Yahoo Sports College Football analysts Eric Froton and Nick Bromberg reveal their boldest predictions for Week 8 of the CFF season.
TCU QB Jaden Craig carves up West Virginia like a pumpkin
Craig has thrown for at least 294 yards in four of his last five contests and operates a TCU passing offense that ranks 19th nationally, averaging 16.8 yards per successful dropback. TCU has had trouble scoring against the solid BYU and Baylor defenses, and is barely able to run the ball, ranking 137th in yards per successful rush (6.5) and 128th in yards before contact.
Fortunately, TCU faces a West Virginia that is primed for a shootout, ranking 126th in SP+ defense and 136th in yards per dropback (9.1). I expect Craig to have his best game as a Horned Frog and approach the 30-point mark against the Mountaineers. — Eric Froton
NC State WR Keenan Jackson erupts for 100+ yards and a touchdown
NC State has struggled to run the ball with any consistency, ranking 111th in yards per successful rush. The Wolfpack have leaned on a sturdy pass game that ranks 38th in passing success rate (47%) with a 68% completion rate and 31% of passes being schemed wide open (15th in FBS). Jackson is the clear WR1 with a team-leading 37 targets, 396 yards and 5 TDs in the last five games. He’s averaging 16.4 PPG over that span with 71% of receptions resulting in first downs.
Stanford is currently the 111th-rated overall defense and is allowing 3.0 points per drive, which ranks 134th nationally. Stanford’s porous defense is exactly what NC State needed as they attempt to bounce back from a resounding 38-14 loss to Wake Forest. I expect Jackson to have 100 yards and a touchdown en route to a 20+ point fantasy performance as the Wolfpack score 35+ points on the hapless Cardinal defense. — Froton
This is the week you drop Arch Manning — or bench him for the foreseeable future
Manning is still rostered in 98% of leagues. Only Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss and Utah’s Devon Dampier are on more teams. If you’re one of the teams in those 98% of leagues that has Manning on your roster, it’s ok to drop him. Or at least take him out of the starting lineup.
The Texas offense hasn’t been able to get its act consistently together this season and I’m not convinced things will suddenly snap into place in Week 8 against Ole Miss.
There are 43 quarterbacks who have scored more points than Manning this season, and there are 20 that have scored 50% more points than the Texas QB. There are plenty of options available who are better bets both now and going forward, like Arizona’s Noah Fifita (20% of leagues), BYU’s Bear Bachmeier (30%) and even Northwestern’s Aiden Chiles (7%). — Nick Bromberg
Virginia Tech’s Jeffrey Overton Jr. will find the end zone
Overton hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown in any of Virginia Tech’s last three games, but that isn’t because of a lack of volume. Overton has received 12 or more carries in each of the last three weeks and added a receiving touchdown in the Hokies’ 34-24 win over Georgia Tech in Week 7. Clemson is allowing over 140 rushing yards a game this season and Overton has 613 yards on just 103 carries. — Bromberg