Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win
- Sun Tzu, Art of War
Because this article is late, of low quality due to sleep deprivation, and only covering RBs, I’ve made this one free this week. This isn’t an exact ordering, but rather a loose list of plays I like. If something doesn’t make sense, it’s probably because I fell asleep midway through writing it… Good luck to all this weekend.
Tahj Brooks vs. Baylor — There are few guarantees in this life: death, taxes, and Tahj Brooks getting his carries. I don’t even really care who the opponent is, he’s always a play. Of course, it helps that Baylor is also bottom third in the FBS in rushing yards against, and currently 13th in the Big12.
Kaleb Johnson vs. MSU — Speaking of guaranteed volume, Kaleb Johnson is right there with Brooks averaging just a hair under 20 carries per contest. MSU’s defence is not half bad, but I honestly don’t give a rat’s ass; KJ finna get his regardless. LOCK him in.
Jordan James vs. Purdue — This is a no brainer as James has been killing it all season long…. There’s not much else to say.
Mario Anderson vs. UNT — Anderson has stripped into the Blake Watson role that we’d all hoped for and this week’s opponent is giving up 33 PPG, which is 11th in the FBS.
Ja’Quinden Jackson vs. LSU — One of the most unexpected—but pleasant—surprises of the 2024 CFF campaign has been Bobby Petrino’s usage of JJ, previously a journeyman who failed to live up to expectations in his previous stops. Jackson faces LSU this week, who are improved on defence from a year ago, but that isn’t saying much. They’re giving up the 52nd most rush yards against, and are 101st in passing yards against.
Cameron Skattebo vs. CINC — Skattebo does it all for his program and is actually leading the FBS in missed tackles (yes, ahead of Ashton Jeanty). What more is there to say? You think the Bearcats are going to be the ones to stop the Skatt train? I very much doubt it.
Rasul Faison vs. NM — Basically, see explanation for Tahj Brooks.
Dylan Sampson vs. Bama — Sampson just continues to find the end zone week after week. I know that traditionally we want to avoid Alabama, but this isn’t really the same level of run defence as those old Nick Saban teams. You can take the man out of the PAC12 but not the PAC12 out of the man, as they say; this is a Kalen Deboer Alabama team and I am not afraid.
Kyle Monangai vs. UCLA — Despite a few down performances the last two weeks I am incredibly high on Monangai to have a special outing this weekend. UCLA are powder puff girl soft on defence, and Monangai is the undisputed bellcow now that Samuel Brown is out for the season.
Phil Mafah vs. UVA — Mafah is starting to hit his stride as Klubnik’s monoploy on TDs is loosening. UVA just let Isaac Brown run all over them last weekend, and I’d expect they’ll see a heavy dosage of Mafah this week.
Anthony Hankerson vs. UNLV — UNLV’s pass defence is what everyone focuses on, but the two times they played a P4 roster, the RB1s scored 45 points (Allen, Syracuse) and 16.3 (Neal, Kansas). Jam Griffen being out cements Hankerson’s place on this list.
DJ Giddens vs. WVU — Giddens is a workhorse in that KSU offence and WVU’s defence doesn’t stand out in anyway in terms of avoiding this matchup. ISU’s RB1 last weekend went ballistic with three scores, and Giddens could easily to do something similar as this game has the makings of a competitive back and forth match for 60 minutes.
Avery Morrow vs. AF — Morrow got nicked up last weekend but returned and finished the day strong. Of course, the health concern is still something that looms, but I’m assuming he’s full go this weekend given that he finished the day last weekend vs. SJSU. Air Force is a potentially good matchup for RBs because they give up a lot of run yards per game, but are very stingy vs. the pass.
Sedrick Alexander vs. Ball St. — I’m willing to give this one another shot after two failed attempted vs. Georgia State and Alcorn State earlier this season. Alexander is the RB1 for this team and arguably the best skill player on the roster, and they are playing against an overmatched opponent in Ball State.
Elijah Gilliam vs. Nevada — The word is Sherrod will be missing extended time with an ankle injury, and Gilliam is clearly the favoured next man up for the Fresno State Bulldogs. Fresno’s offensive line is a bit suspect this year, but Gilliam has proved effective in his limited role so far. He saw 20 carries last week and could easily duplicate that vs. Nevada on Friday night.
Demond Claiborne vs. UConn — The fear here is an unusual one this late in the season, it’s more of an early September thing: Claiborne could get pulled early if the Deacons get up big. UConn is not half bad though under Mora so hopefully things stay close.
Delbert Mimms vs. CMU — To my surprise, Mimms is becoming a consistent pig for the EMU Eagles now coming off back to back outings of over 20 carries in the last two weeks. The next leading rusher (and the only player to carry the ball more than once) last week was actually the QB. CMU is currently giving up the 103rd most running yards against.
Micah Bernard vs. TCU — Really like what I’ve been seeing in terms of usage for Bernard lately and a TCU team who plays fast on offence and isn't great on defence feels like a yummy recipe for Bernard this week.
Dean Connors vs. Tulane — Connors reminds me of an old Mike Leach RB Max Borghi for WSU a few years ago. He doesn’t see 20 totes per game, but his passing volume combined with carries makes him a #VolumePig. Tulane’s defence is solid vs. the run and pretty strong (based on numbers so far) vs. the pass, which gives me some pause on Connors.
Eli Heidenreich vs. UNCC — To my surprise, Heidenreich continues to get it done on low touch volume. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
A few interesting ideas:
LJ Martin vs. OKST
Star Thomas vs. FSU
Tre Wisner vs. UGA (this isn’t the same level of UGA defence)
CJ Campbell vs. UTSA
Javion Thomas vs. NCSt
Ismael Mahdi vs. ODU