College Fantasy Football Studs and Duds: Week One

Here’s the latest installment of the CollegeFootballGeek.com Studs and Duds report.  Week One is in the books.  Here is a look at some of the top college fantasy football performers, and biggest disappointments, from the weekend.

Studs:

Quarterbacks

Joe Webb – UAB vs. Rice
Webb was the biggest Stud of the week. Webb was 12-21, 221 yards, and 2 TDs in the air while adding 194 yards on 20 carries and 2 TDs on the ground. Webb should be on fire for the next two weeks as he travels to SMU and plays Troy at home.

Case Keenum – Houston vs. Northwestern State
Keenum picked up in 2009 where he left off in 2008, completing 23 of 30 passes for 359 yards, four TDs in the air, and one TD on the ground. Over the next three weeks Houston plays two Big XII teams and has a bye week. Don’t be afraid to keep Keenum in your line-up, but realize that he might have a hard time matching these numbers in those matchups.

Jerrod Johnson – Texas A&M vs. New Mexico
Even though Texas A&M rolled to an easy win, the coaches allowed Johnson to throw the ball 41 times! This is good news for conference play. Johnson went 31-41 for 349 yards and two TDs. He also added 57 yards on the ground and one TD. Johnson had just one less carry than the team’s leading rusher. After a week two bye, Johnson should be golden until he faces Texas in week 13.

Running Backs

Reggie Arnold – Arkansas State vs. Miss. Valley State
Arnold was a scoring machine on a night when the carries were spread out between backs. Arnold had 12 rushes for 126 yards and a whopping four TDs. Missouri Valley State didn’t put up much of a fight, allowing Arnold to average 10.5 yards/carry. Don’t get too excited, though, Arnold owners. Arkansas State has a very inexperienced o-line and we suspect a drop in production once Arnold faces stiffer competition.

Roy Helu – Nebraska vs. Florida Atlantic
Helu took advantage of the suspension of fellow RB Castile to rush for 152 yards on 16 carries and three TDs. You can expect games with more carries as the season goes on, making his value continue to be high. Week two should be another huge week for Helu, and if he continues to put up good numbers against Virginia Tech in Week 3 – he just might be one of the most valuable RBs this year.

Jacquizz Rodgers – Oregon State vs. Portland State
“The Quizz” fired out of the gate rushing for 103 yards on 16 carries with three TDs. It appears the shoulder that Quizz injured at the end of the 2008 season is fully healed and should no longer be a worry for fantasy owners.

Receivers

Michael Floyd – Notre Dame vs. Nevada
Everybody got to see why Nevada had one of the worst pass defenses in 2008. While the receptions where distributed evenly between Notre Dame receivers, it was Floyd that proved to be the big strike target by pulling in four receptions for 189 yards and three TDs. Floyd will continue to be the best fantasy WR for the Irish, but don’t expect him to keep scoring these outrageous fantasy point totals.

Stephen Williams – Toledo at Purdue
This MAC vs. Big Ten match-up proved to be a shootout as Toledo passed for 425 yards against the Boilermakers. Williams hauled in 15 receptions for 185 yards and two TDs. Purdue isn’t the strongest defensive team, but Williams’ performance shows that he will be a terror for MAC defensive coordinators.

Freddie Barnes – Bowling Green vs. Troy
Bowling Green exploded in the second half and Barnes was a big part of it. Barnes had 157 yards on 15 receptions and scored two TDs. No other Bowling Green WR came close in receptions showing that Barnes will be the main target all season long. Weeks two and four should be down weeks as BG faces Missouri and Boise State, but expect Barnes to be back to business after those difficult match-ups are out of the way.

Tight Ends

Cody Slate – Marshall vs. Southern Illinois
With all the questions revolving around the poor QB play in the spring, Marshall came out firing in their season opener. Slate compiled 114 yards on nine receptions with two TDs. It will be interesting to see if Marshall can keep this offensive firepower going once the reach stiffer competition. Slate will still be a good fantasy play, just don’t expect numbers like this from week-to-week.

Tony Moeaki – Iowa vs. Northern Iowa
The Iowa offense struggled to be productive in their season opener. The result was the the Hawkeyes having to go to the air. Moeaki was the leading receiver with 10 catches for 83 yards and one TD. Buyer beware with Moeaki, since his health has been shaky in the past. If you are going to pick him up, be sure to have another guy on your roster just in case.

Aaron Hernandez – Florida vs. Charleston Southern
Hernandez was one of the top pass targets for the Gators in the season opener. Hernandez had only four receptions but managed to gain 79 yards and one TD. Hernandez will be a regular redzone target for Tebow as the season plays out.

Duds:

Quarterback

Colin Kaepernick – Nevada at Notre Dame
The Nevada offense struggled all afternoon as they traveled to the historic Notre Dame Stadium. Kaepernick was expected to put up big fantasy points as he worked to keep up in what was expected to be a shootout. Instead, Kaep was 12-23 for 149 yards, 0 TDs and two interceptions in the air while adding 39 yards on he ground. Look for Kaepernick to rebound after his week two bye.

Juice Williams – Illinois vs. Missouri
Juice failed to provide the fireworks that many fantasy owners expected from the Illinois offense in their opener. WR Benn was lost during the game, but Illinois couldn’t execute consistently enough to gain any decent rhythm. Juice threw for 179 yards on 18 completions with no TDs and one interception. Juice wasn’t able to do much better on the ground gaining 27 yards on 14 carries. If you own Juice, you better be ready for the inconsistency baggage that comes with him.

Jeremiah Masoli – Oregon at Boise State
Oregon descended on the Smurf Turf to avenge their loss from 2008, but high hopes were dashed early. The Oregon offense was left in Eugene as Masoli only accounted for 135 total yards, one rushing TD and one interception. With the suspension of RB Blount, Masoli could become a more centralized figure in the offense, but the poor play of the offensive line has us concerned. Hold Masoli on your bench to see how he does. If he still isn’t producing by the end of week three, it might be time to re-evaluate his fantasy future.

Running backs

LeGarette Blount – Oregon at Boise State
Blount came into the Boise State game making a statement that Oregon was going to deliver a beat down on Boise. I think Blount got that part backwards during the game. Blount rushed for -5 yards on eight carries. But he was able to live up to his quote after the game as he sucker punched a Boise State player during the post game handshake. Blount went on to charge after fans in the stands and had to be forced into the locker room by multiple security guards. Blount’s actions have resulted in a season long suspension. If you have him, he is obviously a waste of roster space.

Charles Scott – LSU at Washington
Scott had fantasy owners salivating as they set their starting line-ups, only to leave them foaming at the mouth by Saturday night’s end. Call it a lack of work ethic, great defensive play, or a hybrid of the two. Clay only mustered 52 yards on 12 carries against a Husky rush defense that has been one of the worst in the BCS over the last several years.

DeMarco Murray / Chris Brown – Oklahoma vs. BYU
Both Murray and Brown struggled in carrying the offense after QB Bradford’s injury. Murray gained 58 yards on 10 carries, while Brown gained 59 yards on 14 carries. Neither RB reached the endzone Saturday night. It's apparent that the young o-line is not as polished as everyone in Norman had been reporting. You might want to tread lightly with these two for the next coming weeks, but don’t quit on them. The stock of both these backs will be highest in the second half of the season.

Wide receivers

Dezmon Briscoe – Kansas vs. Northern Colorado
Briscoe was suspended for the game for violating unspecified team rules. It is unknown if this is a carry over of his spring rules violation or if it is a more recent issue. This should raise concern for Briscoe owners as the season goes on. 

Arrelious Benn – Illinois vs. Missouri
Benn was able to only catch one pass for nine yards before injuring his ankle. Even if he stayed in the game, the Illinois offense looked horrid in the loss to Missouri. Benn should be back in the line-up for next week’s game, but this fantasy Dud performance only adds to his resume of inconsistency.

Tyron Carrier – Houston vs. Northwestern State
Carrier did not live up to fantasy expectations, but it had more to do with Carrier’s opponent than it was by Carrier’s performance. Houston only threw the ball 30 times while the starters were in, and the ball was evenly distributed amongst Keenum’s targets. This “spreading of the wealth” resulted in Carrier having 3 receptions for 24 yards.

Tight ends

Jason Harmon – Florida Atlantic at Nebraska
Harmon was the leading man at TE during the spring and throughout fall camp. But when the Owls traveled to Nebraska something went awry. Harmon only had one reception for eight yards, while back-up TE Grant had 5 receptions for 43 yards. There has been no word so far that Harmon was injured, so the lack of production is currently a mystery. Stay tuned as we will monitor this one closely.

D.J. Williams – Arkansas vs. Missouri State
QB Mallett spread the ball around to multiple receivers in their pummeling of Missouri State. Williams only hauled in two receptions for 20 yards. This could be a factor of Mallett “spreading the wealth,” or it could be a philosophical change in the Razorback offense. While Williams was the main target in 2008, the WR talent is much better in 2009 and the offense might be opening up because of it. Weeks three and four will provide a good read on what Williams’ future will be for 2009 when Arkansas faces Georgia and Alabama. If Mallett won’t lean on Williams in the big game, then he may only be a compliment target.

Ed Dickson – Oregon at Boise State
The Ducks’ offensive woes were far reaching in the fantasy world. As the passing game struggled, so did the production of the men working to catch the ball. Dickson only managed two receptions for 19 yards. Until the o-line can start to protect the passer, Dickson’s production will remain in the gutter.