Two weeks are remaining in the 2025 college football season, and while I’ve once again had a blast playing this beautiful game we all love, I won’t lie, there’s a part of me that just wants to get some finality to it. We’ve all worked hard to get to where we are, and with each round of the playoffs we get through, the higher the tension gets. We’re so close. Technically, if you’re still alive in your leagues at this point, you have roughly a 25% chance to bring it all home. Let’s do the work we need to do to bring this all home.
That work, as always, starts with waivers. Most of you have your teams figured out; I fully understand that. But you wouldn’t click on this article if there wasn’t some part of you that was curious to see if any of the below guys could give you an extra boost. Some of you are looking around and maybe because of some head to head matchup you won back in week 2, you somehow snuck into the playoffs when you thought you weren’t going to and now you gotta figure out how to boost your team quick to matchup with the big guys at the top (I’m not making fun of anyone, I’m in this camp too in one of my leagues, 10th in scoring but somehow snuck in as the 6th seed).
Today’s stuff is shallow, as one would come to expect by this point. Quarterback is set for this year. There just simply aren’t new names to discuss. The new names there are, are guys who are backups and I cannot tell you whether or not they’ll be starting even next week once the starters are back. It’s a huge risk, so check the honorable mentions for some decently still-available guys who are locked in starters. At running back, we have a couple of late-breaking stars, including one who put up a 50-burger last week. Then, at receiver, after a quiet week last week, we have a couple of solid options who should provide some consistency for the final two weeks.
With all that being said, let’s look at who you could be grabbing off the waiver wire to enhance your playoff runs! All players mentioned are rostered at a sub-30% rate in Fantrax CFF leagues.
Quarterbacks
Roman Gagliano – Middle Tennessee State – Ros: 0%
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders’ offense has certainly been a disappointment the last two seasons under Derek Mason, which isn’t too surprising given that he’s a defensive-minded coach. Starting QB Vattiato has been very consistent, but not quite high enough to be the CFF producer he once was, despite having multiple games of 40+ pass attempts. The problem was his efficiency.
Unfortunately, Vattiatio was injured in the Blue Raiders’ loss to FIU in the fourth quarter and missed the following game against Western Kentucky. This provided backup QB Roman Gagliano an opportunity, and he has shown he could lead this offense quite well down the stretch.
While Gagliano wasn’t much more impressive than Vattiato in his one quarter against FIU, Gagliano’s performance against Western Kentucky is a whole different matter. He tossed the ball 42 times for 389 yards and 2 TDs, which is 9.3 yards per attempt, easily the most efficient performance by an MTSU QB this season. On top of that, Gagliano showed off work with his legs, rushing 14 times for 82 yards. This culminated in a 30+ fantasy point performance and was certainly better than anything Vattiato has done recently. If I were this coaching staff, I’d keep riding with Gagliano and work towards the future.
But that is the issue. We don’t know what is in these coaches’ heads. Gagliano looked better on the stat sheet, but it was still a losing effort. Who’s to say they don’t get back to Vattiato out of sheer loyalty? It’s hard to piece together. What I can tell you is if Gagliano somehow holds onto this job, he’s got Sam Houston and New Mexico State as his final two games of the season. Both of those squads, on average, are giving up 250+ through the air. This offense has been disappointing this year, but if you’re someone who likes to play matchups, this might be somewhere to look, again, assuming he holds onto the job.
Joe Pesansky – Florida International – Ros: 0%
Here we have another backup QB who I can’t really tell you if he’ll start another game this year. Isn’t this fun? In all seriousness, Pesansky has been filling in for long-time FIU starter Keyone Jenkins these last couple of weeks, and he’s performed really well. I’d actually argue he’s gone above and beyond. In the four games prior to Pelansky starting, FIU averaged 20.5 points on offense. With Pelansky under center, over the last two games, they’ve averaged 45 points on offense. Now, I don’t think all of that has to do with Pelansky, but it has turned him into a late-season breakout option at QB so long as he can hold onto this job.
Pelansky has put up games of 33.5 and 26.2 fantasy points in the last two weeks. His production isn’t great, with him averaging 230 yards through the air and 26 yards on the ground, but because FIU’s offense is scoring so much at this time, he’s a TD machine. Eight, count them, eight TDs in his last two games. I know Jenkins has been a face of this program for years now, but Pelansky is making the case to be the starter in the future. Let’s just hope the staff agrees with that sentiment.
Like Gagliano, if Pelansky can hold onto this job, the final two matchups are golden: Jacksonville State and Sam Houston, two teams once again giving up 250+ a game through the air (God bless the CUSA). Another option to roll the dice on if you’d rather play matchups than starting your studs in unfortunate week 13 & 14 matchups.
Honorable Mentions
- Braxton Woodson, QB – Navy – 3% – Keep an eye on Blake Horvath’s health, could be good championship week
- Jeff Sims, QB – Arizona State – 4%
- JC French, QB – Georgia Southern – 18%
- Broc Lowry, QB – Western Michigan – 7%
- Joe Fagnano, QB – UConn – Ros: 41%
- Gunner Stockton, QB – Georgia – Ros: 39%
Running Backs
OJ Arnold – Georgia Southern – Ros: 31%
Last week, I very off-handedly talked about OJ Arnold being a solid pickup off the waiver wire and start against Coastal Carolina. After all, it looked like he was finally getting a workhorse load after being capped at about 15 touches most games. Never, and I mean never, in my wildest dreams, did I think we were going to get what we got this past Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Holy smokes! An incredible 58.92 fpts in this game, including 267 yards and 2 TDs on the ground, four catches for 53 yards and a TD through the air, and just for fun, he gets a 73-yard passing TD. Is there an option beyond the nuclear option, because it is extremely rare to see an RB put off this much power in CFF?
Obviously, Arnold will not be doing this again, but there’s no reason to think he won’t still be a monster down the stretch. The workhorse load is his; the staff has made that abundantly clear. Now, can he do anything with that?
Clearly, the last two weeks he did, but what about his upcoming schedule? He’s got Old Dominion and Marshall to finish out. These are two teams with below-average run defenses, giving up roughly 160+ yards on the ground. I see no reason why, if Arnold is given 20+ touches in both of those games, he won’t finish the season with 2 100+ yard games. He should be an anchor for any team in the playoffs, looking to provide stability if you’re getting shaky on a guy you once relied on (Hello, Robert Henry managers).
London Montgomery – East Carolina – Ros: 12%
Another classic “never wrong, just early” candidate for me. I touted London Montgomery during the offseason as the potential next Rahjai Harris for this staff. I was impressed with what I saw last year as the backup RB and thought he was the clear best back in this backfield, even with Parker Jenkins coming in. Unfortunately, this staff was very insistent on having a 3-headed monster in Montgomery, Jenkins, and Marlon Gunn, and then later Engleman. It’s only been recently that they’ve realized Montgomery is their best back and deserves the biggest workload, which is what he’s been getting.
In his last game against Memphis, Montgomery got a season-high 27 carries against the Tigers. This came after two weeks of him getting his usual 14-17 touches against Temple and Charlotte. However, in those games against Temple and Charlotte, Montgomery caught fire, averaging over 6 yards a carry in both and surpassing 80 yards in a limited workload. He also scored in both affairs.
That earned him the volume we say against Memphis, and he paid it off, going over 100 yards and scoring 2 TDs. Our hope, of course, is that this isn’t a hot hand situation and that the coaching staff continues to roll with Montgomery. Because if they do, East Carolina finishes the season against UTSA and Florida Atlantic, two teams that give up 175+ yards on the ground every game. FAU is particularly atrocious, with 220 yards given up on average. Given me 15-20 touches against that level of competition, and Montgomery could end up being a difference maker these last couple of weeks.
Honorable Mentions
- Keyjuan Brown, RB – Louisville – 24%
- Austyn Dendy, RB – Bowling Green – 8%
- Caleb Komolafe, RB – Northwestern – 9%
- Jordon Simmons, RB – Georgia State – 0%
- Jordan Gant, RB – Akron – 21%
- Will Henderson, RB – UTSA – 3% – Assuming Robert Henry continues to be banged up
- Jaden Nixon, RB – UCF – 19% – Assuming Myles Montgomery is still out
- Adam Mohammed, RB – Washington – 17% Assuming Jonah Coleman is still out
Wide Receivers
Marcel Williams – Akron – Ros: 3%
It’s always a bit sketchy grabbing guys who are performing on bad teams. After all, one team-level collapse, and this player has cooked no matter what. However, it would also be malpractice to ignore the ascension of players this late in the season, especially a young guy who is taking advantage of his opportunities. Marcel Williams is one of these guys. Over the last three weeks, Williams has seen 33 targets, 24 receptions, 384 yards, and 2 TDs. For those who don’t want to do the math, that is averaging 11 targets, 8 receptions, 128 yards, and 0.66 TDs. Now, a lot of that comes from his 200+ yard performance this past week, but even in the other two games, he’s hit 74+ yards.
The redshirt freshman has one more chance to dazzle us, this upcoming week against Bowling Green, which is a pretty neutral matchup on paper. They’re 51st against the pass and 79th against the run, so I’d expect Akron to do what it usually does. After that, unfortunately, Akron is one of two teams with byes on championship week (once again, I cannot wait to go back to single bye weeks next year). If you need help for a singular week because a guy like Omar Cooper is one bye this week, Williams is a place I’d look.
Elijah Metcalf – Southern Miss – Ros: 8%
Another guy I’d look at is Southern Miss wide receiver, Elijah Metcalf. This is Blake Anderson’s offense, which means the entire CFF world has been waiting on a WR to emerge to be the next Deven Thompkins or Omar Bayless. Unfortunately, for most of the season, we haven’t gotten that.
For most of the season, Carl Chester was the closest we got to that, and he’s averaged just over four targets a game and averages under 35 yards per game. Just abject misery for those chasing that system. However, the last couple of weeks have seen a big shift in this team’s priority in this passing game. After being quiet for most of the season, Elijah Metcalf has seen 27 targets in his last three games and is not the clear WR1 for the Eagles going forward.
With those 27 targets, Metcalf has averaged over the last three games, 7.3 receptions, 111.7 yards, and 0.6 TDs. I’m not sure what led to this change. Most likely, it has to do with Landry Lyddy getting a lot more run with Braxton being banged up all the time. Regardless, I don’t really care how; I see the trend, and I hope this doesn’t stop.
Metcalf, on paper, looks like he has two tough matchups to finish the season in South Alabama and Troy, as they both rank inside the top 30 for pass defense. However, both of those teams are outside the top 120 in rush defense. This means two things: both secondary’s stats are likely being protected by teams just deciding to run the ball against the defense, and secondly, the scoring opportunities will still be there for Metcalf. Even if the passing volume is drawn back a bit in favor of rushing, Southern Miss will still be able to move the ball and give their receivers chances in the red zone. I think Metcalf is absolutely worth the grab for any team wanting to sure up their WR room for the last two weeks.
Honorable Mentions
- Shelton Sampson, WR – Louisiana – 18%
- Nik McMillian, WR – Buffalo – 23%
- Jacob De Jesus, WR – California – 29%
- Alex Perry, WR – FIU – 2%
- Parker Kingston, WR – BYU – 32%
- Jordan Hudson, WR – SMU – Ros: 29%
- CJ Williams, WR – Stanford – 27%
- Amare Thomas, WR – Houston – 32%
- Braden Pegan, WR – Utah State – 30%
- Chris Dawn, WR – Texas State – 12%
Tight Ends
No featured TE this week. Not to be mean, but if you’re in the final four for your league, you most likely already have TE figured out. The honorable mentions below should provide some options in case you are one of those teams still trying to strike gold at the position.
Honorable Mentions
- Juice Vereen, TE – UConn – 16%
- Lance Mason, TE – Wisconsin – 21%
- Jyrin Johnson, TE – Bowling Green – 9%
- Josh Cuevas, TE – Alabama – 25%
