Week 9 Rewind: How the mighty have fallen
Week 9 was clearly Hangover Saturday for many teams. A week after pulling big upsets, Michigan State and Texas Tech failed to muster any kind of offense and fell to Nebraska and Iowa State, respectively. Clemson's run as a dark horse national championship contender came to a screeching halt has quarterback Tajh Boyd threw two picks in the loss to Georgia Tech. All told, six teams from the Top 25 fell on Saturday, dragging many Fantasy owners down with them.
Early Thursday, it looked like No. 18 Houston might be one of them. With sheets of rain failing, the pigskin proved tough to handle and Cougars' quarterback Case Keenum got off to a shaky start with two early turnovers. Rice jumped out to a 17-7 lead, but that only seemed to motivate Keenum & Co., as he went on to throw nine touchdowns. Keenum set an NCAA career passing touchdown record along the way, a mark that currently stands at 119.
Patrick Edwards was the biggest beneficiary of Rice's inept secondary, gashing the Owls for an eye-popping 318 yards and five scores. That, my friends, is College Fantasy Football at its finest. One player can single-handedly bury your opponent.
The Cougars weren't the only ones to put up gaudy numbers this weekend. Week 9 was, once again, a bad week to be a Big 12 defensive coordinator. Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma were all over 600 yards in total offense, with Texas nearly joining them with 590. On average, Big 12 teams racked up 534 yards of total offense on the weekend, with Fantasy heavyweights Landry Jones, James Franklin, Joseph Randle, Justin Blackmon and Ryan Tannehill leading the charge.
Other Superlatives
Nebraska's Rex Burkhead was the definition of workhorse against a stiff Michigan State run defense. It was three yards and a cloud of dust as Burkhead lugged the ball 35 times for 130 yards and two scores (3.7 yards per catch).
Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy was a top sleeper pick for Week 9, and he did not disappoint with 179 total yards and a score.
Miami (Ohio) quarterback Zac Dysert has strung together back-to-back 300-plus-yard passing games and faces woeful Akron next.
Nevada's Cody Fajardo, New Mexico State's Matt Christian and Wyoming's Brett Smith have been hot of late. With bye weeks and tougher defenses on tap, can they keep up the pace?
Washington running back Chris Polk did his best to catch Keenum and Edwards atop the Fantasy leader board this week as he racked up 244 total yards and five touchdowns against a struggling Arizona defense.
After registering four touchdowns against New Mexico, Air Force running back Mike DeWitt will surely be a hot waiver wire pick.
Indiana's Stephen Houston has 361 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the last three games. Can Ohio State and Michigan State slow the emerging Hoosier back?
North Carolina's Giovani Bernard put to rest any doubts about his hip, rushing for 154 yards and three scores (one receiving) on 27 carries.
Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle is averaging 10.4 yards per carry and has scored seven touchdowns in the last two games.
Northwestern tight end Drake Dunsmore didn't seem to mind who played quarterback last week, catching three touchdown passes from Dan Persa and a fourth from Kain Colter.
Notable Injuries
Pitt running back Ray Graham will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury suffered Wednesday night against Connecticut. Look for former Wisconsin back Zach Brown to fill in.
Oklahoma running back Dominique Whaley's return was brief as he was lost with a broken ankle on the Sooners' first offensive play. With Brennan Clay not 100 percent, Roy Finch will get the first crack at carrying the load.
Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell left for a while against Florida with a shin bruise. Will he play this week against New Mexico State?
That will wrap up Week 9 in college football. Get ready for the Alabama-LSU hype machine as we look forward to Week 10.
