College Football Week 11 Musings; Freshman Poised to Excel in 2024

What did we learn this week in college football?

What did we learn this week in college football?

College Football Week 11 Musings; Freshman Poised to Excel in 2024

College Football Week 11 Musings; Freshman Poised to Excel in 2024
_Episode 50 of the Fantasy Sports Collective Podcast covers week eleven of college football season, and which unbeaten…_share.transistor.fm

What did we learn this week in college football?

Alabama (#7) is back in the mix. They’ve looked so strong the past few games, culminating in a blowout road win versus a good Kentucky squad.

Who Else?

  • Georgia (#2) rolled a good top 10 opponent in Ole Miss, winning soundly 52–17. They look ready for the SEC title game vs. Alabama in a few weeks.
  • Michigan (#3) won a grinder on the road vs. top 10 Penn State. The haters will say Michigan didn’t throw and they can’t beat an SEC school. That maybe true but they soundly beat up Penn State controlling the 2nd half, winning 24–15.
  • Washington (#5) beat an underrated #18 team in Utah. They didn’t prove anything though they have 2 tough games left — at Oregon State this week and the apple cup the last week against Washington State.

We’ll know the BCS slate in 3+ weeks, so not much more needed in terms of speculation. For this week alone though we won’t see many truly compelling matchups.

Oregon State (#10) vs. Washington (#5) is the only top 10 matchup. The only other interesting matchup is Georgia (#2) vs. Tenn (#19). However the following weekend has some huge games — starting with Ohio State (#1) vs. Michigan (#3) in what maybe for a spot in the playoff.

Lastly I want to call out the hypocrisy or at least east coast bias in ESPN’s college gameday choice this week. Far and away the most compelling game is UW vs. Oregon State, it has national title stakes, it’s the last regional matchup for the foreseeable future due to the Pac 12’s collapse, and it’s 2 great football teams. Instead ESPN Gameday will be at the Applacian State vs. James Madison contest. Why? Likely because ESPN doesnt’ want to confront the obvious “they killed the conference” vitriol.

Many of you are in the final week of your fantasy football league playoffs. So I’m going to do something different which is call out the underclassmen who could emerge as stars next year.

Top College Freshman (true & redshift) Who Are Poised for Big Fantasy Production in 2024.

  • QB Donta Moore (UCLA) — The #2 overall recruit (ESPN), he started a few games earlier as a true freshman and showed a cannon for an arm and talent to be dominant. Expect him to be a top producer as soon as next year.
  • QB Malachi Nelson (USC) — The #1 overall recruit (ESPN) in last year’s class, he walks into a dominant offensive system and talent. Assuming Caleb Williams moves on to the NFL, this is a no brainer.
  • QB Arch Manning (Texas) — Assuming Quinn Ewers moves on to the NFL, Manning should be the undisputed starter with good offensive talent.
  • RB Cedric Baxter (Texas) — Baxter has played a lot already, so this projection isn’t a big leap of faith but he deserves a spot on this list as a likely top performer in 2024.
  • RB Justice Haynes (Alabama) — Haynes is the #3 guy with the Tide, and similar to others on this list, he was a top recruit and is in line behind 2 seniors. Haynes has looked good in limited touches as well.
  • RB Roderick Robinson (Georgia) — Robinson was a 4 star who has outperformed some 5 star guys around him. Factor in that both backs ahead of him are seniors, he could be a fantasy star next year, in the same vain as Haynes at Alabama.
  • RB Rueben Owens (TA&M) — Owens was a top 30 overall recruit on all the lists, he’s played enough that his underwhelming performance is a yellow flag. However the A&M offense has been a mess. I still hold out hope that Owens is a star next year.
  • WR Zachariah Branch (USC) — Branch was the #1 WR recruit in last year’s class and he’s lived up to the billing. He will be a dominant, big play threat next year — he’s already been dynamic as a true freshman.
  • WR Carnell Tate (OSU) — There is a trend on this list of top freshman playing behind NFL bound teammates in consistently dominant offenses. Tate falls into that group behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. Tate has already outplayed Egbuka in limited time.
  • WR Jurrion Dickey (Oregon) — Following on the footsteps of his former high school teammate Troy Franklin, Dickey will ascend to be the featured receiver in the Ducks high flying, high scoring offense in 2024. This is as much of a projection because he hasn’t played a ton.
  • WR/TE Nyckoles Harbor (SouthCarolina) — Harbor is a freak athletically and has been utilized in small dozes as a true freshman. If he can tame some of his rawness and mature, he will be a top 15 NFL pick in 2 years.
  • TE Holden Staes (Notre Dame) — Staes is the heir apparent to the next potential great Notre Dame tight end. He was a good not spectacular tight end recruit but he’s shown explosiveness as a redshirt freshman this year with 100 yard game early in the season and solid monster around the end zone.
  • TE Oscar Delp (Georgia) — A 4 star ’22 recruit, Delp looks like a larger, slightly less explosive Brock Bowers but he’s on this list b/c he plays in an offense that features a TE and has been good subbing for an injured Bowers.

Recruiting Ranking Sources: