CFB Waiver Wire: Players to Pick Up Week 10

Welcome to another installment of the waiver wire watch. Throughout the college football season, I'll pick two guys from every conference who either caught my eye in the previous week or who have a favorable match-up in the near future. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.

AAC

Jamale Carothers, RB, Navy
Carothers plays the fullback position, but that doesn't matter much in the triple option offense as he had 14 rushes for 154 yards and three touchdowns as well as a 31-yard touchdown reception versus Tulane this past Saturday. Scoring isn't new for Carothers who has a touchdown in each of his last three games. There's a great chance he extends his scoring streak to four weeks against Connecticut on Friday Night.

Otis Anderson, RB, UCF
With teammate Greg McCrae dealing with a knee injury, Anderson is set to keep receiving significant carries in one of the best offenses in the nation. He did just that while rumbling for over 200 rushing yards in a beatdown of Temple. While Adrian Killins Jr. remains in the mix, there's plenty of touches to keep both Killins and Anderson happy and productive for fantasy owners. Knee injuries are always tricky, so even if McCrae comes back, it's hard to expect him to take on a full load right away.

Last Week; UConn RB Kevin Mensah (19 carries for 164 yards, 5 TDs) & SMU TE Kylen Granson (6 catches for 76 yards, 1 TD)

ACC

Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
Pickett had a tough game against a formidable Hurricane defense with just 146 passing yards and two interceptions in his last outing. When analyzing his stats prior to that game, it's evident that he's a high-volume passer with at least 40 passing attempts in half of his games this season. I expect him to have one of those high-volume outings against Georgia Tech who has perhaps the worst defense in the conference.

Kendall Hinton, WR, Wake Forest
I'm going back to Hinton as the Demon Deacons return from their bye week. Sage Surratt remains the top option in the offense, but Hinton is starting to edge out Scotty Washington with 26 catches in his last three games. I give Hinton an even larger boost in PPR formats because he catches a ton of passes with 37 receptions on the season. Wake Forest is going to have to throw the ball early and often against each of their five remaining opponents, which makes Hinton a good add on the waiver wire.

Last Week; Syracuse Tommy DeVito (20/33, 151 yards, 32 yards rushing) & Virginia WR Joe Reed (8 catches for 48 yards, two yards rushing)

BIG 12

Skylar Thompson, QB, Kansas State
When Kansas State pulls off a huge upset of the fifth-ranked Sooners, you have to go out and pick up their best player. That's Thompson, who accounted for four of their six touchdowns versus Oklahoma, all coming in the ground game. I'm fairly sure that kind of dual-threat ability is not sustainable for Thompson for the rest of the season, but it's likely he has another big game versus Kansas this week. RB James Gilbert is also a good pickup if available.

JaMycal Hasty, RB, Baylor
Baylor is coming off a bye and one of the few remaining undefeated teams in college football. In Week 8, Hasty had an electric outing with 212 total yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and three catches. He has at least one catch in every game and gets a least a handful of carries in most games. The senior deserves to have a shot at another productive outing with what he did at Oklahoma State in Week 8.

Last Week; Kansas QB Carter Stanley (26/37, 415 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, rushing score) & Iowa State RB Breece Hall (18 carries for 76 yards, 2 TDs, 6 catches for 42 yards)

BIG TEN

Dre Brown & Reggie Corbin, RB, Illinois
As if the running back position couldn't get any more important in Big Ten country, the weather is starting to get cold and nasty. Both Brown and Corbin have put forth respectable outings in their upset win over Wisconsin and a follow-up win against Purdue. I prefer Corbin if I had to choose between the two as he has more big-play potential, but Brown has seen some decent volume in the last few weeks. Both should have huge games against Rutgers in Week 10.

Shea Patterson, QB, Michigan
Michigan finally looked like Michigan in a 45-14 drubbing of Notre Dame. In his last three games, Patterson has a total of seven touchdowns, including two rushing scores. The Wolverines' upcoming opponent, Maryland, has looked like one of the worst teams in college football and there aren't a lot of dependable options at quarterback in the conference this week.

Last Week; Illinois QB Brandon Peters (3/6, 26 yards, 12 rushes for 17 yards, 1 TD) & Purdue RB King Doerue (15 carries for 37 yards)

C-USA

Chris Reynolds, QB, Charlotte
Reynolds had already been popping on my fantasy radar this season before going out and accounting for four touchdowns in a thrilling win over North Texas. The 49ers quarterback definitely has some variability to his fantasy outings because the team can lean on running back Benny Lemay at any time, but I'm ok with that over the next two weeks. Both Middle Tennessee and UTEP are not very good teams, so Reynolds should face little resistance from their defenses.

Tre Siggers, RB, North Texas
Siggers returned from an ankle injury and was fantastic while averaging 7.7 yards per carry en route to 131 yards and a score on 17 carries in a loss to Charlotte. DeAndre Torrey did not play in the contest against Charlotte, so I'm willing to push in all the chips with Siggers versus a UTEP defense that has a terrible time stopping the run.

Last Week; FIU RB Anthony Jones (21 carries for 87 yards) & Louisiana Tech QB J'Mar Smith (29/35, 338 yards, 3 TDs)

MAC

Grant Loy, QB, Bowling Green
Here's the one chance all season to utilize Loy who is one of the worst passing quarterbacks in the nation with just four touchdowns compared to seven interceptions. Why pick him up then? Because the Falcons play the Akron Zips this week and Loy has double-digit carries in each of his last three games, which means that he's likely to see enough volume to provide significant upside against one of the worst teams in college football.

Tre Harbison, RB, Northern Illinois
Speaking of those Zips, Harbison just rushed to the tune of 158 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries versus Akron. He has three 100-yard rushing performances in his last four games and is seeing high volume with at least 22 carries in that four game stretch. As talked about in the Big 10 section, the weather is brutal in the Midwest which means that Harbison should continue to get the ball a ton throughout the fantasy playoffs against some rather soft MAC defenses.

Last Week; Northern Illinois TE Daniel Crawford (No Catches) & Ball State WR Justin Hall (Four catches for 26 yards)

MWC

Toa Taua, RB, Nevada
It's been a rough going for Nevada with just 13 total points in back-to-back losses to Wyoming and Utah State. That's all about to change when New Mexico comes to town with one of the worst defenses in college football. Hawaii had no problems absolutely demolishing the Lobos. The Wolfpack won't necessarily demolish New Mexico, but they should be able to run the ball and that will revolve around Taua, who has double-digit carries in seven games this year. He also tends to catch a few passes each week which provides a little bump in PPR formats.  

Patrick O'Brien, QB, Colorado State
The Rams pulled a shocking 41-31 upset at Fresno State and it was due to O'Brien, who threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a rushing score. This followed a three-touchdown performance against New Mexico, and with a good wideout crew at his disposal O'Brien should be able to keep it rolling. O'Brien is due for yet another huge week against UNLV. Junior running back Marcus McElroy can also be considered, coming off a 100-yard rushing performance with two touchdowns.

Last Week; Hawaii WR Jared Smart (One catch for five yards) & Fresno State QB Jorge Reyna (20/37, 200 yards, 2 INT, six yards rushing)

PAC-12

Steven Montez, QB, Colorado
Montez has been either spectacular or downright terrible when it comes to fantasy this season. Against USC this past week he was spectacular, completing 62.8 percent of his passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns while also adding a rushing score. I'm not really sure what Colorado has been doing at times this season, but I think they've figured out that they need to unleash wide receiver Laviska Shenault, and they can't do that unless Montez gets going too.

Noah Togiai, TE, Oregon State
It's a short slate in the Pac-12 this next week, so I'm going to Togiai for one of my tight end recommendations as the Beavers get to go up against the Arizona defense. Arizona's pass defense seems to get worse each week as they are fresh off giving up 41 points and 312 passing yards to a Stanford squad who isn't very good. Togiai has yet to find the end-zone this year, so it would be refreshing to see him get his first score.

Last Week; Arizona State QB Jayden Daniels (20/29, 267 yards, 3 TDs, 67 yards and 1 TD rushing) & USC WR Tyler Vaughns (8 catches for 104 yards, 1 TD)

SEC

Jauan Jennings, WR, Tennessee
I've been all over Jennings all year and he came through in a big way in Week 9 with seven catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-21 win over South Carolina. He also had five rushes for 18 yards which shows you how versatile the receiver is. With upcoming games against UAB, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt, he should be one of the better receiving options for the fantasy playoffs.

Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M
The young freshman tight end is having quite the year with five touchdowns and has seen an uptick in targets recently. In his last three games, Wydermyer has nine catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns. With an upcoming game against UTSA, the team should continue to develop their dangerous weapon as they'll have many opportunities at touchdowns. I also really like RB Isaiah Spiller if you can get your hands on him this week.

Last Week; Alabama RB Brian Robinson Jr. (13 carries for 67 yards and a 8-yard catch) & South Carolina RB Tavien Feaster (19 carries for 80 yards, 1 TD)

SUN BELT

Jaivon Heiligh, WR, Coastal Carolina
Heiligh is far and away the top receiver for the Chanticleers with 47 targets this season. Running back CJ Marable checks in second with just 24 targets. Heiligh is averaging four catches on seven targets per game. Coastal Carolina will play Troy this week, who has arguably the worst defense in the Sun Belt Conference, which suggests that Heiligh could have a career game this week. Moreover, since Coastal Carolina was on a bye in Week 9, he can be picked up immediately in many leagues.

Layne Hatcher, QB, Arkansas State
Hatcher is somehow available in more than half of fantasy leagues, even though everyone knows that he has the talented Omar Bayless and Kirk Merritt at wide receiver. He gets to go up against UL-Monroe this week, which means that he could be an excellent pickup for someone looking to plug and play at quarterback this week.

Last Week; Georgia Southern QB Shai Werts (2/4, 3 yards, 67 yards rushing) & Georgia State WR Cornelius McCoy (3 catches for 27 yards)

INDEPENDENTS

Josh Mack, RB, Liberty
Mack outperformed teammate Frankie Hickson (eight carries for 41 yards and a score) with 11 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a loss at Rutgers. Mack has been very consistent with a touchdown in four of his last five games. I would be happy with either Mack or Hickson versus UMass this week. I would also stick with Calvert even though he was rather disappointing versus Rutgers.

Last Week; Liberty QB Stephen Calvert (17/31, 244 yards, 1 TD)

DEFENSE RECOMMENDATIONS

Illinois (vs. Rutgers) – The Fighting Illini gave up just six points to Purdue and the defense was the catalyst to upsetting the Badgers the week before. This is a sneaky good play versus Rutgers.

Navy (at UConn) – With Navy's propensity to beat up on opposing teams with their physicality, UConn won't have much of a chance.

Cincinnati (at East Carolina) – The Bearcats lead the nation with 19 takeaways and have kept far better offenses in check this season.

Last Week; Appalachian State (at South Alabama – 3 PA, 3 Sacks, 1 TA), Northern Illinois (vs. Akron – 0 PA, 2 Sacks, 3 TA, 2 TDs)

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: Colorado State Patrick O'Brien, Charlotte Chris Reynolds, Kansas State Skylar Thompson
RB: Nevada Toa Taua, Northern Illinois Tre Harbison, North Texas Tre Siggers
WR: Tennessee Jauan Jennings, Wake Forest Kendall Hinton, Coastal Carolina Jaivon Heiligh
TE: Texas A&M Jalen Wydermyer, Oregon State Noah Togiai
D/ST: Cincinnati (at East Carolina)