Welcome back to another night slate edition of Tiering Up the Competition! You get me again, dissecting our best options on this slate. We have ourselves some entertaining and unique matchups, including one big rivalry that should give us some great options. Let’s get into it!
Quarterbacks
Demond Williams Jr. ($9,700), Sawyer Robertson ($9,200), Sam Leavitt ($8,700)
The Apple Cup is this weekend, and with that, I’m really considering Williams. North Texas just took Washington State to the woodshed, so why wouldn’t the Huskies be able to do the same? Demond is a threat on the ground and through the air and is coming off a bye week. This lines up very well for him. The only question is if we have salary relief elsewhere to make this happen. I think yes.
Robertson hasn’t done much on the ground, but his passing volume has been among the best. He’s thrown 37, 48, and 50 times in his three games, with the two highest coming against good opponents like Arizona State. This could be a sneaky shootout with the Sun Devils having a really great offense as well.
Leavitt has the best receiver west of the Mississippi to hook him up and a running back group that is helpful in the passing game. Kyson Brown could be back for this one, putting the offense at tip-top shape. I’d love to see more volume out of Leavitt, but he’s been fairly efficient with what he’s gotten.
Beau Pribula ($7,400), LaNorris Sellers ($7,200), Bear Bachmeier ($6,600)
Pribula has proven to be a very good SEC quarterback, giving us value in both facets of the game. He blew up with 6.5 YPC in the opener, but has since run for under a yard per carry. South Carolina struggled against the Vanderbilt run game, but their offense is fairly unique. Pribula poses as a good floor play, but I worry about the upside compared to others.
Sellers had a concussion against Vanderbilt and has largely been unimpressive in 2025. If he does play, I think you have to consider him at this price. He’s a talented quarterback who just hasn’t hit expectations due to a blowout and an injury.
Bear Bachmeier is a little bit of a mystery bag with such a great performance in his debut on just 16 total opportunities. Then, against Stanford, he has 39 opportunities and turns them into 13.7 fantasy points. East Carolina on the road isn’t a bad matchup, but it’s undoubtedly a real defense compared to Portland State. It’s worth taking a shot here at this price.
Zevi Eckhaus ($4,500)
Does Zevi get the start against Washington? If so, then you must consider him to some degree. He’s a bit of a slinger, and in mop-up action last week, played well with a rushing touchdown at the end. Signs say this Washington State offense is bad, but I can’t help but think he’s a great dart strictly based on price and what little we’ve seen of him as a Cougar.
Running Backs
Bryson Washington ($8,500), Jonah Coleman ($7,800), Ahmad Hardy ($6,800)
Washington hasn’t been the most efficient ball carrier so far this year, but he’s seen a ton of volume, which has gotten him to big fantasy point totals. He had 34 touches in the overtime thriller against SMU and 22 against Samford in the blowout win over Samford. Against Arizona State, you have to think they keep their top running back on the field early and often, giving him a floor that not many players have on this slate.
Coleman may be the top running back in CFF currently, with his over 83 fantasy points in two games in 2025. He had high usage against Colorado State in week 1 and then saw that number tick down, but with good reason, a blowout win over UC Davis. We should see that higher usage against Washington State. He poses as a great pivot from Demond Williams.
Hardy may be one of the only G5 to P4 running backs to be worth drafting in 2025, as we’ve seen through three weeks. He’s coming off a 250-yard performance and has hit 100+ yards in every game so far this year. Hardy isn’t being used through the air, but you don’t care about that if he’s seeing 20+ attempts on the ground with TD equity like we’ve seen in both of his FBS matchups.
Raleek Brown ($5,300), Rahsul Faison ($4,700), Jaden Baugh ($4,500)
Raleek Brown is a good play if Kyson Brown plays against Baylor, but an even better player if Kyson is out. Raleek has back-to-back 100-yard performances and has proven to be explosive with the ball in his hands. His four targets per game this season are a nice add-on to his ability to break a big play.
Faison saw his highest usage of the season last year with 15 attempts against Vanderbilt. Does this continue against Missouri? If Sellers is out at quarterback, then we certainly could see 15-20 opportunities for him to make a great play at this price. His potential TD equity goes up relative to his teammates if Sellers is out, but it’s likely this offense doesn’t have as many opportunities in the red zone if he’s out, so keep that in mind.
Baugh lucked into a solid game last week thanks to his seven receptions, and now we see him at a much lower cost. I don’t love this offense at all, but why can’t he catch 5+ passes again? Against Miami, the game script will likely involve playing from behind and potentially relying on garbage-time checkdowns, thanks to a strong pass rush.
Dylan Carson ($3,600), Owen Allen ($3,600), Aidan Laughery ($3,800), Jordan Lyle ($3,300)
Carson is intriguing mainly due to his cost and the potential upside. I don’t love the impact Owen Allen made last week. I’ll take the chicken way out and say both are in play and should be considered good dart throws to fill a roster. Boise State isn’t a great matchup by any means, but this game is at home, and Air Force could easily opt to own the football and use either one of these guys to play keep away.
Laughery practiced mid-week, but who knows if he’ll be active come Saturday. If he’s active, I like him at this cost. It will still be a committee for Illinois, but at this price, 12-15 opportunities should be worth a dart throw.
Lyle was apparently good to play last week, but just didn’t. Yay college football! His role when healthy is murky, but again, at this price, I’m willing to take a shot. Miami should be able to move the ball fairly well, and it’s not like CharMar Brown has been that impressive in 2025.
Wide Receivers
Jordyn Tyson ($7,800), Elijah Sarratt ($6,800), Malachi Toney ($6,600), Anthony Smith ($6,300), Josh Cameron ($6,100)
At receiver, you have to consider Jordyn Tyson the guy to be the most likely to score a touchdown this week. He also could see the most targets and is a threat to break 100+ yards weekly. There’s not a lot to not like here, considering how important he is to this offense and Sam Leavitt.
Elijah Sarrratt had a monster game two weeks ago and then followed it up with a dud in the blowout. I’m chalking that up to blowout, and while I don’t love facing off against Illinois’ pass defense typically, they can be beaten. Duke looked good enough through the air against them a few weeks back, and Fernando Mendoza has shown himself to be the real deal as a Hoosier.
Malachi Toney has been a steady player that we need a little more from to really love from a fantasy perspective. He’s scored just one touchdown on the year, but he’s caught six passes for 60 yards in every game. I consider it bad touchdown luck and think Florida is worth a shot at turning that around.
Smith has also caught six passes in every game, but showed us that upside with an 11 for 136 performance last week against Coastal Carolina. BYU could be a tough matchup, but going from the West Coast to the East Coast is always something I’ll consider. The price is a tad aggressive for me, but he should be considered in this range.
Cameron is one of the better stack options with Sawyer Robertson, even if he’s third on the team in target share. He had 14 targets in week two and saw five against Samford. I think we’ll see a number there in the middle in this tough rivalry matchup.
Chase Roberts ($5,300), Hank Beatty ($4,900), Ashtyn Hawkins ($4,700), Chris Marshall ($4,100)
What exactly is Chase Roberts’ floor and upside in 2025? In the blowout, he saw just three targets, but that tied him for the team lead. In game two, he tied for most targets this time with Jojo Phillips (7). I think he’ll continue to be the WR1 with 6-8 target potential consistently. I wouldn’t hammer this play due to the price and players just above him.
Hank Beatty is the clear top target in the Illinois offense this season, leading the team in targets in all three games this season. He even has a rushing touchdown this year. He will go as far as Luke Altmyer will go with that in mind. At this price, though, it’s worth a shot even with a stout Indiana matchup. This game could become a shootout, and if Laughery is out at running back, then they may lean more pass-happy than in previous games.
Hawkins is another option to consider in the Baylor passing attack. He’s the top target getter for receivers, with that big game early in the season really buoying his numbers.
Chris Marshall has been targeted plenty so far this season, but penalties negated some of them. He beat USF multiple times but was held or interfered with, so his production isn’t as high as it could be. With that being said, he leads the team with 151 yards in two games. The price is too low, even if he’s the second option in the passing attack (and I think he’s very likely the WR1).
