College Fantasy Football: Get ready for Week 5 with our primer

There are plenty of developments from Week 4 to cover in this week’s Primer, as injuries and depth chart movement have drastically altered the college fantasy landscape. Here are some important topics to be aware of when setting your Week 5 lineups. 

RISERS

‘Keelon’ them softly

Keelon Russell has evolved from a promising, Elite 11-winning freshman to an upper echelon, Heisman-contending gunslinger. He lit up South Carolina to the tune of 21-for-27 passing for 365 passing yards and four touchdowns for 40.1 points after recording 36.4 points against Kentucky in Week 3. He was 13-of-15 for 234 yards and four scores before halftime, with HC Kalen DeBoer praising Keelon’s increasing comfort operating out of the pocket.

He’s the perfect conductor for Alabama’s talented corps of skill players, as the Tide are averaging 9.5 yards per dropback (9th in FBS) with 24% of completions generating 20+ yards (20th). His 12.6-point Week 2 dud is now a distant memory, with Russell poised to blow up the stat sheet this weekend against Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State in what should be a QB showcase.

Lincoln Logs Another Big Game

Reports out of spring were that Lincoln Kienholz was having trouble connecting with his new receiving corps and that the Cardinals would be more run-oriented than recent iterations of their offense. However, in last weekend’s upset loss to Wake Forest, their two primary runners, Isaac and Keyjuan Brown, managed only 81 yards on 21 carries. Instead, Kienholz has performed at a higher level than previous starter Miller Moss. He unleashed 36 passes while averaging 8.1 yards per dropback and recording his fourth straight games with at least 25+ fantasy points.

Kienholz has thrown for 300+ yards twice already, but his ground-based utility has produced a whopping six rushing touchdowns and is a vital component to his early-season breakout.

That said, Kienholz was banged up last weekend and is considered a game-time decision at NC State. His absence would be a major depth blow since Week 5 features several prominent signal callers on bye.

He’s Fluff, And He’s The Stuff

Couldn’t resist the NWO Buff Bagwell nod, but Fluff Bothwell’s fantasy relevance has increased right along with the rest of the Mississippi State offense under the tutelage of rising star QB Kamario Taylor. Bothwell has now recorded three consecutive 100-yard games while becoming just the sixth NSU RB to accrue 120+ rushing yards and 50+ receiving yards in the same contest. Fluff is averaging a commendable 3.9 YAC and 54% success rate, with 18% of his rushes gaining 10+ yards. He is currently the fantasy RB12 and could go higher if he keeps the 100-yard streak going against Alabama this weekend. 

FALLERS

Bishop To Pawn

Everything was proceeding according to plan when Tennessee RB DeSean Bishop racked up 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in a 45-24 destruction of Georgia Tech in Week 2. However, he sustained an injury against Kennesaw State in Week 3, which limited his effectiveness in their narrow 20-17 loss to Texas last week, with Bishop managing just 34 yards on 11 carries.

It’s not time to abandon ship, or Bishop in this case, as he is still the same runner who scored 16 touchdowns and averaged 17.3 PPG last year. However, he was clearly impaired against Texas and is a questionable fantasy option if he is only handling a dozen carries a game, because he’s gutting it out when he’s hurt in order to help the team win. I’m taking a cautionary approach and benching Bishop against Auburn this week unless a favorable report emerges later in the week. 

What Can Brown Do For Louisville?

We talked about the good in Louisville; now, it’s time for the bad. Isaac Brown commanded top-15 ADP after posting a superb 8.8 yards per carry last year, and running for 1,173 yards with 11 touchdowns as a freshman in 2024. However, Brown has been a profound disappointment this season, failing to reach 70 rushing yards in a game with just one score all season. The script turned against Louisville last weekend against Wake Forest, with QB Lincoln Kienholz unleashing a career-high 36 passes and Brown receiving just nine carries. Throw in the emergence of RB1B Keyjuan Brown, who erupted for 28.3 fantasy points against SMU and outcarried Isaac 12-to-9 last game, and it’s becoming clear that this is a situation where both running backs are cannibalizing each other’s value. Leave both players on your bench until one of them emerges as the preferred option. 

‘Hughes’ The Man?

Much was expected from Hughes after he transferred to Oregon from Tulane in 2025, but then he barely made an appearance in Eugene and transferred right out of there to Houston in the offseason to be reunited with his former Tulane HC, Willie Fritz. A massive workload was projected for Hughes, which propelled his early third-round preseason ADP. However, that alpha RB1 role has failed to materialize, as Hughes has failed to show the kind of explosiveness he was known for at Tulane. Only 17% of his rushing yardage has come on breakaway runs of 15+ yards (FBS Avg – 31.6%), while RB2 Re’Shaun Sanford was given 17+ carries to Hughes 16 in their last game against Georgia Southern.

The Cougars’ backfield is looking like a 50/50 timeshare, which greatly reduces Hughes’ projectability on a weekly basis. I am benching him against a tough UCF run D that ranks 12th nationally with a 30% rushing success rate allowed. 

College Fantasy Football Game of the Week

Illinois vs. Purdue — Feel The Excitement!

Not exactly the matchup that the national college football media world will be excited about, but this game is a potential bonanza for fantasy purposes. Illinois QB Katin Houser ranks fourth nationally in QBR and Illinois WR1 Collin Dixon ranks top-10 amongst wideouts in both receptions and touchdowns. Though they lost to B10 powerhouse Ohio State last weekend, the Illini still managed to accumulate 462 total yards and have the good fortune of facing a terrible Purdue defensive unit this week. The Boilermakers’ porous defense ranks 136th in rushing success rate allowed (52%) and dead last in completions of 20+ yards allowed (28.6%!), so Illinois should face little resistance. 

Purdue’s offense has been noticeably improved, though, ranking 37th in passing success rate (49%) 12th in completion rate (72%) and 23rd in 3-and-out% (18%). QB Ryan Browne has thrown for 300+ yards in three of four games, with the lone exception being a 49-10 destruction at the hands of Notre Dame’s elite secondary. Fortunately, Illinois’ defense is almost as bad as Purdue’s, ranking 136th in down set conversion rate (80.5%) and 122nd in passing success rate allowed (47%) while allowing 4.9 points per scoring opportunity (108th). 

If Purdue can hang 38 points on a UCLA defense that just completely snuffed out Maryland, then they should easily post 30+ points on Illinois, which makes this combustible matchup between two pitiful defenses the CFF Game of the Week!

Injury Notes

Mo Time On The Shelf?

Adam Mohammed left Cal’s game with 12:31 left in the third quarter and did not return, leading to much speculation about his availability in Week 5 against UNLV. Cal’s opening day RB2 Carter Vargas is also hurt and is doubtful to play this weekend versus Clemson. That leaves Ashten Emory as the immediate beneficiary should Mohammed not suit up in Vegas in an appealing matchup — he’ll take on a soft UNLV front seven that ranks 125th in rushing success rate allowed and 114th in yards per carry (5.3). 

Rule of Thumb

Nebraska freshman Phenom Jamal Rule left the game against Michigan State after just four carries, giving way to RB Mekhi Nelson to handle 42 snaps to Isaiah Mozee’s 13 and Vincent Genatone’s five. If Rule can’t go, Nelson would be an immediate streaming option against a lackluster Maryland run defense that just allowed 266 rushing yards and 54 points to UCLA. 

‘Cam’ He Return To Form in 2027?

Michigan State was dealt a tough blow losing starting bell cow RB Cam Edwards to a season-ending injury last weekend. HC Pat Fitzgerald singled out Iowa transfer Jaziun Patterson as being an experienced, veteran ball carrier who is the safest option to handle the majority of backfield work in his absence. Best to take a wait-and-see approach and bench Patterson against Wisconsin’s excellent run defense this weekend, then evaluate the carry distribution for MSU’s appealing matchup versus Illinois in Week 6.