This article is part of our Start vs. Sit series.
Week 1 (and the slightly-relevant-for-fantasy-purposes Week 0) are in the books. We definitely learned some things related to college football that have impacted my thoughts from a fantasy perspective. The most-substantive matters are related to playing time. It became clear how many quarterback situations were up in the air heading into Week 1. Of course, playing time is not rigid, and certainly not with only one game in the books for the vast majority of FBS teams. We're still learning but have some intriguing games on the Week 2 slate. Thus, based on what I have learned (and what I already knew), here are my players to start and sit for Week 2.
AAC Starts and Sits
START
Kamdyn Benjamin, WR, Tulsa at Arkansas State
It was only Northwestern State, a team best known for having arguably the most generic university name in all of collegiate sports. Still, Benjamin opened the season with five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown and also took a punt 85 yards to the house. He turned 47 catches into 727 yards and six touchdowns last year, so he has big-play potential. In the "It was only one game, but…" realm, Arkansas State kicked off the 2024 season by allowing Central Arkansas to score 31 points.
SIT
Byrum Brown, QB, South Florida at Alabama
I felt good about South Florida in Week 1, and indeed it rolled Bethune-Cookman. Overall, I feel good about the Bulls and, specifically, Brown this season. However, Week
Week 1 (and the slightly-relevant-for-fantasy-purposes Week 0) are in the books. We definitely learned some things related to college football that have impacted my thoughts from a fantasy perspective. The most-substantive matters are related to playing time. It became clear how many quarterback situations were up in the air heading into Week 1. Of course, playing time is not rigid, and certainly not with only one game in the books for the vast majority of FBS teams. We're still learning but have some intriguing games on the Week 2 slate. Thus, based on what I have learned (and what I already knew), here are my players to start and sit for Week 2.
AAC Starts and Sits
START
Kamdyn Benjamin, WR, Tulsa at Arkansas State
It was only Northwestern State, a team best known for having arguably the most generic university name in all of collegiate sports. Still, Benjamin opened the season with five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown and also took a punt 85 yards to the house. He turned 47 catches into 727 yards and six touchdowns last year, so he has big-play potential. In the "It was only one game, but…" realm, Arkansas State kicked off the 2024 season by allowing Central Arkansas to score 31 points.
SIT
Byrum Brown, QB, South Florida at Alabama
I felt good about South Florida in Week 1, and indeed it rolled Bethune-Cookman. Overall, I feel good about the Bulls and, specifically, Brown this season. However, Week 2 is not the week to believe in Brown and company. Alabama is out for blood. Kalen DeBoer and company are dead set on making sure people know the Tide will roll even without Nick Saban. Bama blanked Western Kentucky and made life miserable for TJ Finley. Brown may spend the whole game reminding himself, "Next time I get to face Southern Mississippi," just to get through it.
ACC Starts and Sits
START
Tyler Shough, QB, Louisville vs. Jacksonville State
Shough left Texas Tech for Louisville to get some of that Jeff Brohm magic. To that end, in his first start for the Cardinals, he completed 75 percent of his passes and threw four touchdowns on a breezy day of work. Yes, it was against Austin Peay, but the step up in competition doesn't feel too steep. While Coastal Carolina scored a touchdown on a fumble return, the Jacksonville State defense bears the brunt of the responsibility for the 55 points Coastal Carolina amassed in Week 1.
SIT
Jaydn Ott, RB, Cal at Auburn
It's the first time I've had this experience this season, but it was inevitable. I saw this game on the ACC schedule for this week and had a split second of, "Wait, what?" Cal is an ACC team. I'm not recommending you sit Ott just because that fact annoys me. Ott has been the focal point of the Golden Bears' offense for a few seasons, and he'll be good this year. However, a trip to Jordan-Hare is one of the most challenging circumstances a back faces in Week 2, when cupcake matchups still abound. We learned nothing from Auburn mopping the floor with Alabama A&M. That being said, you don't make "We'll take all the flak in the world if we can just beat Bama" decisions to let Hugh Freeze be your head coach and D.J. Durkin your defensive coordinator not to hold players like Ott in check at home.
Big Ten Starts and Sits
START
Kyle Monangai, RB, Rutgers vs. Akron
Monangai put his stamp on Rutgers' opener by rushing for 165 yards and a touchdown against Howard. Maybe you aren't familiar with his name, but he had 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and he did that while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Last week, Ohio State fans were freaking out and ready to burn Chip Kelly and Ryan Day in effigy because the team was only up 17-3 at halftime. Why? Because the Buckeyes were facing Akron. In the end, the Buckeyes scored 52 points. Why? Again, because they were facing Akron. This is the Zips' lot in life.
SIT
Cade McNamara, QB, Iowa vs. Iowa State
Alright, Hawkeyes, you had your fun. You dropped 40 points on Illinois State and got a bunch of social media play that couldn't help but feel heavily indebted to the backhanded compliment. McNamara threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns. It's time for some classic Iowa, though. When the Hawkeyes and Cyclones face off, both human law and the laws of the universe dictate that no team can score more than 24 points. Also, I'll believe McNamara and the Hawkeyes can do it against a good FBS defense when I see it, and Iowa State held a good FCS team in North Dakota to three points and 295 total yards.
Big 12 Starts and Sits
START
Savion Williams, WR, TCU vs. Long Island University
First, a quick conference-related recommendation. John Mateer totaled six touchdowns in his debut as Wazzu's starting quarterback and he faces a Texas Tech team that let Abilene Christian hit 50 points. May the Pac-12 live again.
As to this recommendation, Josh Hoover targeted Williams a whopping 17 times against Stanford, with the receiver bringing it 11 catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, when you want to truly beat up on an FCS team, you schedule Long Island University.
SIT
Dequan Finn, QB, Baylor at Utah
After years of success at Toledo, I would classify Finn's first game for Baylor as a mixed bag. He totaled three touchdowns against Tarleton State, but he only ran for 19 yards on six carries, and he threw two picks. Now, Finn faces a true challenge. The faces change because that's the nature of college football, but as long as Kyle Whittingham and Morgan Scalley are at Utah, I will trust this defense.
Conference USA Starts and Sits
START
TJ Finley, QB, Western Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky
Alright, Alabama is out of the way, so now you can get on board with Finley. Last year at high-flying Texas State, Finley threw for 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns against only eight picks, and Western Kentucky likes to air it out as well. That wasn't feasible against the Tide, but it will be against an FCS opponent like Eastern Kentucky. Finley will be ready to take out some frustration on this matchup.
SIT
Frank Peasant, RB, Middle Tennessee State at Ole Miss
In a game heavily hampered by the inclement weather that was found in a certainly region of the country, Peasant ran 10 times for 49 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee Tech. It was a nice start to the campaign after he had a tough, injury-plagued 2023 season. Of course, now he has to head to Oxford. While Ole Miss scoring 76 points on Furman got the attention, the team also blanked its opposition.
MAC Starts and Sits
START
Solomon Davis, WR, Central Michigan at Florida International
Davis was a productive receiver at Valpo, but how would he adjust to Central Michigan? So far, so good! While Central Connecticut proved an easy opponent, Davis' FBS debut saw him tally 109 yards and two touchdowns. Now, Davis will be part of the inaugural game at Pitbull Stadium. The Panthers have a delightful stadium moniker but have been one of the worst FBS teams for years, and Indiana totaled 414 yards against them in the 2024 opener.
SIT
Trayvon Rudolph, WR, Northern Illinois at Notre Dame
Like Davis, Rudolph went over 100 yards and found the end zone against an FCS opponent. There's a striking difference in the Week 2 opposition for the NIU receiver, though. The Fighting Irish handled Texas A&M on the road in one of the toughest stadiums for away teams. Facing Rudolph and company at home should be a relative breeze.
Mountain West Starts and Sits
START
Malik Sherrod, RB, Fresno State vs. Sacramento State
As I anticipated, Sherrod was held completely in check by a Michigan defense that could end up the best in the FBS (my working theory is that Michigan will be a best-case-scenario Iowa in 2024). However, now it is time to remember that last season, Sherrod totaled over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. Facing an FCS team will allow him to find his footing, and the amount of time and space he has in this one might feel almost overwhelming after opening against the Wolverines.
SIT
Latrell Caples, WR, Boise State at Oregon
Boise State racked up the points against Georgia Southern, but that was mostly due to a splashy performance from Ashton Jeanty, the kind of game that gets people talking about whether a Group of Five player could ever win the Heisman. The passing game was fine, and Caples had five catches for 81 yards, but Jeanty is the star here. That's especially going to be true early with redshirt sophomore Maddux Madsen at quarterback. The Ducks got a lot of guff in Week 1, but ultimately, they should be fine, and the Vandals managed only 217 total yards and 14 points against them.
SEC Starts and Sits
START
Dylan Sampson, RB, Tennessee at NC State
Sampson was about as efficient as a back can be against Chattanooga. He turned 12 carries into 124 yards and three touchdowns. Also, he turned three targets into three catches for 29 yards. Sampson had 106 carries for 604 yards and seven touchdowns last year, and now he is the lead back for the Vols. NC State struggled in its opener, and its defense allowed 21 points to Western Carolina.
SIT
Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas at Michigan
I mentioned the Wolverines are a fine pick to finish with the best defense in college football. Will Johnson and Mason Graham are two future first-round picks. Michigan Stadium will be bumping for this matchup of top-10 teams. Ewers did his job at home against Colorado State, but he will be truly challenged this time, and I am not so sure he'll be up to it, at least for what fantasy-minded folks are looking for.
Sun Belt Starts and Sits
START
Tray Taylor, WR, Coastal Carolina vs. William & Mary
Taylor, a JUCO transfer, had three catches for 98 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville State in the opener. Nobody really popped as Coastal Carolina spread the wealth in its 55-27 win, but Taylor paced the way. William & Mary, an FCS team, will not prove to be any more of a challenge, so I am intrigued about Taylor's potential to claim the top spot on the Chanticleers' depth chart.
SIT
Kaedin Robinson, WR, Appalachian State at Clemson
Yes, Clemson got smashed by Georgia, and Dabo Swinney's approach to program building has clearly left it far from title contention (which I will admit a smidge of schadenfreude about), but let's not go too far here. The Tigers still have way more talent than any Sun Belt team and certainly more than East Tennessee State. Robinson had over 100 yards in the opener, but a visit to Clemson will be decidedly trickier. The Tigers couldn't stop one of the best offenses in the FBS. They can stop Appalachian State.
