempts to keep up with a West Virginia team averaging 35.4 points per game. Welch has become South Florida's top wideout with Sterling Griffin (ankle) out for the year and is a sneaky bet to close out his redshirt freshman season with nice numbers against the Mountaineers. He heads into this game with 20 catches for 283 yards and a touchdown in his last five games; nine catches, 192 yards and the touchdown came from the two games in that span in which opponents scored 30 or more points on the Bulls.
Big Ten
Keshawn Martin, WR, Michigan State
Martin had an off game as a receiver last week against Northwestern, catching just two passes for 57 yards, but he helped make up for it with a touchdown on a punt return. In this week's rematch with
ACC
Danny Coale, WR, Virginia Tech
With just six catches for 52 yards over the last two weeks, Coale is due for a big game, particularly against a Clemson squad that figures to dare the Hokies into a shootout. The Tigers are coming off consecutive embarrassing losses to in-state teams (North Carolina State and South Carolina) and will look to take it out on the Hokies, whose offense is looking much sharper than it did in the team's Oct. 1 loss to Clemson.
Big East
Deonte Welch, WR, South Florida
Welch is mostly a deep-league consideration, but he could pay off as a gamble for some owners as South Florida attempts to keep up with a West Virginia team averaging 35.4 points per game. Welch has become South Florida's top wideout with Sterling Griffin (ankle) out for the year and is a sneaky bet to close out his redshirt freshman season with nice numbers against the Mountaineers. He heads into this game with 20 catches for 283 yards and a touchdown in his last five games; nine catches, 192 yards and the touchdown came from the two games in that span in which opponents scored 30 or more points on the Bulls.
Big Ten
Keshawn Martin, WR, Michigan State
Martin had an off game as a receiver last week against Northwestern, catching just two passes for 57 yards, but he helped make up for it with a touchdown on a punt return. In this week's rematch with Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship, however, he'll probably bounce back a bit on offense. Martin had a big game against Wisconsin earlier in the year, catching five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown while running for a 34-yard touchdown.
Big 12
Josh Cooper, WR, Oklahoma State
Cooper has 19 catches for 234 yards and a touchdown in his last two games, but the Sooners will still be almost entirely unconcerned with Cooper relative to the threat posed by Justin Blackmon. This game should be a pass-happy shootout, so Cooper is a very good bet to get involved. He caught 10 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in last year's game against Oklahoma.
Conference-USA
Kelvin Bolden, WR, Southern Mississippi
Southern Mississippi has generally been a bit run-heavy this year, averaging 39.5 rushing attempts per game compared to 34.4 passes. With the Conference-USA championship game against Houston ahead, though, the Golden Eagles might be forced to air it out a bit more than usual, which should make Bolden a viable fantasy option in most or all cases. In the six games Bolden played when opponents scored at least 24 points, he totaled 36 catches for 490 yards and five touchdowns. Expect Bolden's numbers to be along those lines Saturday, as Houston averages 52.7 points per game.
Independents
Jake Heaps, QB, BYU
While Riley Nelson (ribs/lung) is technically a game-time decision for Saturday's game against Hawaii, it would be a surprise if he plays. In that case, Heaps would turn into a decent gamble against a Hawaii defense allowing more than two passing touchdowns per game. Heaps himself has shown a bit of improvement lately after a rough start to his BYU career, throwing for 423 yards (7.6 yards per attempt), six touchdowns and two interceptions in the two games since Nelson got hurt.
MAC
Donte Harden, RB, Ohio
Harden's numbers have been off slightly lately with just 196 yards from scrimmage and no touchdowns the last three weeks, but look for him to bounce back against Northern Illinois on Friday. The Huskies have allowed 21 rushing touchdowns in 12 games, and Harden is due for 100 total yards and a score.
Mountain West
Chris Nwoke, RB, Colorado State
Nwoke posted monstrous numbers the last four weeks. Even with a 21-carry, 60-yard game against TCU in the bunch, Nwoke has 717 yards and four rushing touchdowns over that span. Another big game could be in store this week, as he faces a Wyoming defense that has allowed 24 touchdowns in 11 games while giving up an average of 227.1 yards per game on the ground. Nwoke is a must-start for this game.
Pac-12
Kevin Prince, QB, UCLA
UCLA will get torched by Oregon this week, but a byproduct of the blowout should be a lot of garbage-time snaps for Prince, who has impressed as a runner lately for the Bruins. In his last five games, Prince has run for 352 yards while throwing for 920 yards and five touchdowns. Against an Oregon team allowing 384.7 yards from scrimmage per game, Prince should put up numbers big enough to make an impact at least in deeper leagues.
SEC
Jordan Jefferson, QB, LSU
Jefferson has impressed since reclaiming the LSU starting quarterback spot, throwing for 464 yards and three touchdowns the last three weeks while running for 99 yards and a touchdown despite seeing limited snaps due to two of those three games being blowouts. Facing a competent Georgia offense this week, expect Jefferson's stats to look more like they did against Arkansas on Saturday, when Jefferson threw for 208 yards and a touchdown and added 53 yards and another score on the ground.
Sun Belt
Kolton Browning, QB, Louisiana-Monroe
Browning generally needs a nice matchup to be a sound fantasy start in most leagues, but this week's game against Florida Atlantic should provide the necessary conditions for Browning to make a good showing. UAB quarterback Jonathan Perry ran for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Owls last week while throwing for 190 yards and two more touchdowns. Like Perry, Browning is a dual-threat quarterback who should pose similar difficulties for Florida Atlantic. Browning has 238 yards and four touchdowns on the ground over his last four games.
WAC
Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
Carr might be available in some leagues after throwing just three touchdown passes against Hawaii and San Jose State the last two weeks, but he's worth a pickup for this week's matchup against San Diego State. The Aztecs shouldn't struggle to put up points on the weak Fresno defense, which should force the Bulldogs to call upon Carr's competent passing abilities. With 27 touchdowns (three rushing) in 12 games this year, Carr is due for a big game.
