CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 5

I'm not sure the first main slate of the college football season could have been any more thrilling with the upsets of #3 Oklahoma (what an effort from an undermanned Kansas State squad) and #6 LSU (welcome to the SEC Mike Leach) as well as the near upset of #9 Texas (could you imagine being a Longhorns & Cowboys fan this season so far?). My recommendations also had an excellent week as both Trestan Ebner and Daetrich Harrington had four touchdowns each. I couldn't have been more impressed by Marlon Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, Ulysses Bentley and Malik Willis who all appear to have significant roles on their respective teams. Let's have another great week!

Slate Background: If you thought Week 4 was a different type of college football energy, there's no turning back now as Week 5's slate is another week of solid conference play for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. What's nice from a fantasy standpoint is that we also get the Group of 5 games sprinkled throughout to provide some variety with the big boys.

AAC

Jaylon Robinson, WR, UCF
Since we had so much fun with the Marlon Williams recommendation, let's keep it rolling with the Golden Knight receivers. Robinson, a transfer from Oklahoma, has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games in one of the best offenses in the nation. Yes, Tre Nixon has been out with an undisclosed injury, but I still like Williams and Robinson quite a bit. I'm fairly sure Dillon Gabriel is going to be a Heisman candidate, so there will be plenty of passing yards and targets to make everyone happy all season long. I'm going to make sure I tune in for their game with Tulsa because UCF appears to be the real deal.

Gerrid Doaks, RB, Cincinnati
I'm not entirely sure why Doaks is still available in so many leagues after racking up four touchdowns versus Austin Peay a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't great versus Army in Week 4, but he did record a 60-yard receiving touchdown. He should be the focus of the Bearcats' game plan when they take on South Florida who is not very good. I also like him for the rest of the season as the American conference has some weak defenses.

Week 4 Rewind; UCF WR Marlon Williams (13 catches for 136 yards) & SMU RB Ulysses Bentley (Six carries for 104 yards and two TD)

ACC

Khalil Herbert, RB, Virginia Tech
In his debut for the Hokies, Herbert was fantastic with 104 yards and a touchdown on six carries as well as two catches for 46 yards in an easy win over NC State. Of course, Kansas would allow a player of this caliber to transfer and what a one-two punch that should have remained with Pooka Williams. Virginia Tech's upcoming schedule sets up well for Herbert with Duke, North Carolina, Boston College, and Wake Forest over the next month.

Jordan Addison, WR, Pittsburgh
The Pitt Panthers are legit and Addison has been fun to watch. The true freshman receiver has at least seven catches in all three of his games this year, including a touchdown in each of the last two. He's also dabbled in the run-game with four rushing attempts for 39 yards. With the Panthers undefeated and taking on tougher competition over the next month, I can envision a world where they have to throw to this little guy early and often in games.  

Week 4 Rewind; Georgia Tech RB Jahmyr Gibbs (18 carries for 105 yards, two catches for 26 yards and 1 TD) & Boston College WR Zay Flowers (Two catches for 20 yards)

BIG 12

Joshua Moore, WR, Texas
In what was one of the craziest college football games I've ever seen, quarterback Sam Ehlinger looked for Moore when he absolutely needed a score which means a lot considering a Texas offense that has a ton of playmakers. Through two games, Moore has 11 catches for 200 yards four touchdowns which is plenty of production to warrant him being owned in pretty much all fantasy leagues. Moreover, I just think he's more talented than the likes of Tarik Black, Jake Smith, and Brennan Eagles.

Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State
Didn't take long for Kansas State to find another talented running back as Vaughn was exactly that while compiling 174 total yards and a touchdown on just 12 touches in the upset of Oklahoma. The true freshman has shown enough to deserve double-digit touches going forward in my opinion and I'm not too worried about Tyler Burns or Harry Trotter displacing this kid. And oh yeah, the Wildcats have that Texas Tech team this week which will be all kinds of fun.

Week 4 Rewind; Baylor RBs John Lovett (17 carries for 78 yards and 1 TD), Trestan Ebner (272 All Purpose Yards – 4 Total TDs) & Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims (Five catches for 31 yards and two TDs)

BIG TEN

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 8)

C-USA

Sean Dykes, TE, Memphis
Hopefully, you haven't forgotten about Memphis who last played on September 5th with a 37-24 win over Arkansas State. Dykes was a monster with 10 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns. They have a game against SMU which I'm targeting as potentially one of the highest-scoring of the week. With a plethora of the Tigers games being canceled this season, Dykes is definitely out there floating on the wire for many leagues. I love Dykes' ability to make big plays as he had six catches for more than 10 yards in the season-opener.

Tyrrell Pigrome, QB, Western Kentucky
Pigrome and the Hilltoppers are flying under the radar as they had a tough matchup against Louisville to begin the season and played a sneaky Liberty team in their second game. Their game against Middle Tennessee in Week 5 will be quite different competition as they should be easily favored. Pigrome is a dual-threat quarterback who has led the team in carries in each of their first two games. He has the upside to break out for this contest and is available in pretty much all leagues.

*Old Dominion is not playing in Fall 2020

Week 4 Rewind; UTSA QB Frank Harris (7/13 for 70 yards and 1 TD, Left game with injury) & Louisiana Tech WR Adrian Hardy (Four catches for 69 yards)

MAC

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 10)

MWC

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 8)

PAC-12

Currently Postponed (*Coming Back in Week 10)

SEC

Osirus Mitchell, WR, Mississippi State
Watching K.J. Costello (not available in most leagues) throw for an absurd 623 yards against the LSU defense was a thing of beauty on Saturday afternoon. Mitchell was his top guy with seven catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns and is available in most fantasy leagues. JaVonta Payton and Tyrell Shavers are also intriguing, but Mitchell is the guy I trust the most. I was a big fan of watching Mike Leach and the Air Raid offense on Pac-12 games after dark, so I welcome this to the SEC with wide-open arms. They have Arkansas this week, so I'm fully expecting a repeat performance.

Jarrett Guarantano, QB, Tennessee
He wasn't perfect while completing 61.3 percent of his passes in a 31-27 win at South Carolina, but he did show me enough with two total touchdowns to make me feel good about starting him against Missouri this week. Barely any of the starting QBs with great match-ups in Week 5 in the SEC are available in fantasy leagues, so you have to work with what you can at this point in the season. I liked how Mississippi's Matt Corral looked, but he has a tough match-up with Kentucky and Alabama in the next two.

Week 4 Rewind; Texas A&M WR Jalen Preston (Four catches for 39 yards) & South Carolina TE Nick Muse (Four catches for 50 yards)

SUN BELT

Grayson McCall, QB, Coastal Carolina
Just because I don't want to rely on Georgia Southern's Shai Werts again, I'm going to take a chance on McCall who picked apart Kansas to the tune of five total touchdowns on September 12th. If he can do that to the Jayhawks, I'm assuming he can have a productive outing against Arkansas State and other teams in the Sun Belt, even if he is a redshirt freshman.

Kawaan Baker, WR, South Alabama
Call it insanity, but I'm not giving up on Baker who had a 43% target share versus UAB last week. It certainly stunk that he managed just five catches for 35 yards on 12 targets, but he certainly sees enough targets to have a fair amount of upside. If you stick with Baker in a weird Sun Belt conference, he'll be just fine most weeks.

Week 4 Rewind; Appalachian State RB Daetrich Harrington (32 carries for 211 yards and 4 TD) & South Alabama WR Kawaan Baker (Five catches for 35 yards on 12 targets – 43% target share)

INDEPENDENTS

Lopini Katoa, RB, BYU
BYU had the sole after-dark contest this past weekend and I always get to take a look at that game as it's when I do all my research for this article. That gave me the chance to see Katoa who compiled over 100 yards from scrimmage for the second game in a row. The Cougars have a relatively easy schedule for an independent team that's good enough to be a contender in most conferences this season. Katoa should have no problems against the likes of Louisiana Tech, UTSA, Houston and Texas State over the next month of the season.

*New Mexico State, UConn & UMass are not playing in Fall 2020

Week 4 Rewind; Liberty QB Malik Willis (24/30 for 285 yards and 2 TDs, 85 rushing yards on 13 carries)

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Oklahoma State (at Kansas) – As usual, the Jayhawks are one of the worst Power 5 teams in the nation. Plus, the Cowboys defense could be better than their offense this season.

Florida State (vs. Jacksonville State) – The Seminoles can't be bad enough to lay an egg versus an FCS team right?

BYU (vs. Louisiana Tech) – The Cougars might as well be rostered for the rest of the season as they should dominate against lowly competition.

Week 4 Rewind; Boston College vs. Texas State (21 PA, 5 Sacks, 1 TA), Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt (12 PA, 2 Sacks, 2 TA) & BYU vs. Troy (7 PA, 4 Sacks)

SUMMARY & TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

Utilizing the two players for each conference, I'll list out who my top recommendations are on a weekly basis by position:

QB: Western Kentucky Tyrrell Pigrome, Coastal Carolina Grayson McCall, Tennessee Jarrett Guarantano
RB: BYU Lopini Katoa, Virginia Tech Khalil Herbert & Kansas State Deuce Vaughn
WR: Mississippi State Osirus Mitchell, Texas Joshua Moore & Pittsburgh Jordan Addison
TE: Memphis Sean Dykes
D/ST: Oklahoma State (at Kansas)