VP & Purple Reign's CFF Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em – Week 4

(Sonny) Knowing the answers doesn't make it any easier, does it?

In this job, you're lucky if it doesn't make it any harder.

- Det. Ricardo Tubbs (Miami Vice)

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CFF Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em – Week 4

Once again, in a College Fantasy Football move that will go down in history as nothing short of monumental, Purple Reign and I are combining our CFF powers to answer your start/sit questions, as well as highlight some players we like headed into next weekend.

You can access the full article by being a paid subscriber to either VP, or Purple Reign (or both!).

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QUARTERBACKS: Start ‘Em

Purple Reign

• Maalik Murphy (Duke) at Middle Tennessee

  I love the volume I’ve seen out of Murphy this year as he is averaging 40.7 pass attempts/game. In the last two weeks he has thrown for 3 TDs in each game. Middle Tennessee’s defense is poor against the run and the pass, but Duke is awful rushing with a #127 rank for fantasy points scored which means this offense will keep leaning on Murphy’s arm. Middle Tennessee’s pass defense is #133 for fantasy points allowed, providing a juicy match-up for Murphy to possibly hit 4 passing TDs this week.

• Blake Shapen (MissSt) vs Florida

  After a red-hot start of the season Shapen has taken a step back the last two weeks. Against Arizona State and Toledo he has been held to 2 passing TDs in each those games. His fantasy numbers haven’t been high in those games so why call out to start Shapen? He gets a Florida team that is falling apart at the seams. Just like I mentioned with Maalik Murphy above, Mississippi State does not have a strong running game and the coaches lean heavily into the passing game for production. Shapen will match-up with a Florida pass defense that is ranked #101 for fantasy points scored and despite the last two lackluster performances by Shapen, the Bulldogs’ passing offense is #29 for fantasy points scored.

Volume Pigs

• Brenden Lewis (Nevada) vs. EWU
  This feels like the type of game that Lewis can thrive in. Just forget about what we saw last week vs. Minnesota, that game isn’t relevant. The rush usage remains strong, and against an FCS opponent I think Lewis will be able to pass the ball effectively this week. We saw what he could do vs. GaSo a few weeks ago, and it would not surprise me to see a similar output vs. EWU.

• Skyler Locklear (UTEP) vs. CSU
  I’m shooting from deep yet again. Look, you probably don’t need me to tell you to start Cam Ward vs. USF, or Jaxson Dart vs. GaSo (who’s seeing his old coach this week btw). So here we are with UTEP’s Locklear. The case for Lock is simple: just look at the usage. I know the efficiency end of the equation hasn’t been there two out of three times now, but the matchups have been tough. CSU’s defence is more forgiving, and the head coach seems to be all in on Locklear. Which I take as a good sign.