Our weekly digest of everything fantasy college football. Facts don't lie and The Drill is full of 'em. Projections for the weekend of Oct. 18-Oct. 22. Stats through Oct. 17:


Northwestern, QB
Comment: The Wildcats suddenly are throwing the ball like Hawaii. Bacher's piled up 990 yards and nine touchdowns the past two weeks. There's no reason to expect that will stop at Eastern Michigan on Friday night.

East Carolina, RB
Comment: After a slow start against some tough defenses, Johnson's erupted against the light schedule, rushing for 362 yards and four scores the last three weeks. NC State is giving up an average of 226 yards on the ground, so expect more of the same from Johnson.

Indiana, WR
Comment: A score last week extended his touchdown streak to eight games, dating back to last year's finale. The 6-7 standout is a big reason Hoosier fans are talking about playing in a noteworthy bowl this winter.

Tennessee, TE
Comment: The Vols senior has seized the team lead in touchdown receptions, hauling in three scoring passes in the last four weeks. Look out, Alabama.

New Mexico, K
Comment: He missed on two of his first three field goal attempts this season, but he hasn't since, hitting 12 straight — including a 44-yarder late that helped the Lobos beat Arizona.

Defense
Comment: Following the Ducks' loss to Cal two weeks ago, their D really revved it up against Washington State, recording six sacks in a 53-7 win.
Nebraska, QB
Comment: While Rudy Carpenter carried Arizona State to 12th in the nation, Keller was brutal in consecutive blowout losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State. You may have been up after his back-to-back gems against USC and Ball State, but he's underwhelmed since.

Clemson, RB
Comment: A 1,187-yard, 17-touchdown sophomore season made Davis a great option in this year's draft, but he's been under 70 yards in four of six games and has just four scores.

Central Michigan, WR
Comment: Brown is the Chippewas' main threat, but he's found the end zone just once in the last three games. You can bet that Clemson — the nation's stingiest defense against the pass (135.2 yards per game) — will force other players to beat them.

California, TE
Comment: In an offense that moves the ball as well as Cal does, it's a wonder that Stevens, a highly touted recruit out of high school, isn't more involved. This year, the senior has just seven catches in five games.

LSU, K
Comment: The junior connected on his first six attempts, but he's missed five of his last 10 attempts since — all in reasonably close games by LSU standards. If the SEC or national title's on the line, there are better bets than David.

Defense
Comment: Orange opponents have averaged 255 yards rushing the last three weeks, led by a ghastly 286 yards put up by Miami (Ohio) the week after the Cuse toppled Louisville.


Southern Miss, QB
Comment: Reaves' emergence has given new life to the Golden Eagle attack. At Marshall this week, Southern Miss should be able to mix the run with the pass well, allowing Reaves to move the ball around.

Florida, QB
Comment: Tebow's coming off two subpar performances in two Gator losses. With two weeks to prepare, he's apt to really assert himself against a team that has won some big games but given up big points and yards in doing so.

Troy, RB
Comment: Giving up an ugly six yards per carry, the Mean Green of North Texas ain't mean at all. Count on the Trojans to ride their horse what's likely a rout. Omar Haugabook isn't a bad start either.

UCF, RB
Comment: Don’t be scared off by last week's dud against South Florida. Before that, Smith had racked up six monster games, and he's due to resume that against a porous Tulsa D.

Houston, WR
Comment: His 13-catch, 346-yard day against Rice might have made you think David Klingler was back. But while you can't expect that he'll duplicate that effort at UAB this week, a fourth straight 100-yard game is a given.

New Mexico State, WR
Comment: When determining whether to start receivers against usually awful Idaho, the closeness of the game always makes it a difficult call. But the Aztecs defense is just bad enough where Idaho should be able to move the ball, making Williams, a real burner, the main beneficiary of NMSU's continued passing.

Fresno State, TE
Comment: Pascoe's hot off a six-catch, 69-yard performance at Idaho last week. He hasn't caught a touchdown pass since early September, but we anticipate one versus San Jose State, which he burned for seven catches and 87 yards in last year's finale.

Virginia, TE
Comment: Maryland's D has been surrendering points by the bushel the last month. Expect the Cavs to feed Santi much like Wake Forest did its tight end, John Tereshinski, against the Terps.

Ohio, K
Comment: Despite the Bobcats' struggles, Braunstein has connected on 19 consecutive field goal tries dating back to last season, including 11-for-11 this year. Toledo hasn't given up fewer than 34 points this season, so Braunstein's in for a workout.

Kansas State, K
Comment: The Wildcats' meeting with Oklahoma State ought to have their offenses on the march at all times. That means plenty of scoring opportunities for one of the country's best kickers.

Defense
Comment: With Blake Szymanski likely out, either Tyler Beatty or Ryan Roberts will trot out there to face a hungry Texas D. And whoever it is, the Longhorns will eat him up.

Defense
Comment: Notre Dame ought to take a big step backward this week. While the USC offense is banged up, its defense is still flying around, and it should rattle first-time starter Evan Sharpley.


Connecticut, QB
Comment: What? Against Louisville? Lorenzen just isn't ready for primetime just yet. There are worse options this week, but expectations for Lorenzen should be tempered.

Kansas, QB
Comment: We like Colorado in this spot. An experienced secondary has made the Buffs tough on the pass, and Reesing's numbers are bloated thanks to the Jayhawks' cupcake schedule.

LSU, RB
Comment: Hester's the big name in the Bayou, but he just isn't a great fantasy back. He's posted only one 100-yard game, and as last week's game saw just 10 points scored, don't bank on an explosion from Hester anytime soon.

Iowa State, RB
Comment: Scales has strung together three decent outings, but he can't be in your lineup this week at Oklahoma. Not only are the Sooners impossible to run against (1.9 ypc), but they ought to get out of the gates early, forcing the Cyclones to chuck the ball all afternoon.

Purdue, WR
Comment: All any fantasy manager asks for is consistency. Bryant's been anything but that. Iowa's allowed just five passing touchdowns all season in seven games, so we won't be looking for one of his 12-catch efforts this week.

Army, WR
Comment: Trimble's been a nice story the past two weeks, catching three touchdown passes. But Georgia Tech is not Central Michigan or Tulane. A strong pass D should lead to a significant dropoff for Trimble this week.

USC, TE
Comment: If you have another option, go with it. The Trojans should be able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball at will against the Irish D. That makes Davis a blocker, which matters on the field, but not in the boxscore.

Penn State, TE
Comment: Indiana leads the country in sacks, so Quarless is likely to be kept back to protect Anthony Morelli rather than serve as one of his targets.

Florida State, K
Comment: There just isn't enough offense in this game. Each defense has proven to be stout, and let's face it — Seminole kickers don't have a great track record in this series anyway.

Michigan State, K
Comment: Swenson's racked up the points thanks to a potent Spartan attack, but he's still just 7-for-12 on field goal attempts, and the Ohio State D and 100,000-plus rabid fans at The Horseshoe shouldn't be too welcoming.

Defense
Comment: The Commodores haven't proven themselves away from Nashville. Their only road game was a 35-7 disaster at Auburn, so our advice is to sit them this week at South Carolina.

Defense
Comment: The Middies are averaging 345 rushing yards and 35 points; the former's typical, but the latter's extraordinary. Wake has stood up to the run to this point, but in Annapolis, it's best to search for a better option.


Muaser is UPDATE! College Football Editor.

795.6 Combined per-game passing yard averages for Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Missouri's Chase Daniel. The two square off this weekend in Columbia.

6.5 Ole Miss had the 108th-ranked overall defense last week when they shut out Louisiana Tech, the first shutout of three-year coach Ed Orgeron's career.

1 Rushing touchdowns allowed by the Wyoming defense this season, a total only top-ranked Ohio State can match. What's more impressive, the Cowboys' 3-4 defense features a trio of sophomores up front.

1.0 Yards per carry for the Notre Dame offense. The Irish are a full yard behind every team in the country but Syracuse. The reason? An abominable 34 sacks given up.


Texas Tech, WR
Comment: If you were lucky enough to grab Crabtree after his three-touchdown effort against SMU in his debut, you've reaped the benefits since; 17 touchdowns in the first six weeks of a career is sick. But what's with a zero touchdown effort against Texas A&M last Saturday? This is a big weekend for Tech. Mike Leach's cute pass-happy offense has a way of coming up small on the big stage. Let's see what Crabtree and Co. can do at No. 15 Missouri this week.



vs. Illinois Linebackers
Comment: The Fighting Illini held Penn State's Rodney Kinlaw to 66 yards and won. They then held P.J. Hill to 83 yards and won again. To triumph this weekend, they'll need to bottle up Hart, who Michigan has ridden on its five-game winning streak.

vs Chevis Jackson
Comment: Smith put up 102 receiving yards in Auburn's win at Florida, and his squad will need a similar effort in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have been able to pound the ball down teams' throats, but the LSU front seven, the headliners for a lineup that yields just 68 rushing yards per game, isn't likely to oblige. Standing in Smith's way are two All-SEC caliber defensive backs, Jackson at corner and Steltz at safety.

vs. Mississippi State
Comment: The Bulldogs won at Auburn and have stayed close with some of the nation's elite squads. But the key to all that is being able to run the football, and if the 'Dogs can't hold down the Mountaineers' cat-quick tandem, the MSU offense must throw. The problem? Its three quarterbacks have combined for five touchdown passes against 11 picks.



Saturday 3:30 p.m. ET
All eyes on are on Lexington again. A week after knocking off top-ranked LSU in triple overtime, the Wildcats are fufilling their hype as the pre-season pick to win it all. Andre Woodson can solidify himself as the Heisman frontrunner if he can lead the 'Cats to their first win over Florida since 1986. Unfortunately, a bye week got the Gators rest and Urban Meye's has had two weeks to prepare.

NORTH TEXAS GOES 99 YARDS

• The Drill: Oct. 11-17, 2007
• The Drill: Oct. 4-10, 2007
• The Drill: Sept. 27-Oct. 2, 2007
• The Drill: Sept. 20-26, 2007
• The Drill: Sept. 13-19, 2007
• The Drill: Sept. 6-12, 2007
• The Drill: Aug 30-Sept. 5, 2007