If UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe (photo, thanks College Fantasy Football Insider) was a quarterback in most other conferences, he would be known as “Most Valuable Player” or “Player of the Year”.

Unfortunately, being a QB in Conference USA…even while throwing for nearly 6400 yards with a 58-16 TD/INT ratio in your first two seasons…Vittatoe sometimes gets overlooked in a conference infested with top-producing QBs.

However, the 2009 season just may see Vittatoe get the recognition…both regionally and nationally…that he deserves.  And, that recognition should begin before your 2009 fantasy draft. Read the rest of this entry →

While the SEC last year had all-college-world WR Percy Harvin, this year’s crop isn’t quite as excellent   Sure, we’ve all read the requisite 17,000 words on Julio Jones (and the slightly disturbing articles talking about the JPW-Jones connection; thank whatever deity you’d like that we don’t have to deal with that this year) but there’s more to the conference than just him.  Still, the one thing holding this conference back from having truly elite fantasy WRs is awkward allocation of talent; the best WRs have to deal with middling QBs (or, in a couple of cases, another high-quality WR sharing time).

Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss Rebels (courtesy of ISM.com)

1: Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss

Look, I really wanted to rank Julio Jones at 1… but I kept coming back to how the Rebels used McCluster last year.  The kid was the leading rusher(!) for the Rebels last year, and while Shay Hodge ended up with more receiving yards, at the end of the day McCluster is the leading rushing/receiving combo returning this year.  The odd thing is, he got more involved with the rushing game as the season wore on. Since he’s established as a double threat, the yardage benefit (likely 1,000-plus, and the only guy from the SEC who may get there) and the resultant TDs can only mean good things for McCluster owners. Read the rest of this entry →

They’re back!!!

Another year, another season for the Boise State Broncos to wreak havoc on the Western Athletic Conference, and the flawed BCS Bowl Syndicate.

As usual, the Broncos, under head coach Chris Petersen, have another deep and talented team, led by sophomore QB Kellen Moore (photo, thanks CFN Scout) and a balanced attack that will fill up your fantasy depth charts…and pound opponents of all shapes and sizes into the legendary blue turf of Bronco Stadium.

As Yogi Berra once said:  “It’s deja vu all over again“.

Yogi must have retired in Boise… Read the rest of this entry →

When it comes to RBs, the SEC has been a bit weird the last few years.  Most college teams fall into one of two RB camps: primary back or stable of equal backs, which is often code for “we have no talent in our backfield, so we’re trotting these three guys out here and just hoping one of them gets hot.”  (What little is left loosely translates as “we have no running game” or “Texas Tech.)  The SEC is a weird hybrid of these two camps; virtually all the teams in the SEC employ some kind of stable in the backfield save one or two, but those players are often talented enough to start elsewhere.  The net result is a deep overall RB corps that doesn’t always translate well to fantasy.  The talent is certainly there, but the opportunity may not be.

 1: Charles Scott, LSU

Charles Scott, LSU (pictured above, thanks to ISM.com)

It feels odd to rank any RB from LSU as the best overall in the conference since LSU has been one of the biggest proponents of the mass RB strategy – or at least it seems that way.  In reality, the last two years have been primary-back years, and Scott benefited last year to the tune of 1,174 yards and 18(!) TDs.  Sure, he had no involvement in the passing game, but who cares?  If the other guys in the backfield couldn’t take carrier from him and he’s outrushing the #2 LSU rusher to the tune of 3:1, I think he’ll be all right to take early.  Also nice: Scott not only had the most yards by far, he also had the most ypc (5.41) of anyone with more than 25 carries, and nearly of anyone with more than 15 carries (Trindon Holliday just beat him).  The TDs may not be there as much as they were last year, but he should be close.

 2: Michael Smith, Arkansas

Smith is the clear starter at Arkansas and racked up about 1,075 yards and 8 TDs (chipping in another 300 receiving yards and 2 TDs).  Unlike Scott, Smith has some competition from the locals, but the locals are also all unproven at Arkansas (and he lapped the competition and a half last year), so there’s no reason to think it’ll be any different this year for Smith.  Expect upwards of 1,300 multipurpose yards and in the neighborhood of 12 TDs.  One caveat, though; he’s not the beefiest guy, so he’s more likely to break down than the guys around him on this list.

Read the rest of this entry →

2008 overall record: 9-4

2008 conference record: 5-3, Atlantic Division co-champions

Returning starters Offense: 8, Defense: 5, Punter/Kicker: 0

Top returns: OG Rodney Hudson, C Ryan McMahon, QB Christian Ponder, DT Budd Thacker, LB Dekoda Watson, TB Jermaine Thomas, WR Bert Reed.

Key losses: DE Everette Brown, LB Derek Nicholson, RV Myron Rolle, CB Tony Carter, P/PK Graham Gano, WR Greg Carr, RB Antone Smith, WR Preston Parker

Fall Fantasy Question

Defensive Secondary. There’s going to be an infusion of freshmen this summer who could challenge for playing time. Greg Reid from Georgia is a big-time player. The staff is also expecting more from Terrance Parks, who was banged up this spring and didn’t get a chance to compete much at rover/safety. Either way, there is a complete lack of experience in this secondary which will look to Patrick Robinson for leadership.

Team Breakdown

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