College Fantasy Football: Everything you need to know ahead of Week 1
College fantasy football analyst Eric Froton sets the table for Week 1 of the 2026 season.
RISERS
Sutton Smith Named Razorbacks Starting RB
Sutton Smith had missed some time early in camp which led to speculation that Arkansas holdover from the Sam Pittman era, Braylen Russell, would get the first crack at the starting RB job. The Hogs were among the most effective running teams in the nation last year, ranking first in rushing success rate and yards per carry. Former Memphis HC Ryan Silverfield takes over this year and brings with him a rush-oriented philosophy that was a catalyst for the Tigers’ fourth overall ranking in EPA/rush.
Smith is now the preferred CFF option of the two and deserves a bump in your rankings, but I still think Russell will see carries and eat into Smith’s workload.
Washington Dark Horse Quaid Carr Leads The RB Room
With Washington’s top two rushers (Jonah Coleman/Adam Mohammed) departing, there is ample opportunity for someone to take the reins. Jordan Washington is the leading returnee with 233 rushing yards on a sparkling 8.6 YPC last year, while Oregon transfer Jayden Limar brings experience and production on a per-carry basis to the competition. So it was quite unexpected when Carr led the competition out of spring, as he only managed to accrue 14 yards on four carries during his freshman season.
Washington’s 44th ranked schedule is one of the most favorable in the Big Ten, while their excellent offensive line averaged 3.4 yards before contact (10th in FBS). If Carr can maintain his hold on the job, he could develop into a major CFF contributor.
USC Freshman WR Trent Mosley Has Arrived
The rumblings about the USC freshman WR/TE class started in spring and only gained momentum during fall camp. While Boobie Feaster, Kelvin Wyatt-Dixon and TE Mark Bowman all have tantalizing upside, it was Mosley who exploded against San Jose State with a line of 7-118-1 and an explosive punt return. Further strengthening his case is the uncertain status of NC State transfer Terrell Anderson and 2025 starting WR Tanook Hines. If Mosley secures a defined starting role, he could very well be the most important freshman in the country from a CFF standpoint.
Duke Watson Lands Top UCF RB Job
Multiple preseason publications pegged redshirt freshman RB Taevion Swint as the UCF lead rusher heading into fall camp. Which was eyebrow raising, since Swint didn’t log a single carry last season, while Duke Watson transferred in from Louisville and had a notable track record to fall back on. Watson was incredible in 2024, gaining 597 rushing yards with eight total touchdowns while averaging a gaudy 8.9 YPC with a 43% broken tackle rate. He took a bit of a backseat to Isaac and Keyjuan Brown last year, but the overall body of work for Watson foreshadows a potentially impactful CFF campaign for a very reasonable price in year 2 of HC Scott Frost now that he’s the unquestioned starter.
FALLERS
Cincinnati’s 4 “Starting” Running Backs
The Bearcats are very intriguing from a College Fantasy point of view, since they averaged 5.7 YPC last year and return three All BIg-12 offensive linemen. But hopes of a clear pecking order were dashed with a rare 4-man “OR” depth chart designation, and very little clarity coming from the beat writers regarding carry distribution. Perhaps Notre Dame transfer Gi’Bran Payne is the slight leader, but we won’t truly know how this room will shake out until we get some reps to analyze from their non-conference tilt against Boston College this weekend.
Caden Durham’s Value Sinking Rapidly
Durham had been the belle of the ball in Baton Rouge after his promising 2024 campaign where he rolled up 749 rushing yards on 5.4 YPC with 28 receptions for 260 yards and 8 total touchdowns. However, he took a step back last season, splitting carries with Five-Star freshman Harlem Berry while being saddled with former HC Brian Kelly’s inept run scheme that produced a meager 104 rushing yards per game while ranking 117th in rushing success rate. He has reportedly fallen behind both Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones and Berry, and is battling to even secure the RB3 job. With Durham free-falling down the depth chart under new HC Lane Kiffin, he is now undraftable in Yahoo Standard Leagues.
Wyatt Young Listed Behind Miles Coleman For Oklahoma State
The biggest College Fantasy-related depth chart development for my money is Miles Coleman being slotted ahead of 2025 CFF superstar Wyatt Young, who produced 70 receptions for 1,264 yards and 11 touchdowns for a dominant North Texas program. Interestingly, Coleman and Young both played for the Mean Green last year, with Young comfortably outplaying Coleman from a statistical perspective. With Wake Forest transfer Chris Barnes and former Illinois wideout Justin Bowick locking down two of the top three starting spots, that leaves one spot to share between the two former North Texans. Young immediately drops from a fringe top-10 CFF WR to WR 57 in my Week 1 rankings, while Barnes (WR35) and Bowick (WR461 see a solid bump.
I still like Young, and this “may” be an injury issue, but the conjecture is very troubling.
KEY INJURIES
USC Upperclassmen Once Again In Doubt
We still don’t know what’s going to happen with projected starting USC wideouts Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson heading into Friday’s game against San Jose State. One thing is clear, we cannot risk starting either of them and should at the very least drop their season-long projections. They are already saddled with two bye weeks and now are slated to miss Week 1’s tasty matchup against Fresno State, meaning you’re only getting at most nine starts out of either of them. Throw in three brutally tough games against Oregon, Ohio State and at Indiana and you might only get six bankable starts from Hines and Anderson, which is a dicey proposition.
Ahmad Hardy Won’t Suit Up in Missouri’s Opener
As was feared in the offseason, Ahmad Hardy will not play Week 1 versus FCS program Arkansas Pine-Bluff and has been spotted in street clothes for the preseason scrimmages. We still don’t have a clear picture of when Hardy will be ready to contribute after suffering a gunshot wound to his leg back in May. I’ve been under the impression that we might not see Hardy hit the field in an extended capacity until October, a timeline which seems increasingly likely and maybe even extend beyond that in order to keep Hardy healthy for his eventual NFL Draft entry. Jamal Roberts SZN is officially upon us.
How Much Will The Dark Knight Be A Factor Against Cal?
James Madison standout RB Wayne Knight followed HC Bob Chesney across the country to compete for playing time in Pasadena. However, he missed the spring with injury which allowed Anthony Woods and Javian Thomas to establish themselves in the RB pecking order. Now healthy and practicing, Knight is expected to be immersed in a three-way dance for carries, and could possibly be the RB1B to Woods’ RB1A. I don’t think you can trust Knight as a starter in Week 1 since we don’t know how the carry distribution will play out.
Freshman Sensation EJ Crowell Set To Play vs. ECU
I’ve been extremely excited about incoming five-star freshman RB EJ Crowell’s home-run-hitting ability, which I think helps him carve out an immediate role in Tuscaloosa. Plodding starter Daniel Hill lacks game-changing explosiveness, as is evidenced by his pedestrian 18% broken tackle rate, 20% stuff rate and 3.9 YPC average. Crowell had been on the mend and restricted during fall camp, but recent reports have him ready to roll against a soft ECU defensive front. Crowell brings a missing element to the Alabama RB room and I think he takes over the starting job by midseason after he gets acclimated to SEC play. He’s well worth a bench stash if you have the room.