Recently, Ethan and I dabbled in prime matchups for Underdog Fantasy’s CFB Bowl Mania contest and I wanted to dig in more here on this topic. It’s not just about a good matchup for the offense, as much as we should be caring about a competitive game that has a lot of back-and-forth scoring. To start, I looked at Week 14 and found five games I think have the makings for high-scoring and big fantasy weeks.
Oklahoma State at Colorado
If Colorado can stay healthy, then this may be the stack of the entire week. The Cowboys’ offense is primed for a huge year with all of its weapons, and it gets a matchup against a Colorado team that gave up 34+ points in eight games in 2023. While they got beat up after a crazy 3-0 start, they were only involved in two blowouts.
If you’re drafting Shedeur Sanders, you should certainly stack him. On the other hand, this might be the time to zag by drafting Alan Bowman and one of his top receivers. You’d have to think that Ollie Gordon will be on plenty of playoff teams, so fading him could be what puts you over the edge. Colorado gave up 276.9 yards per game through the air in 2023, the seventh-worst in the FBS.
South Carolina at Clemson
It’s been talked about recently, but Clemson has a really nice playoff schedule, culminating in a matchup against their rival, South Carolina. Last year, the Tigers only scored 16 points, but they have scored 30+ points every year since 2014. Cade Klubnik has multiple receivers with low ADPs, Antonio Williams being our favorite here at Campus2Canton. The best option through the air might be Jake Briningstool.
.For South Carolina, we’re all encouraged and hopeful that LaNorris Sellers will get this offense in a great spot this season. He, too, has affordable stack options in Jared Brown, Gage Larvadain, and a not-as-affordable Nyckles Harbor. This one definitely feels like it could get crazy.
Virginia at Virginia Tech
This one isn’t as much a game stack as an incredible opportunity for the Hokies to score 40+ points. Last year, Virginia Tech scored 55 on the Cavaliers thanks to Bhayshul Tuten’s 117 yards and a touchdown on the ground and Kyron Drones’ 294 combined rushing/passing yards and three touchdowns.
Virginia will be better than last year and I could see their offense keep this one tighter than the 38-point loss last season. Drones and Tuten have a Week 12 bye, but this matchup certainly makes up for that. Ali Jennings makes for a fun stack that is certainly viable in this Underdog Fantasy format.
Houston at BYU
Like UVA vs VT, this one is a bit lopsided. The only intriguing options on BYU are LJ Martin and Keanu Hill and you can’t really stack anything here. Maybe this is what puts you over the top and pushes you to take Hill as your TE2!
The interest for me is with Houston (shocker) and Donovan Smith. Last season, he struggled at times, but did you know that he had seven rushing/receiving touchdowns to go along with seven games of two or more touchdowns? He threw for 225 passing yards or more in nine games. Those passing numbers are just good enough, considering his usage on the ground. Joseph Manjack and Stephon Johnson are two guys I think are worthy of stacking with Smith on Underdog.
Utah at UCF
The Big 12 is giving us plenty to look forward to in 2024, and this matchup may be one of the highest-scoring games of the season. Utah looks primed to win the conference thanks to Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe’s return. Dorian Singer transfers in from USC after one season, and it sounds like he fits in well. This offense doesn’t have a big-name running back for once, so could we see the passing attack lead the charge here?
For UCF, they have options all over the place with KJ Jefferson being a top 3-4 round draft pick. RJ Harvey scored a million touchdowns last season and was incredible down the stretch in 2023. Kobe Hudson is the lone alpha receiver, giving him an opportunity to be Jefferson’s favorite (and only) target he looks towards. Utah typically has a stout defense, but I think UCF has the offensive weapons to put up points in this one.
