CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 8

Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 8

A wonderful start with my new waiver wire defense picks as Southern Miss, Mississippi State, Western Kentucky and Marshall allowed a combined 27 points including the Golden Eagles' shut-out of UTEP. Let's get right to picking more players for the upcoming Week 8 slate of games. As a friendly reminder, make sure to keep up with injury news as this article is posted early in the week. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

AAC

Bryant Shirreffs, QB, UCONN: Not very often do I recommend a player from the Huskies, but Shirreffs could be a sneaky pickup for Week 8 when he goes up against a Tulsa defense giving up 561 yards per game. Both UConn and Tulsa are coming off shocking wins over Temple and Houston, which has both teams full of confidence for their upcoming matchup.

Trey Quinn, WR, SMU: Time to circle back to Quinn, who is owned in only half of fantasy leagues. The Mustangs are coming off a bye and Quinn couldn't be hotter with 32 catches for 272 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games. Don't worry, that's not a typo: 32 catches in two games. This week's opponent, Cincinnati, has been on a slide and is giving up all kinds of offense.
*Houston (vs. Memphis) and UCF (at Navy) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

ACC

Cam Akers, RB, Florida State: Akers was the best player on the field with 135 total yards and a 42-yard go-ahead touchdown in Saturday's 17-10 win over Duke. Due to the Seminoles struggling on the offensive end, Akers is owned in only 31 percent of fantasy leagues. This week, Florida State will take on a Louisville squad that gave up 364 yards on the ground to Boston College.

AJ Dillon, RB, Boston College: From one freshman running back to another, Dillon exploded for 272 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-42 upset of the Louisville Cardinals. The 39 carries were a season-high and there's a lot of reason to believe the Eagles will ride the hot hand versus Virginia. His head coach called him a "beast," after the big game, so go out and pick him up.
*Duke (vs. Pittsburgh) and Virginia Tech (vs. North Carolina) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

BIG 12

Terence Williams, RB, Baylor: The Bears are not a good team, but it appears Williams is back to being healthy after averaging 9.5 yards per carry in a 59-16 loss at Oklahoma State. The junior running back is owned in only six percent of fantasy leagues and is Baylor's best bet at trying to score points against superior opponents. After ok matchups against West Virginia and Texas, Williams will have excellent opportunities against Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State later in the season. Pick him up early if you want him for that attractive slate of games.

Sam Ehlinger, QB, Texas: Ehlinger recorded his second-straight 100-yard rushing game and almost led the Longhorns to an upset of the Sooners in the Red River Rivalry. While he may not be as accurate as counterpart Shane Buechele, his ability to extend plays with his legs makes him a better fit for a pesky Texas Team led by new head coach Tom Herman. Not only does Ehlinger look like he's a better fantasy quarterback, he's taken all of the carries away from RB Chris Warren.
*Texas Tech (vs. Iowa State) and TCU (vs. Kansas) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

BIG TEN

Tyler Johnson, WR, Minnesota: The Gophers made a change at quarterback to Demry Croft and it was a great thing for Johnson, who pulled down three touchdowns in the second half of a 30-27 loss to Michigan State. Johnson has three 100-yard games on the season and a touchdown in four of six games this year. Johnson should be able to dominate an Illinois defense who somehow gave up 35 points to Rutgers.

LJ Scott, RB, Michigan State: Scott returned from an injury to run over Minnesota with a career-high 194 yards and two touchdowns as the Spartans are slowly creeping up the rankings. Scott is available in most leagues and will likely garner a huge workload against Indiana and Northwestern the next two weeks. The Hoosiers couldn't stop Michigan on the ground as the Wolverines racked up 271 yards on the ground, so Scott should be a strong play in Week 8.
*Wisconsin (vs. Maryland), Iowa (at Northwestern) and Purdue (at Rutgers) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

C-USA

Mike White, QB, Western Kentucky: White was owned in only 29 percent of leagues when he racked up 46.1 fantasy points with five passing touchdowns against Charlotte. He'll have another monster performance against an Old Dominion team that is having all kinds of trouble stopping opposing offenses as the Monarchs have given up 93 points in their last two games. While White has been relatively quiet for fantasy purposes, he has attempted at least 30 passes in each game this year.

Spencer Brown & A.J. Erdely, RB/QB, UAB: The Blazers are perhaps the best story in college football that no one is talking about. UAB didn't have a program in 2015 and 2016, yet they are 4-2 with wins over Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee the last two weeks. Brown and Erdely have been fantastic on the ground with a combined 13 rushing touchdowns. Both are marginally owned in fantasy leagues and have an excellent upcoming matchup with Charlotte.
*Marshall (at Middle Tennessee), North Texas (at Florida Atlantic) and UTSA (vs. Rice) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

MAC

Nathan Rourke, QB, Ohio: Rourke wasn't impressive through the air with only seven completions and two interceptions versus Bowling Green, but he did run for 143 yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries. On the season, the dual-threat quarterback has 20 total touchdowns with 13 on the ground. That should only continue against Kent State in Week 8 and he's owned in only 34 percent of leagues.

Marcus Childers, QB, Northern Illinois: Childers has hijacked the Huskies running game with 27 and 17 carries in his past two games. He's available in nearly every fantasy league and gets to go up against the aforementioned Bowling Green rush defense which is giving up 246.6 rushing yards per game. He received his first start in a 14-13 win at Buffalo, so he'll probably be the guy until Northern Illinois slips up in the conference season.
*Toledo (vs. Akron) have a soft matchup so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Arion Worthman, QB, Air Force: Worthman is no longer a gimmick play as he backed up his four touchdowns in Week 6 with five rushing touchdowns in Week 7 versus UNLV. He's still owned in just 31 percent of leagues and plays a Nevada defense which is one of the worst in college football this week. The Wolf Pack give up 326.1 passing yards per game, so even if they can stop Worthman in the run game, he'll have an opportunity to post a season-high through the air.

Kelton Moore, RB, Nevada: Owned in only two percent of leagues, it will be Moore's week to shine for the Wolf Pack as Air Force gives up 255.3 rushing yards per game. He only had 29 yards rushing versus Colorado State, but that had more to do with the game becoming a shootout through the air. In Week 6, Moore rumbled for 216 yards on 19 carries. He's also been somewhat active in the passing game this year with 11 catches for 152 yards and a touchdown.
*Colorado State (at New Mexico) and Utah State (at UNLV) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

PAC-12

Khalil Tate, QB, Arizona: Another one of those situations where I'll keep recommending him until he's owned in enough leagues. Only 24 percent of leagues reaped the benefits of Tate rushing for 230 yards and two touchdowns while also racking up 148 yards and a touchdown through the air in a 47-30 win over UCLA on Saturday. I'm not sure why Tate didn't begin the season as Arizona's starting quarterback, but he's probably locked in that spot for the rest of the year. California won't be as soft a matchup, but Tate's upside is too attractive to ignore against any opponent at this point.

Bryce Bobo, WR, Colorado: I've recommended Bobo in the past and it paid off in Week 7 as he hauled in nine catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. He has a score in four of seven games this season and is not owned in nearly enough leagues at two percent ownership. The Buffaloes have a tough matchup against an angry Washington State team which makes me think that Colorado will need to throw the ball to compete.
*ULCA (vs. Oregon) have a soft matchup so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

SEC

Drew Lock, QB, Missouri: Any quarterback who can throw four touchdowns versus Georgia is worth picking up for fantasy purposes. The Tigers will play a random non-conference game versus Idaho and Lock is owned in only half of fantasy leagues. Through six games, Lock has thrown 17 passing touchdowns in a pass-heavy offense. WR Emanuel Hall should also be considered as Mizzou's top target the last two weeks.

DeMarkus Lodge, WR, Mississippi: While you likely can't get QB Shea Patterson or WR A.J. Brown, you can get the next best thing in Lodge who is owned in only 33 percent of leagues. Lodge has 24 catches for 438 yards and six touchdowns for an Ole Miss squad who can put up tons of points quickly. The matchup against LSU isn't ideal, but later matchups with Arkansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana-Lafayette are on the horizon.
*Alabama (vs. Tennessee) and Auburn (at Arkansas) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

SUN BELT

Wesley Fields, RB, Georgia Southern: I'm going out on a limb with this one, but Fields has been fairly consistent with at least 11 carries in each game and a touchdown in each of the Eagles last two games. They're not a very good team but should compete with the Minutemen of Massachusetts.

Justice Hansen, QB, Arkansas State: Hansen is owned in only 24 percent of leagues and should be owned in all of them as the Red Wolves have proven to be a pass-oriented team. Hansen has thrown four or more touchdowns on three different occasions this season and has yet to have a fantasy performance under 20 points. Moreover, the Red Wolves are probably the best team in the Sun Belt Conference, so they're going to have good matchups most weeks.
*Troy (at Georgia State) and Appalachian State (vs. Coastal Carolina) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.

DEFENSES to Stream for Week 8

Ohio (hosting Kent State) – The Bobcats are right in the thick of the race in the MAC and they should shut down Kent State. I would consider this a spot start as Ohio has given up a ton of points this season.
TCU (hosting Kansas) – Owned in only 27 percent of leagues, TCU has a tested defense that has contained some of the best offenses in the country. They'll have absolutely no problems with Kansas.
Duke (hosting Pittsburgh) – The Blue Devils defense have quietly averaged double-digit fantasy points and have four touchdowns on the season. They're worth a start versus Pittsburgh.
UTSA (hosting Rice) – The Roadrunners are not flashy on the defensive side of the ball, but they do go up against a Rice offense that is one of the least efficient in the nation.