By Week 7, the roles are getting easier to read. The hard part now is not letting the name of the player decide for us. I am keeping it simple again this week and following the production and workload.
Quarterbacks
Starts
Darian Mensah, Miami vs. Florida State
Mensah has thrown for 1,438 yards, 15 touchdowns, and still has not thrown an interception through 5 games. He has also added 79 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. When a quarterback is producing like this without turning the ball over, I am not getting cute with it.
JC French, Cincinnati at West Virginia
French has 949 passing yards and 6 touchdowns while adding 193 rushing yards and 5 more touchdowns on the ground. That gives us 2 different ways to get points, and West Virginia has struggled against both the pass and run. I like this spot for French.
Sits
Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska at Oregon
Colandrea has 1,406 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, 296 rushing yards, and 3 rushing touchdowns. Last week against Indiana, though, he threw for 264 yards with no passing touchdowns and 1 interception. His legs can always save the day, but going to Oregon is not where I want to depend on that happening.
Dylan Raiola, Oregon vs. Nebraska
Raiola went 6 of 19 for only 43 yards with 2 interceptions against UCLA and was replaced by Brock Thomas. Thomas came in and threw for 156 yards and 1 touchdown. Dante Moore is out again, but Oregon has not committed to Raiola or Thomas as the starter. I am staying away until we know who actually has the job.
Running Backs
Starts
DeJuan Williams, Maryland vs. Rutgers
Williams has only 29 carries this season, but he has turned them into 242 yards and 3 touchdowns. That is 8.3 yards per carry. Rutgers is allowing 199.2 rushing yards per game, so I am willing to follow the production here.
Jaziun Patterson, Michigan State vs. Northwestern
Last time we talked about Patterson, I wanted to see the role before trusting him. I think we got our answer. Against Illinois, he had 17 carries for 93 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns while adding 3 catches for 26 yards and another touchdown. That is the type of workload I needed to see.
