We are in the midst of the second-heaviest bye week of the CFF season, with 11 teams off this weekend. Here is a list of players to consider putting in your lineups, or taking out of them, as we head into the long Columbus Day weekend.

Start 'Em

QB

  • CJ Carr, Notre Dame vs. Stanford

The main reason CJ Carr fell to the 12th+ round in most leagues this summer was because of his lack of rushing utility in 4-point passing-touchdown standard scoring formats. The bullish viewpoint, which I subscribed to, centered around Carr being able to rack up touchdowns against Notre Dame's Charmin-soft schedule, and the potential rushing upside he could offer in short-yardage situations with first-round RBs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price off to the NFL.

Both of those projections have come to fruition with Carr throwing at least three touchdown passes in four-of-five games, while cashing in a short-yardage TD in each of his last three contests. In Week 6 he gets to desecrate Stanford's incompetent defense that ranks 132nd in passing success rate, 126th in yards per dropback (7.7), while fielding the 115th overall SP+ defense. Notre Dame will score as much as they want, as the only thing stopping Carr from scoring 25+ points is their mere willingness to continue throttling the pitiful Cardinal secondary.

  • Noah Fifita, Arizona at West Virginia

WVU has been a fantasy dream on both sides of the ball, with their defense ranking 107th in defensive SP+ and allowing 20+ yards on 10% of the plays they defend. Fifita is completing 73% of his passes with a 52% passing success rate, and should have a big day against the Mountaineers.

  • Julian Sayin, Ohio State vs. Maryland

Having Jeremiah Smith as his personal passing muse has done wonders for Sayin's fantasy viability, scoring 25+ points in three-of-five games so far this season. Maryland has allowed 137 points over their last three games and HC Mike Locksley is on his way out the door. Sayin's floor is incredibly high this week, and three+ TD passes are a virtual lock.

RB

  • Jeffrey Overton Jr., Virginia Tech at Cal

The James Franklin turnaround at VT is fully underway, with their lone defeat being the result of a missed field goal with time expiring against Pittsburgh in a game where they had a 75% post-game win expectancy. The biggest issue with the Hokies has been a lack of big-play ability in their run game, ranking 116th in yards per successful rush (7.4) with just 1.7 yards before contact being generated by the offensive line (115th). As a result, Franklin gave Overton more opportunities, and he has run with the job, averaging 5.9 YPC to deposed starter Marcellous Hawkins' 4.1 YPC.

In fact, Overton is averaging twice as many yards after contact (4.5) as Hawkins (2.2), leaving little room for Hawkins to reclaim his lost starting job. VT has the pleasure of facing a Cal defense that ranks 126th in explosive play rate allowed and is giving up 187 rushing yards per game (121st). I expect Overton to have a big game and lay the path for a productive collegiate career.

  • Turbo Richard, Indiana at Nebraska

Turbo got dinged up in Indiana's Week 4 victory over Northwestern and was questionable to play last weekend. He indeed suited up and ripped off a ridiculous 204 yards on just 13 touches, so he's healthy and should receive in the 20+ touch range.

  • Journee Tonga, BYU vs. Iowa State

LJ Martin is now expected to miss a month with a lower leg injury, which means Tonga and his 8.3 yards per carry with 26% of carries gaining 10+ yards will be taking over the lead role in Provo.

  • Tylik Hill, Syracuse at Virginia

Hill has been phenomenal on a per play basis despite missing a game and a half with injury, recording a 57% success rate with 20% of his rushes accruing 10+ yards. UVA just gave up 281 yards to Florida State, so Hill will have plenty of opportunity to keep up his torrid pace of production.

WR

  • Javon Tracy, Minnesota at Purdue

It may seem counterintuitive to suggest starting a Minnesota wideout during the previously run-heavy PJ Fleck regime, but the Gophers have been positively dreadful running the ball, ranking 133rd in yards before contact and 129th in yards per carry. Conversely, the passing offense is cranking thanks to QB Drake Lindsey, completing 67% of their throws with 29% of targets being directed to wide-open receivers (19th).

Minnesota faces a Purdue defense that has been used for kindling, allowing 24% of completions to go for 20+ yards (134th) with 67% of completed passes gaining first-down yardage. Tracy has secured at least five passes in every game, with the lone exception of last week's upset victory over a suffocating Michigan secondary. I'm starting him with confidence in a tough week that features 11 P4 teams on Bye.

  • Omarion Miller, Arizona State vs. Hawaii

Miller rebounded from a 3.3-point showing against Kansas to grab five balls for 85 yards and a touchdown last week vs. Baylor. ASU will look to carve up Hawaii and its awful pass defense that allows 20% of completions to gain 20+ yards.

  • Griffin Wilde, Northwestern vs. Ball State

I fully realize that Northwestern just went full option offense last week versus Penn State, which caused Wilde to have his worst game of the season. I expect him to get back into double digits points-wise against Ball State that allows a 78.4% completion rate that ranks 135th nationally.

  • Jordan Faison, Notre Dame vs. Stanford

ND has been churning out productive drives all season, ranking seventh in FBS with a 56% passing success rate and sixth in yards per dropback (9.2). Faison should find the end zone against Stanford's pitiful secondary that sits at 132nd in passing success rate and allows 38 PPG.

TE

  • Jamari Johnson, Oregon vs. UCLA

Johnson took over the downfield seam route role from Jets first-round TE Kenyon Sadiq last year, and excelled as a field stretcher. Despite missing two games, he has been wildly productive in his two contests, scoring 13.7 points in Week 1 against Boise State and 15.4 last week against USC in his first game back, catching all seven of his targets for 119 yards.

Johnson is five-for-five catching passes 11+ yards downfield, generating 137 of his 176 receiving yards this season on downfield throws. UCLA has a lockdown run defense, but their secondary is vulnerable to big plays. The Bruins rank 97th in 20+ yard completions allowed (18%) and 133rd in yards per successful dropback (17.9), while ranking 108th nationally with 44% of passes they are defending traveling 11+ yards downfield. I expect Oregon to lean on Johnson, as he is their most dependable receiving threat and has the ability to exploit mismatches on deep throws.

  • Benjamin Brahmer, Penn State vs. USC

Brahmer has gotten 6+ passes thrown his way in three of the last four games, with the lone exception being a 55-13 rout of Buffalo in Week 3. USC just let Jamari Johnson rack up 110 yards on them, and PSU will be in a heavy-pass script most of the game.

  • Jeremiah Hasley, Duke at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech might have the worst passing defense in the Power Four, and are being gashed for big plays with 18.4% of passes they're facing being thrown 20+ yards. Halsey is the unquestioned top receiving option for the Blue Devils and should benefit from play action with RB Nate Sheppard gouging GT on the ground.

Sit 'Em

QB

  • John Mateer, Oklahoma vs. Texas

Oklahoma needs to take a hard look at its offense and OC Ben Arbuckle after it let fantasy QB1 Michael Hawkins escape to West Virginia in favor of the inept John Mateer. The numbers are grim, with OU going three-and-out 34% of the time (121st), a 39% success rate (116th) and 10 turnovers (131st). Mateer's 25.8% pressure-to-sack rate shows that Mateer is not a capable pocket operator and has a poor feel for his surroundings. He went viral for revealing that he didn't see WR Isaiah Sategna streaking wide open down the middle of the field until the crowd started screaming at him to throw it to Sategna.

His appeal at Wazzu centered around his ability to make plays outside of structure as opposed to distributing the ball to his playmakers in a calculated, methodical manner. Mateer has failed to score 20+ points yet this season, and faces off against a Texas defense that smothers passing attacks by allowing a 33% success rate through the air (18th). He is firmly on my drop list and is likely to remain on the waiver wire in perpetuity.

  • Amari Odom, Syracuse at Virginia

I've seen this happen a million times. Odom lit up G6 UConn for 335 yards and 41.2 points in his first start last week. However, now he plays an actual P4-caliber defense in UVA, which means a market correction is in order.

  • Demond Williams, Washington vs. Iowa

Williams has been very inconsistent so far, struggling against USC by scoring 14.5 points with a 58% completion rate. He has rushed for 33 or fewer yards in his last three games and faces an Iowa defense that is causing teams to go three-and-out 45% of the time. Sit Demond until next week, when Washington plays at Purdue.

RB

  • Rueben Owens II, Texas A&M

Texas A&M's offense has had major issues generating big plays, ranking 136th in 20+ yard gains and 134th in marginal explosiveness. While QB Marcel Reed is struggling to operate out of the pocket, the team's rushers are averaging a paltry 1.8 yards after contact (116th) with only 23% of Owens' rushes resulting in first downs.

Freshman rocket ship KJ Edwards breathed new life into the offense against Arkansas with 66 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, which should justify an increased role as Edwards gets acclimated to the collegiate game. Owens is destined for a time share, and might be on the short side of it, which means he cannot be started against a stout Missouri defense that just held Jadan Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries.

  • CJ Baxter, Kentucky vs. LSU

Baxter has been feasting on lower-level opposition this year, with the exception of his 5.4-point showing against Alabama in Week 2. I'm exercising caution this week and sitting Baxter against LSU's third-ranked SP+ defense that is allowing a dirt-low 29% success rate (2nd).

  • Mekhi Nelson, Nebraska vs. Indiana

Nelson had fun against Maryland's pathetic defense without RB Jamal Rule last week, rolling up 20.3 points. With Rule back, I expect Nelson to go back to a secondary role and, ostensibly, your bench.

WR

  • Nyck Harbor, South Carolina at Florida

The freakish former track star Harbor is a classic boom/bust profile who relies on deep shots to stack up points. Last season, he received more than five targets just three times in 11 games, which means his production is extremely reliant on touchdowns. His targets have ticked up this season at 6.3 targets per game, but he's catching just 40% of those looks with his ADOT plummeting to just 6.0 yards.

Harbor's best fantasy game this year is a middling 11.7 points, and he has scored 18+ points just one time over the last two seasons. Throw in a dreadful 31% success rate with a season high of 41 receiving yards, and I simply cannot put Harbor in any of my starting lineups until he shows that he's able to hit 15+ points in back-to-back weeks.

  • Isaiah Horton, Texas A&M at Missouri

Horton started out hot with two straight games of 15+ points, but much like the rest of A&M's beleaguered offense, he has been on hiatus since then. I have little faith that A&M can hang with Mizzou, and even less faith that QB Marcel Reed can operate within structure.

  • Ian Strong, Cal vs. Virginia Tech

I am profoundly disappointed in the Cal passing offense operated by one of the most incapable OC's in P4 football, Jordan Sommerville. With JKS questionable to play, i'm swiftly benching Strong.

TE

  • Mason Mini, Cal vs. Virginia Tech

Mini started strong with a 13.8-point showing in Week 1 against UCLA, but since then he has been certifiably forgettable with a high score of 5.7 half-PPR points in his other four appearances. His lack of relevance has a lot to do with the new coaching staff and OC Jordan Sommerville not scheming up effective plays, as is evidenced by a 38% passing success rate (108th)while averaging a punchless 3.0 air yards per completion (133rd).

Further complicating matters is freshman TE Taimane Purcell, who just exploded for 3 receptions, 102 yards and a touchdown for 17.7 fantasy points against UNLV last week. Throw in backup QB Jackson Brousseau trending towards starting against Virginia Tech, and Mini needs to be left on your bench.

  • Jayden Savoury, Michigan State vs. Illinois

Savoury is on the periphery of being startable, as he's averaging five targets per game for the Spartans. However, MSU ranks dead last in yards per successful dropback (12.2) and 129th in completions of 20+ yards. Look elsewhere for your bye week tight end replacement.

Source: Yahoo Sports