It is already Week 10 of college fantasy football—the shortest and fastest fantasy season in the alternative-reality universe. As the regular season nears an end, Luke Probasco, Volume Pigs and I spotlight the salient players in the college fantasy football free-agency pool for readers who are still pushing toward the playoffs.
The CFF campaign is over so quickly compared to other season-long games; yet, there are still bye weeks to navigate. Many key CFF stars—QB John Mateer, QB Jalen Milroe, RB Devin Neal, RB Kyle Monangai, WR Nick Nash and WR Tai Felton—are off this week. Thankfully, there are intriguing players on the waiver wire to pick up and insert into lineups to keep postseason hopes alive… Let’s Go!
Week 9 College Fantasy Football Waiver Wire
Quarterbacks
Jake Retzlaff, BYU (Laub)
Fantrax Rostership: 29%
Total Fantasy Points: 225.1
FPPG: 28.1
PFF Grade: 85.9
BYU was an underdog heading to UCF this past weekend, and the Cougars upset the Knights 37-24 to improve to 8-0, standing atop the Big 12. While BYU does not rank among the elite offenses in the nation (averaging 410 yards and 35.1 points per game), there are plenty of options for college fantasy footballers to choose from. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff distinctly leads the unit. On Saturday, he scored 30.9 fantasy points (FPs) on 228 passing yards, 39 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns.
Since September 28, Retzlaff is CFF QB20, scoring 121 FPs. He has surpassed 30 points in three of the Cougars’ past four contests and deserves to be rostered down the stretch. After a bye this week, BYU travels to Utah and welcomes Kansas—the two teams are a combined 6-10 and neither has a shutdown defense. I am scanning the waiver wires in my leagues to place bids on the BYU quarterback.
Notebook: “Day games. Traveling across the country. I don’t know what excuse the book(s) are going to come up with next. But, yeah, we definitely took 2.5 (points) personally; I’d say our locker room looked at that and got a little extra fired up, for sure.” Retzlaff stated after the victory over UCF (ksl.com).
BYU is something serious
Retzlaff to Roberts before the half ends pic.twitter.com/W1t5md1vxl
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 26, 2024
Colton Joseph, Old Dominion (Probasco)
Fantrax Rostership: 7%
Total Fantasy Points: 160.2
FPPG: 26.7
PFF Grade: 73.2
Colton Joseph has had the goods for Old Dominion the last few weeks. He has averaged 36.5 fantasy points over the last four weeks. He is coming off a 304-yard passing game in which he threw four touchdowns and added 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Old Dominion has a date with Appalachian State in Week 10, and the Mountaineers are the same team that allowed Marshall QB Braylon Braxton to throw three touchdowns, run for 140 yards, and two scores. I expect a similar performance from Joseph.
Notebook: “Colton is really playing well, but there are some things that he could do even better. He even said that to me. I think what is happening right now is that our coaching staff has done a nice job of understanding what Colton executes the best, and what our team executes the best. Colton has this innate ability to make something happen. And what he’s done recently is take care of the football and not put the football in jeopardy,” ODU coach Ricky Rahne stated (odusports.com).
Marcel Reed, Texas A&M (Volume Pigs)
Fantrax Rostership: 15%
Total Fantasy Points: 121
FPPG: 20.2
PFF Grade: 72.3
Yes, Marcel Reed was already featured on VolumePigs. It’s been such a long gap between when it looked like he’d be the starter going forward and now that I figured to include the Aggies redshirt freshman dual-threat signal caller. The commentators on the LSU-Texas A&M game seemed to be all in on Reed because he more closely matches what Offensive Coordinator Colin Klein likes to do with his system (needs a running QB).
I’ve been waiting for Reed to have that truly nuclear performance. In fact, he seems to be at his best when he’s brought in midway through the game (33.4 FPs vs. Florida and 27 FPs vs. LSU) and less in his starts. Reed did explode off the bench against LSU: In the second half of the game, he scored three touchdowns on the ground while leading Texas A&M to a victory. The Aggies play a tough South Carolina front seven next so CFF diehards must temper expectations for the electric playmaker.
Notebook: “We felt like things weren’t moving the way we wanted to. It certainly wasn’t Conner’s fault. There weren’t a lot of open windows, we couldn’t get the passing game unglued at all. We couldn’t call it right, I couldn’t get them to run it right, we couldn’t get open. It was just a litany of problems. We just felt like we needed a spark. We pulled the trigger and went with Marcel, and what a spark he gave us,” coach Mike Elko said after the second-half comeback against LSU (12thman.com).
Honorable Mention Quarterback
- Owen McCown, UTSA
Fantrax Rostership: 19%
Total Fantasy Points: 191.7
FPPG: 24.0
PFF Grade: 77.0
CFF Twitterverse on Fire!
At quarterback, who is the top target on the CFF waiver wire this week?
- Jake Retzlaff, BYU: 26%
- Colton Joseph, Old Dominion: 30%
- Sawyer, Robertson, Baylor: 42%
- Cole Snyder, Eastern Michigan: 2%
Scholar’s Selection: Over the past two weeks, we have featured all four of the passers listed above in our waiver wire column. I am still ranking Sawyer Robertson as the top candidate to acquire but will also be happy with Jake Retzlaff.
“Colton Joseph moving forward has a lot of ‘plus’ matchups against Appalachian State, Marshall, and Arkansas State. He’s a freshman and learning, but has topped 30 FPs in three of his last four games. The best is yet to come.” @JGoody77
“Sawyer Robertson for me. He is everything I thought I had when I drafted Dequan Finn over the summer.” @aceholesrule
“Colton Joseph: The Monarchs have the Mountaineers on Saturday. Remember what Braylon Braxton did to them a few weeks back?” @ProbascoLuke
“Sawyer Robertson by a small margin. He’s been getting it done in the air and on the ground, and outside on their week 11 bye, the Baylor quarterback should be up for some high-scoring affairs.” @eliotmays
Running Backs
Jordan Simmons, Akron (Probasco)
Fantrax Rostership: 3%
Total Fantasy Points: 89
FPPG: 11.1
PFF Grade: 75.4
Jordan Simmons is coming off a game where he had 16 carries for 109 yards and one reception for a yard, scoring 12 FPs in Week 9. The crazy thing is how little he was utilized in the receiving game. Three weeks ago, he had five receptions for 32 yards, leading the team in receptions and second in receiving yards. The following game he had six catches for 97 yards. In that matchup, the Zips pass-catching back was second on the team in receptions and receiving yards. Simmons accounts for 10.8% of the team’s catches. He is averaging 18.5 fantasy points over the last three weeks. If a CFF coach is in a PPR league, give Simmons a look.
Justice Ellison, Indiana (Laub)
Fantrax Rostership: 22%
Total Fantasy Points: 126.9
FPPG: 15.9
PFF Grade: 87.5
It is surprising that the lead ball carrier on an undefeated team remains available in so many leagues: Obviously, the CFF community has passed over the Hoosiers’ backfield, which has rotated three backs at times. Nonetheless, Justice Ellison now stands above the rest of his teammates and must be rostered as the CFF playoffs near.
Against Washington, Ellison rambled for 123 yards on 29 carries and scored a touchdown. It was the most rushing attempts for the senior since he toted the rock 21 times in 2022 for Wake Forest versus Missouri. On third downs against the Huskies, the Indiana runner converted four carries into first downs and gained 101 yards in the second half to secure the victory.
For the season, Ellison has scampered for 637 yards while averaging 6.2 ypc. He has reached the promised land in seven straight games and scored nine times in 2024. In three games since October 5, the 5’9” and 210-pounder has produced 58.4 FPs and is CFF RB47. With so many teams in need of roster assistance as the postseason approaches, Ellison needs to be acquired with Michigan State and Michigan in the next two weeks.
Notebook: “Hats off to the (offensive line), man, they kept battling. It wasn’t a lot of big runs, but it really showed resilience on this football team. I’m so proud of the guys and I’m thankful to be a part of this great team,” Ellison uttered after the Hoosiers’ eighth victory (idsnews.com).
Relentless on the run. @JusticeEllison1 | #IUFB | 📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/tMi8pShTn8
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) October 26, 2024
Davon Booth, Mississippi State (Volume Pigs)
Fantrax Rostership: 9%
Total Fantasy Points: 94.7
FPPG: 11.8
PFF Grade: 67.9
Davon Booth has separated in the Bulldog running back room with an average of 14.6 carries in his last five outings. He also has a receiving score in three straight games. On top of that, he’s scored 19 and 21.7 points in ppr. formats the past two outings. What is the great news? The Bulldogs play UMass on Saturday.
CFF Twitterverse on Fire!
On the CFF waiver wire, who is the premier playmaker to acquire moving forward?
- WR Coleman Owen, Ohio: 17%
- RB Rahsul Faison, Utah State: 36%
- RB Justice Ellison, Indiana: 21%
- WR Daniel Jackson, Minnesota: 26%
Scholar’s Selection: I will seek to attain Rahsul Faison. After the bye week, Utah State plays Washington State, Hawaii, San Diego State and Colorado State to close out the campaign. He is only 203 yards away from 1,000, and he should reach the milestone for the first time in his college tenure.
“Rahsul Faison: I have been riding with this guy for weeks. Love Him!” @aceholesrule
“Rahsul Faison has been on fire lately with back-to-back 20-plus FPs outings. The Aggies have week 10 off. If WR Jalen Royals is in fact out for the season, they will ride Faison.” @ProbascoLuke
“Rahsul Faison has been getting the volume CFF diehards look for out of a starting running back. He should provide a pretty safe floor coming into the end of the season.” @eliotmays
Wide Receivers
Chris Carpenter, UTSA (Volume Pigs)
Fantrax Rostership: 1%
Targets: 48
Fantasy Points: 74
FPPG: 9.2
PFF Grade: 63.0
I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but UTSA gets a good matchup this week and QB Owen McCown is hitting his stride. More importantly, Chris Carpenter has seen nine or more targets in his last four games and is coming off a 100-yard performance against Tulsa. If CFF managers need a starter, Carpenter is an option to consider.
Caleb Douglas, Texas Tech (Laub)
Fantrax Rostership: 7%
Targets: 61
Fantasy Points: 118.9
FPPG: 14.9
PFF Grade: 72.7
Any receiver with double-digit targets for three consecutive weeks gains my attention in CFF. And Caleb Douglas has been a volume hog over the past month for the pass-happy Red Raiders. The former Florida receiver has collected 32 targets in the last three contests. Against TCU on Saturday, Douglas logged nine catches for 140 yards on 12 targets, scoring 23 FPs.
In 2023, Douglas only played in five games for the Gators after suffering a season-ending leg injury. Coach Joey McGuire wanted to upgrade the receiver corps in the offseason and plucked wide receivers Josh Kelly and Douglas from the transfer portal. So far, the two playmakers are the top receivers in Lubbock, TX. Douglas has 39 catches for 559 yards and four touchdowns this year. The 6’4” and 205-pound junior has recorded double-digit FPs in six games with a season-high 36.9 two weeks ago versus Baylor. He is a nice alternative down the stretch run.
Notebook: In July, Douglas discussed returning to the gridiron “I’m super excited to get back. I’m lowkey foaming at the mouth. This summer I was like, I need to make sure I can get in and out of my breaks, not just straight. We’re going to have times where I’m not running straight and I need to be faster than him so I have a better opportunity to catch the ball,” he said (redraidersports.com).
Chase Sowell, East Carolina (Probasco)
Fantrax Rostership: 16%
Targets: 51
Fantasy Points: 97.3
FPPG: 13.9
PFF Grade: 69.3
The Pirates made a change at quarterback two weeks ago, and Chase Sowell proceeded to have his best game. He had a season-best in targets (10), receptions (7) and receiving yards (138). The Pirates’ wideout also scored his first touchdown of 2024. He followed up that performance with his second-best yardage output with 117 yards and his second touchdown. It is back-to-back games with 100-plus receiving yards and a touchdown.
The Pirates have a week off in Week 10 but a nice rest of the season schedule (Florida Atlantic, Tulsa, North Texas and Navy). Seeking a receiver for the playoffs? Sowell is an option that is trending up, with consecutive 20-plus FPs outings.
Honorable Mention Receiver
J.J. Jones, North Carolina
Fantrax Rostership: 8%
Targets: 47
Fantasy Points: 99.3
FPPG: 12.4
PFF Grade: 67.8
"Can you believe that?!"
📺 @TheCW pic.twitter.com/EGAvstHa9z
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) October 26, 2024
Coleman Owen, Ohio
Fantrax Rostership: 33%
Targets: 65
Fantasy Points: 149.4
FPPG: 18.7
PFF Grade: 83.7
CFF Twitterverse on Fire!
What offense has disappointed you the most from a fantasy perspective? And why?
- South Florida: 14%
- Oklahoma: 35%
- Hawaii: 16%
- Missouri: 35%
Scholar’s Selection: All four of the teams have been big disappointments in college fantasy football. Yet, I never expected Missouri to nosedive so badly. The Tigers returned QB Brady Cook and their top pass catchers this year. Despite acquiring both Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll in the transfer portal, it appears that losing RB Cody Schrader impacted the overall performance of the offense more than I expected. And Luther Burden is one of the bigger busts in 2024. A total disaster for CFF diehards like myself who drafted Tigers on their rosters.
“I was high on nearly every piece of the Missouri offense, and clearly too high. The Tigers have had a very manageable schedule, and yet, completely squandered it away.” @eliotmays
“The Byrum Brown injury certainly hurts, but the Bulls were not clicking before that either. I chose USF because Atkins and Brown were top draft selections.” @ProbascoLuke
“Missouri. I thought Brady Cook and Luther Burden would, well, Cook! I actually liked the No. 2 and No. 3 receivers on campus. The Tigers fooled me for sure.” @aceholesrule
CFF All-Americans: Week 9
QB Taylen Green, Arkansas: 56.4 points
QB Colton Joseph, Old Dominion: 49.1
RB Jarquez Hunter, Auburn: 45.7
RB Woody Marks, USC: 37.2
WR Coleman Owen, Ohio: 40.8
WR Brennan Presley, Oklahoma State: 39.3
WR Kamdyn Benjamin, Tulsa: 37.5
TE Tanner Koziol, Ball State: 28.8
Flex Jerjuan Newton, Toledo: 37.4
CFF Player of the Week: Taylen Green, Arkansas
oh hey back there!! pic.twitter.com/ngukwpVStu
— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) October 26, 2024