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Brian Dunleavy's top 10 NCAA college football (CFB) rankings, from a fantasy football perspective, as of 9/17/18. His fantasy CFB rankings are updated weekly.
A poor turn of phrase--and a racist comment--on "Monday Night Football" cost legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell his career in the 1980s.
And rightly so.
He claimed later that he had been caught up in the emotion of a big play. And while we can't excuse the phrase he used--or accept his excuse--we can relate to the feeling. Of being caught up in the moment of a big play, that is. We found ourselves experiencing that level of excitement--without making any racist comments--this past weekend, when a number of college football's big teams were fueled by big plays, and big players putting up big numbers.
To see how that impacted our rankings, here are our top teams after Week Two of the season (with won-loss records in parentheses), as of September 17, 2018:
NCAA College Football (CFB) Rankings
1. Alabama, (3-0)
The Tide hardly missed a beat against Ole Miss--hanging 49 on the Rebels in the first half. The only negative for fantasy players? QB Tua Tagovailoa looks great (11/15, 191 yards, 2 TDs) but he gets limited snaps because, well, Coach Nick Saban could put himself under center in the second half of most games and still come out on top.
2. Georgia, (3-0)
The Bulldogs took a bit of breather this week, scheduling MTSU at home. Elijah Holyfield had another big day, with 100 yards on just 8 carries. If he continues to carry the mail for UGA, he'll be worth a look from a fantasy perspective.
3. Clemson, (3-0)
This time around, Trevor Lawrence did more of the heavy lifting at QB for the Tigers, leading them to a win over overmatched Georgia Southern. But fantasy players would do well to steer clear of Clemson signal callers until one of them emerges as the clear-cut starter. Instead, look elsewhere in the backfield, like at RB Travis Etienne (16 carries, 162 yards, 2 TDs; above).
4. Oklahoma, (3-0)
A win in Ames, Iowas isn't a gimme anymore, but Sooners QB Kyler Murray proved too hard to handle this week for the host Iowa State Cyclones. Murray threw for 348 yards (and 3 TDs) and rushed for 77 more. That's what we call production, and we think you can expect numbers like that week in, and week out in the defense-last Big 12.
5. Ohio State, (3-0)
We never questioned the Buckeyes' talent, just the ability of the players to tune out the "distractions" surrounding the program. They withstood a challenge against TCU this week, and proved they belong at the top of the polls, regardless of who's wearing the headset on the sidelines. Dwayne Haskins tossed dime after dime against a tough Horned Frogs D, throwing for 344 yards. Expect he and his teammates to be firing on all cylinders now that Urban Meyer is back.
6. Penn State, (3-0)
Do we really think the Nittany Lions' are the sixth-best team in the country? No. In fact, we expect Ohio State to put them back in their place on Sept. 29. Until then, though, QB Trace McSorley (226 yards, 2 TDs vs. Kent State this week) is always a worth a fantasy look.
7. Washington, (2-1)
Full disclosure: We had the Utes on Saturday night. But RB Myles Gaskin (20 carries, 143 yards, 1 TD) and the Huskies showed why they were in most people's top 10 to start the campaign. Gaskin has been a producer for his entire college career, and with Arizona State, BYU and UCLA coming up, he should build up some solid numbers over the next few weeks.
8. LSU, (3-0)
We admit: There's a part of us that simply wants to see Coach Ed Orgeron succeed in his beloved Baton Rouge. And so far this season, he has--in a very LSU-like way. In Saturday's upset win at Auburn, QB Joe Burrow (15/34, 249 yards, 1 TD) continued to lead a pass-oriented offense. His completion numbers aren't great, but he has been putting up yards and TDs.
9. Wisconsin, (2-1)
Frankly, we thought about dropping the Badgers out of the rankings altogether, after they lost at home to a BYU team that played Wisconsin-style football. RB Jonathan Taylor (26 carries, 117 yards against the Cougars) had a very ordinary day--by his standards. Which means he is still a solid fantasy play, even when he's having an off week.
10. Notre Dame, (3-0)
Wait... we're dropping the Irish a spot after a win over an SEC team? Yep. ND simply failed to impress against Vandy, and they were lucky to escape with a home victory. RB Tony Jones, Jr. (17 carries, 118 yards) is worth keeping an eye on, although if the team continues to trend downward his numbers may as well.
More NCAA Football Analysis
