Although there are only 3 Division I-FBS Independents left, there will be plenty of fantasy talent available at those schools.

The Independent school that has piqued the most interest is Notre Dame, as they bring in new head coach Brian Kelly (photo, thanks, Scout.com).  Kelly has produced potent offenses, and winning teams, while at Central Michigan and (most recently) Cincinnati….and could put some spark into a Fighting Irish offense that could use a little more consistency.

Meanwhile, Navy and Army will continue to run their option offenses, giving fantasy players some running, fantasy-worthy QBs Read the rest of this entry →

As we head into the Spring Practice season for Division I-FBS schools, this is a good time to check out all the coaching changes that happened in the off-season….and the impact they will have on fantasy football this upcoming fall.

Almost 20% of Division I-FCS schools changed coaches in the off-season, with the biggest moves taking place at Notre Dame (Brian Kelly…from Cincinnati...photo, thanks SI.com), USC (Lane Kiffin…from Tennessee), and Florida State (Jimbo Fisher….already named head coach before Bobby Bowden retired).

Although there were a large number of coaching moves in the off-season, this does not mean there will be a large impact on fantasy football for the 2010 season.  In fact, a number of the moves brought in similar-type coaches and similar-type offenses to coaching-change schools….and….a number of the schools brought in conservative coaches to replace more up-tempo coaches.  Check out our list of the top Coaching Changes in 2010….and their fantasy impact…

Read the rest of this entry →

If the option offense was a naval fleet, then Navy QB Ricky Dobbs is it Admiral.

The Midshipmen QB is our Fantasy College Blitz 2009 Independent Fantasy Player of the Year, and highlights the FCB 2009 Independent All-Fantasy Team.

Dobbs (photo, thanks Scout.com), a junior from Douglasville, GA (Douglas County HS), led the Middies with 786 yards rushing and 22 rushing TDs, while throwing for 752 yards and another 4 TDs (stats through November 21st games).

With his 22 rushing TDs, and, with three games left to go in the 2009 season (including a bowl game for bowl-eligible Navy), Dobbs is on track to break…possibly shatter…the NCAA FBS record for rushing TDs in a single-season by a QB (tied with current Florida QB Tim Tebow, who rushed for 22 TDs in 2007).

Dobbs, however, is more than just stats.  He led the Middies to an upset of Notre Dame in South Bend a few weeks ago.  Also, in the season opener, Dobbs and Navy nearly pulled one of the biggest upsets of the decade, losing 30-26 to Ohio State in Columbus.

Joining Dobbs on the Independent All-Fantasy Team are… Read the rest of this entry →

In one of the worst kept secrets of the Coaching Hot Seat Season (coincides with baseball’s Hot Stove), my forensic analysis of media reports and my intuition to tie it all together comes to only one conclusion:

"Charlie, if Notre Dame got the wrong guy to go 6-5, do you call yourself an improvement at 6-6?" YYYYEEEEAAAHHHH!

Charlie Weis is out as the head coach of Notre Dame by the end of November. A regular Lt Horatio Crane I am…

I know I am not breaking any new ground here – but let’s lay out the facts before dropping names of his successor:

• Charlie Weis record is very similar to the records of predecessors who were shown the door. Weis is 35-26. Tyrone Willingham 21-15. Bob Davie 35-25. That would be acceptable at UTEP or Baylor, not Notre Dame. And also recall, George O’Leary was 0-0.
• After the Pitt game, Coach cancelled the usual Sunday press conference due to “late travel arrival” According to local beat writer Scott Novak, Sunday pressers get postponed, but never cancelled.
• His conference Monday sound like a man resigned to his forced resignation.
• Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick lets Weis know that he should return home after the Stanford matchup, rather than his usually scheduled recruiting trip through the West. You know, just to talk about the season, and the future direction of the program. The $4-to-$18 million buyout.

So who is next to lead the Fighting Irish? BoDog put odds on that, so let’s see what the wisdom of crowds says: Read the rest of this entry →

With most fantasy leagues well into their playoffs, we will go in a slightly different direction with our From The Shotgun article this week.

By now, you have a pretty good idea whether your fantasy QBs are productive, or, are not (the latter is especially for those done with 2009 and already planning for 2010).

However, some of your top fantasy QBs may be walking into one of those late-season land-mine games….maybe not so  much as a loss for their real teams, but, one of those games where the score is closer than expected….and the stats page does not look so pretty.

Even Florida QB Tim Tebow (photo, thanks IconSMI) is not a safe lock to play this week, as his Gators travel to South Carolina… Read the rest of this entry →