Week 4 is where I really want to start separating the player from the weekly situation. We have enough games now to know who is earning touches, who is losing them, and which early-season breakouts might actually be real. That does not mean we blindly follow the box score.
A player can still be someone I like long term and belong on the bench this week. On the other side, an emerging player does not need to be a household name yet if the role tells us it is time to trust him. That is what we are looking for this week.
As always, every C2C league is different. Your scoring, lineup requirements, and roster can change a close decision.
Let’s get into it.
Quarterbacks
Starts
Ryan Browne, Purdue at Notre Dame
This is exactly the type of Start I want for this article. Browne has thrown for at least 300 yards in each of Purdue’s first 3 games and enters Week 4 with 1,024 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Now we get the real test.
Notre Dame has been legitimately good defensively, so I am not calling this an easy matchup. What I am betting on is Purdue’s passing game. They are averaging 366.7 passing yards per game, and Browne has completed 73.3 percent of his passes through 3 weeks.
Purdue’s defense has also helped create game scripts where Browne has to keep throwing. So I am not sitting him just because Notre Dame is on the other side. Purdue has shown me enough through 3 games to trust the volume until somebody proves we should not.
Ethan Grunkemeyer, Virginia Tech at Boston College
Grunkemeyer is starting to become one of those players where the role is getting more interesting before everybody completely catches up. Virginia Tech has put a lot on his plate in James Franklin’s offense, and I like that for C2C.
Boston College gives us enough resistance that this is not some automatic matchup call, but I am not running away from the volume either. This is where I want to get ahead of the point where Grunkemeyer becomes an obvious weekly option.
Sits
Hauss Hejny, Colorado State at UTSA
The production says Start. The hamstring says Sit. Hejny has completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 619 yards, 10 touchdowns and only 1 interception while adding 128 rushing yards and another touchdown.
That is exactly the type of production we want from our campus quarterback. The problem is that he is now a game time decision with a hamstring injury.
His mobility is part of what makes him valuable, so even if he is active, I do not want to find out after kickoff that Colorado State is protecting him or limiting what he can do with his legs. This one hurts because I like the player and the production. I just do not like the risk this week.
Tait Reynolds, Clemson at California
Tait Reynolds is still Clemson’s starting quarterback. Christopher Vizzina being probable does not change that.
What it does change is how comfortable I am with the weekly floor. Clemson’s offense has not been consistent enough for me to completely ignore the possibility that Vizzina gets involved if things are not going well Friday night.
Reynolds still has the long-term talent I like, but this is a weekly campus decision. I need more stability before I trust him in the lineup.
