Start vs. Sit: Who to Play, Who to Bench Week 10

Welcome to Week 10 of our Start vs. Sit series as we move into the home stretch of the regular season. The committee just released the first batch of Playoff rankings, and they'll immediately be put to the test with a number of huge games. LSU plays host to Alabama in what figures to be the best game in that series since 2011 and Michigan plays host to a Penn State team that can compete with anyone but has been inconsistent this season. Looking elsewhere, the SEC East will be decided in Lexington on Saturday night, just as we all expected, and Texas will take on West Virginia for the right to get stomped by Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship. Let's jump into a big time Week 10 slate with this round of start/sit picks.

PLAYERS TO START

AAC

Shamari Brooks, RB, Tulsa (vs. Connecticut)

Brooks has combined for just 148 yards on 38 attempts in his last two games, including a 57-yard outing against Tulane. A matchup against Connecticut should cure what ails him, however. Connecticut ranks 128th against the run in S&P+ and has surrendered a laughable 29 rushing touchdowns in eight games. Brooks should be able to get himself back in the end zone and back above the 100-yard mark on Saturday.

ACC

All Clemson Players (vs. Louisville)

Whether it's Trevor Lawrence and the pass catchers or it's Travis Etienne on the ground, you can't go wrong using your Tigers this weekend. Etienne is a top-10 running back in our weekly rankings despite back-to-back games of less than 50 yards and Lawrence is starting to live up to his billing as the No. 1 overall player in the nation in the 2018 recruiting cycle. Tee Higgins should already be a lock in your lineup, but the likes of Amari Rodgers and Justyn Ross are coming on strong as well. With Clemson clicking and drawing a home matchup against one of the worst Power 5 teams in the nation, all of your Tigers should be in play this week.

BIG 12

Alan Bowman, QB, Texas Tech (vs. Oklahoma)

The freshman is coming off a shaky outing against Iowa State that was low-lighted by three interceptions. Still, even with the turnovers, Bowman managed to throw for more than 300 yards for the fourth time this season and accounted for multiple touchdowns. This week Bowman will be back in Lubbock to face a Sooner defense that ranks in the bottom half of the conference in passer rating allowed. Even with the Red Raiders coming in as heavy underdogs, Bowman is still in line for a strong outing at the helm of an explosive offense.

BIG TEN

Karan Higdon, RB, Michigan (vs. Penn State)

This week's marquee matchup in the Big Ten is set to take place in the Big House with Michigan looking to continue its "Revenge Tour" after the bye week. Penn State shellacked Michigan in Happy Valley last season but the programs are trending in opposite directions this season, as evidenced by the Wolverines checking in as 10-point favorites. Michigan makes no bones about its offensive identity; they run the ball at the 16th-highest rate in the nation at 61.1 percent of the time and Higdon owns the market share by seeing 46 percent of the carries while no other Wolverine back sees more than 11 percent. Top it off with the fact that Penn State is plum average against the run (54th in S&P+) and we have a sneaky-good matchup for Higdon this weekend.

CONFERENCE USA

Ty Lee, WR, Middle Tennessee (vs. Western Kentucky)

Although Lee will fall well shy of his lofty preseason expectations, he might still be a useful fantasy options in full FBS formats. Lee owns the highest target share on the team at 22 percent and he has reached the end zone in each of the last two weeks. A matchup against a Western Kentucky defense that 91st against the pass should pay dividends for Lee in Week 10.

MAC

Eli Peters, QB, Toledo (vs. Ball State)

With Mitchell Guadagni (shoulder) potentially out, Peters becomes a strong streaming option in Week 10. Ball State is without a doubt one of the worst teams in FBS, ranking 120th overall in S&P+. Meanwhile, Peters impressed in relief of the injured Guadagni in a tough road matchup last week by completing eight of 14 passes for 107 yards and three scores against Western Michigan. Provided that Peters gets the start Wednesday, he's worth plugging into your lineup, as are the rest of your Toledo skill players.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Jordan Love, QB, Utah State (at Hawai'i)

Love leads the charge for the 18th (!) ranked Aggies heading into a matchup against a Hawaii team that was just ground into hamburger meat by Fresno State. He's not matchup proof, as evidenced by his dud against Wyoming, but Love can take advantage of a soft matchup with the best of 'em. He has hit the 300-yard mark four times this season and has thrown for at least four touchdowns on three separate occasions in the last four weeks. This week his opponent ranks 122nd in overall defense and 127th against the pass. This sets up to be one of Love's best games of the season.

PAC-12

JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford (at Washington)

Stanford's offense hasn't really looked like, well, a Stanford offense this season. But, when it comes to Arcega-Whiteside, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Arcega-Whiteside is second in the nation with 11 receiving touchdowns and averages a strong 10.9 YPT. His role is also ironclad with a 27 percent target share in an offense that actually throws it at the 17th-highest clip in the nation. It's a tough matchup on the road against a top-25 passing defense, but Arcega-Whiteside's role and red-zone ability make him a must-start nonetheless.

SEC

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama (at LSU)

The linemakers have spoken and Vegas has cast its lot behind the Tagovailoa-led Alabama offense despite going into arguably the most electric environment in college football to take on a top-5 team. The Crimson Tide are 14.5-point favorites in Death Valley! There's no way that line is close to that high if not for Tagovailoa. I don't need to sell you on what Tua brings to the table or the supporting cast around him. But I have seen first-hand this year what LSU's defense can do in Baton Rouge and it is remarkable. Still, Tagovailoa's talent wins out in this case. Alabama will be coming in with an extra week to prep and get healthy, and that helps tip the scales in favor of using Tagovailoa and his absurd 13.6 YPA along with his 16.4 percent touchdown rate. I also wouldn't hesitate using Benny Snell this weekend at home against a suspect Georgia run defense.

SUN BELT

Keenan Brown, TE, Texas State (at Georgia State)

Georgia State has one of the worst defenses in the country, checking in at 125th overall in S&P+ and 121st against the pass. Brown, meanwhile, ranks third among FBS tight ends in fantasy points per game at 9.8 and is the most-targeted option in the Texas State passing game with a 21 percent market share. Elsewhere in the Sun Belt, Arkansas State and Troy both draw favorable matchups that make their skill guys worth considering in deeper leagues.

PLAYERS TO SIT

AAC

Dredrick Snelson, WR, Central Florida (vs. Temple)

There are a couple factors working against Snelson this week. For starters, quarterback McKenzie Milton is a game-time decision due to an undisclosed injury. Central Florida attempted a season-low 21 pass attempts under Darriel Mack when Milton was out against East Carolina and there could be similarly low volume if the quarterback situation remains the same on Thursday. Furthermore, Temple is the No.1 rated pass defense in the nation according to S&P+. Furthermore, if Gabriel Davis is back in the fold, that'll lead to even less targets for Snelson in Week 10.

ACC

Reggie Gallaspy II, RB, NC State (vs. Florida State)

Now, benching anybody against Florida State might seem unwise, but for as bad as the 'Noles have been, their one redeeming quality has been the run defense. The 'Noles rank 22nd against the run in S&P+ and just shut down Clemson's Travis Etienne. Gallaspy is nowhere close to Etienne in terms of talent, and even though he dominates the carries, he's not particularly efficient. He averages just 3.8 yards per carry and his fantasy production is almost entirely touchdown dependent. On the news front, Gallaspy was able to return to action against Syracuse after briefly going out with an injury.

BIG 12

Pooka Williams, RB, Kansas (vs. Iowa State)

Pooka is obviously the engine that makes Kansas' offense go, and he's versatile enough to make an impact even if things aren't going well on the ground. He showed that pass-catching acumen last weekend by catching seven of eight targets for 102 yards and two touchdowns against TCU. Iowa State's defense is a cut above TCU's, however. The 'Clones rank in the top-20 in S&P+ against both the run and the pass and have held their last two conference opponents to a combined 82 yards on 51 carries. Williams will get plenty of touches, but the well-disciplined Cyclones will be focused on the talented freshman as the top priority to stop.

BIG TEN

Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State (at Michigan)

On the flipside of this Big Ten East clash, we have Sanders in a very tough spot. Sanders' workload has been steady all year, but the production has been on the downswing in recent weeks as he's run for 134 yards and one touchdown over the last two weeks. He'll be on the road against a Michigan defense that is No. 1 overall in S&P+ and No. 5 against the run. If Trace McSorley's mobility is limited, Michigan's defense will be able to pin its ears back and focus on stopping Sanders on rushing downs as well as it won't have to contend with McSorley's ability to stress the edges with his feet.

CONFERENCE USA

Victor Tucker, WR, Charlotte (at Tennessee)

The matchup against Tennessee isn't what scares me here as the Vols rank 104th overall in S&P+ and 81st against the pass. What scares me is Charlotte's quarterback situation. Since Chris Reynolds went down with a season-ending injury, Evan Shirreffs is now the quarterback for the 49ers and the early returns aren't overly encouraging. Charlotte went to the air just 14 times Saturday, and while that number should increase this week, it still might not be enough to salvage Tucker's value as he catches passes from a scattershot signal caller.

MAC

Kato Nelson, QB, Akron (vs. Northern Illinois)

There's a reason the Huskies are heading to Akron as 6.5-point road favorites, and it ain't their offense. No, the Huskies aren't going to light up the scoreboard. They also aren't going to let a conference foe. Northern Illinois allows just 19.0 points per game in conference play, which ranks second in the MAC and 20th in the nation. Nelson, meanwhile, is completing just 47.6 percent of his passes against MAC competition along with a 5.4 YPA and he has more interceptions (5) than passing touchdowns (3) in that split. All of this points to Nelson being a bench candidate for Week 10.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Lexington Thomas, RB, UNLV (vs. Fresno State)

The Bulldogs are laying waste to everyone in their path in the Mountain West and the Rebels are not built to change that trend. They're allowing just 8.3 points per game in conference play and have given up a grand total of three touchdowns in four MWC games. Thomas is the focal point of the UNLV offense and will see heavy volume this weekend, but the odds of him succeeding are not in his favor. Fresno State is the No.4 ranked run defense by S&P+ and it allows just 3.58 YPC to conference foes. Thomas is still an excellent fantasy option overall, but this is the week to leave him on the bench.

PAC-12

Patrick Laird, RB, California (at Washington State)

Outside of PPR leagues, Laird is a risky proposition this week. Of his 660 rushing yards this season, 193 of them (29.2 percent) came in one game against Oregon State. If you take that game out of his season totals, Laird has 120 carries for 467 yards, a 3.89 YPC average. That simply isn't good enough to warrant a starting spot in standard formats. Washington State, meanwhile, allows just 3.88 yards per carry to opponents. This could end up being one of Laird's lowest fantasy outputs of the season.

SEC

Drew Lock, QB, Missouri (at Florida)

Even if Lock gets his top receiver, Emanuel Hall, back, it's tough to trust him on the road against a conference opponent. Lock's YPA drops from 8.2 to 6.9 on the road, his TD:INT ratio is 4:5 away from Columbia and his completion percentage drops down to 53.3 percent. Taking it a step further, let's look at his conference splits. When playing non-conference opponents, Lock completes 71.1 percent of his passes with a 15:1 TD:INT and a 9.9 YPA mark. Versus SEC foes? We're looking at a 49.6 completion percentage, a 1:5 TD:INT and a 5.3 YPA. Yikes. A road game in The Swamp profiles as Lock's second-toughest matchup of the season outside of his trip to Alabama. Leave him on the bench this week.

SUN BELT

Trey Ragas, RB, Louisiana-Monroe (vs. Georgia Southern)

This is a strength-on-strength matchup with one of the Sun Belt's best rushers, Ragas, going against an Eagles defense that has allowed just 125.0 rushing yards per game against conference foes (1st). The Eagles are surrendering a mere 3.5 yards per carry against Sun Belt competition. Now, Ragas will certainly get plenty of work out of the backfield, but his efficiency of late has lagged behind the early season mark he set. He's averaging just 4.4 yards per carry with a total of three rushing scores in his last four games. In a tough game where Georgia Southern figures to dominate time of possession, this sets up as a bad week for Ragas.