College Fantasy Football Start vs. Sit: Players to Start, Players to Bench for Week 2

We now have a week, and some change, in the books for the college football season. There is, of course, much left to learn. Sure, we've learned a few things. Arch Manning isn't going to win the Heisman, for example. Boise State won't be a playoff team for another. Even so, more data, both numerical and visual, is needed for some situations. That being said, I definitely have more to go on for my stats and sits for Week 2 than I did for Week 1. Check out a full list of our Week 2 fantasy football rankings for a larger view of the week's action.

Let's get to it!

AAC Starts and Sits

START

 Drew Mestemaker, QB, North Texas at Western Michigan

Mestemaker was called upon to start the bowl game for the Mean Green last season, and he performed well enough that he got the chance to step into this high-octane offense for 2025. While it was just Lamar, Mestemaker has justified the decision thus far. He completed 75 percent of his passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns and added 30 yards and a score on the ground. Michigan State, which was pretty so-so offensively in 2024, put 21 points on Western Michigan in the first half in Week 1 before scuffling a bit in the second half. The Broncos entered the year ranked 118th in SP+, and so far, they don't look to be surpassing that by any real margin.

SIT

 Byrum Brown, QB, South Florida at Florida

The Bulls opened the season by handling the Broncos, who could be quite good in the way Boise State often is or who could be poised for a step back in 2025. However good Boise is this year, I feel confident that it will not be as good as Florida, especially defensively. Hosting a Mountain West team and visiting an SEC team are different beasts, even before you get to the matchup. I know it was just Long Island, the FCS team you schedule when you want to smash an FCS team, but the Gators absolutely clobbered them. The Sharks were shut out and held to 87 total yards of offense.

ACC Starts and Sits

START

 Kenny Johnson, Pitt vs. Central Michigan

Sorry, Directional Michigan schools. As a born-and-bred Michigander, I know several of your alums, and my alma mater only plays Division II football. All that said, I don't see things going great for the Chippewas or the Broncos. The Panthers rolled over Duquesne, so the touches were dispersed across several players. Johnson is coming off a season with 46 catches for 537 yards, though, and started the year atop the depth chart. He had four catches on six targets for 47 yards and a touchdown in Pitt's opener. San Jose State scored just 14 points against Central Michigan, yet still managed over 300 yards passing.

SIT

 Jaquez Moore, RB, Duke vs. Illinois

Moore only got seven carries against Elon, but he ran for 44 yards and a touchdown. That's fair given that the Blue Devils won breezily, but he did also lose a fumble, and that is a concern. So is the fact that, after missing more of 2024, he's somewhat far removed from 2023 when he averaged 5.8 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns. ACC teams aren't facing many tough matchups in Week 2, so a visit from Bret Bielema's Illinois squad definitely stands out as unusually tough.

Big Ten Starts and Sits

START

 Dilin Jones, RB, Wisconsin vs. Middle Tennessee State

The redshirt freshman Jones got 14 carries against Miami (OH), turning them into 73 yards. While he only turned his three catches into eight yards, I am also encouraged by the fact he was targeted three times in the passing game. Meanwhile, there's a decent chance Middle Tennessee State won't even wait until the end of the season to fire Derek Mason as head coach. The Blue Raiders just lost 34-14 to Austin Peay.

SIT

 Justice Haynes, RB, Michigan at Oklahoma

The Haynes hype was already pretty high in Ann Arbor. Then, in Week 1, he ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns. That's all well and good, and it's not like he didn't have good games at Alabama. However, as recently as last season, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn held him under three yards per carry. Brent Venebles is hoping to get the offense sorted with John Mateer and his new coordinator, but he's long been a shrewd defensive mind. To that end, the Sooners came into this season 11th in defensive SP+ and kept Illinois State fully in check.

Big 12 Starts and Sits

START

Coy Eakin, WR, Texas Tech vs. Kent State

Caleb Douglas is the top dog for the Red Raiders, but he's a proverbial must-start, so recommending him is about as valuable as, say, recommending Michael Crabtree back in the Mike Leach days. Eakin may be the second banana, but in this offense, that's not a problem. He had 49 catches for 652 yards and seven touchdowns last year, and he had three catches for 47 yards and a score in a Week 1 drubbing of Arkansas, Pine Bluff Edition. Kent State needs no introduction as arguably the worst FBS program, so there's no reason to think Texas Tech won't throw all over the place.

SIT

 Emmanuel Henderson, WR, Kansas at Missouri

When you see that Henderson has nine catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns, it's important to remember that the Jayhawks played in Week 0. Also, the Jayhawks played Wagner last week. Kansas versus Missouri is an old-school rivalry we don't get to see as much as we should, and this trip to Columbia will be heated, intense, and also feature a formidable opponent for Henderson.

Conference USA Starts and Sits

START

 Kenny Odom, WR, UTEP vs. UT Martin

Much of Conference USA is the cupcake side of a cupcake matchup, so I will recommend a team facing FCS opposition. The Miners are figuring things out on the fly, and Malachi Nelson simply doesn't have it based on all appearances. That didn't stop Odom from having a big game against Utah State, even if he was the only one. The offensive plan for the Miners seems to be solely "Get Odom the ball." He was targeted 14 times and had nine catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Odom even got two rushing attempts, which he turned into 16 yards.

SIT

 Kejon Owens, RB, FIU at Penn State

Owens had a successful Week 1, tallying 72 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. Of course, that was against Bethune-Cookman. This week, Owens has to visit Penn State. Yeah, that's going to lead to a different set of circumstances. However, things are fairly easy for Owens after this matchup, so do keep him in the back of your mind.

MAC Starts and Sits

START

 Rocko Griffin, RB, UMass vs. Bryant

Massachusetts' first game as a MAC school was not ideal, as former MAC school Temple rolled up a 42-10 rout. However, Griffin was a bright spot for the Minutemen. Griffin, who arrived at UMass from UTSA via Vanderbilt, had 94 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. New Mexico State's top back was able to tally 50 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against Bryant, and Griffin has a much better resume than Kadarius Calloway.

SIT

 Drew Pyne, QB, Bowling Green at Cincinnati

You may remember Pyne as the starting quarterback for Notre Dame once upon a time, and thus, you might also think he's ready to tear it up at the MAC level and that he can handle an opponent like Cincinnati, even on the road. However, Pyne's year starting for the Fighting Irish was 2022. After that, he failed to find his footing with Arizona State or Missouri. He didn't even manage a touchdown against Lafayette in Bowling Green's opener. Don't bet on Pyne simply because of the name recognition, and certainly not on the road against Cincinnati.

Mountain West Starts and Sits

START

 Anthony Colandrea, QB, UNLV vs. UCLA

Dan Mullen knows how to set a quarterback up for success, and Colandrea has already looked better than he ever did with Virginia. Through two games, he's completed 77.3 percent of his passes for 444 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. For good measure, he's run for 116 yards and two scores. The Bruins are nicely set up…to fire DeShaun Foster before the season is over. UCLA lost to Utah in Week 1 to the tune of 43-10.

SIT

 Danny Scudero, WR, San Jose State at Texas

Scudero, a Sacramento State transfer, is definitely a name I will be filing away. He was targeted 15 times against Central Michigan and had nine catches for 189 yards and a touchdown. That being said, this is not the week to buy into Scurdero. Texas' loss in Week 1 was not about its defense, and certainly not its passing defense. The Longhorns are going to be hard to throw on all year.

SEC Starts and Sits

START

 O'Mega Blake, WR, Arkansas vs. Arkansas State

First, what a great name "O'Mega Blake" is. Second, Blake was a big-play receiver for Charlotte last year, turning 32 catches into 795 yards and nine touchdowns. In his Arkansas debut, even if it was against Alabama A&M, Blake had seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. While Arkansas State beat Southeast Missouri State 42-24 in its opener, the key takeaway for this circumstance is that it gave up 24 points to an FCS team.

SIT

 Sedrick Alexander, RB, Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech

Alexander averaged 6.9 yards per carry against Charleston Southern and scored a receiving touchdown, but his past production doesn't point to that continuing in tougher matchups. Prior to this season, he has twice failed to even average 4.0 yards per carry. Virginia Tech came into this season ranked 37th in defensive SP+, and while it allowed 24 points to South Carolina in Week 1, that was a neutral-site game, and one of those touchdowns was on special teams.

Sun Belt Starts and Sits

START

 Jo'Shon Barbie, RB, Marshall vs. Missouri State

Most Sun Belt teams are facing FCS squads, but Marshall is not, and the matchup here is still good. Missouri State was an FCS team as recently as last season, and it allowed 73 points to USC in Week 1. Now, Marshall is not USC, but Marshall doesn't need to score 73 points to deliver on the fantasy front. Barbie, well, he scored a touchdown against Georgia. He also averaged 2.0 yards per carry, but he scored a touchdown on the road against Georgia. At the FCS leve,l he averaged 5.9 yards per carry over two seasons at McNeese State and scored eight touchdowns in 2024.

SIT

 Tae Meadows, RB, Troy at Clemson

Meadows is another name to file away for future reference. He surprised in Week 1 not only by getting 23 carries, but by turning those carries into 186 yards and a touchdown. That was against Nicholls State, though, and now Meadows has to face Clemson. A trip to Death Valley will be decidedly tougher.