College Fantasy Football: Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em for Notre Dame in Week 4

Do you play College Fantasy Football? Are you a fan of Notre Dame football? If you answered yes to both of those questions, you have come to the right place. Check out how I think some Irish players will fare in week four.

You would not believe it based on the recent conversations amongst fans, but Notre Dame football is 3-0 and ranked eighth in the AP Poll. Their success through the first quarter of the 2018 regular season is thanks in large part to their defense.

The Irish will need more strong play from their defense as they prepare for their first road trip of the season. Notre Dame will head to Winston-Salem next weekend to face the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest.

Start ‘Em

Notre Dame Defense (DST)

Death, taxes, and the 2018 Notre Dame defense playing well. The sample size is only three games, but what we have seen from this group so far has been very promising. They have held opponents to 17 points or less in each of their first three games and have forced seven turnovers.

This ACC road game should not be cause for too much concern. As the old football cliche goes, “Defense always travels.” If the Notre Dame defense is still available in your college fantasy football league, you should pick them up immediately and feel confident starting them every week.

Justin Yoon (K)

Yoon has not been as automatic as he has been in the past, but he is still one of the best place kickers in college football. He has made five of his first seven field goal attempts, two of which were longer than 45 yards out.

Notre Dame’s struggles in the red zone last week makes Yoon more valuable in fantasy football. If that trend continues, he could average one or two more field goal attempts per game. Keep him in your lineup.

Jafar Armstrong (RB)

Last week I advised fantasy owners to sit Jafar Armstrong because Tony Jones Jr. appeared to be earning more playing time in the Irish backfield. That concern came to fruition this past weekend as Jones Jr. led all Notre Dame running backs in carries with 17. Nonetheless, I am pulling a complete 180 this week.

While I think that Jones Jr. will continue to receive a steady workload, I think Armstrong will have a bounce-back game this weekend after a somewhat average stat line against Vanderbilt. There are ebbs and flows at the running back position. After two solid performances, I think Jones Jr. is due for a dip in production, which should result in more touches for Armstrong.

Sit ‘Em

Brandon Wimbush (QB)

Through three games this season, Brandon Wimbush has a touchdown to interception ratio of 0.25 — throwing just one touchdown pass and four interceptions. On top of that, he is losing out on valuable offensive snaps in the “blue zone,” which is the area on the field between the five yard line and the goal line.

A fantasy football owner could hold out hope that Wimbush could make up for these blemishes by making plays with his legs when the offense is farther away from the end zone. That has not been the case thus far. Wimbush has only ran for 136 yards and one touchdown is his first three games. Until he can turn things around, fantasy owners should look for a replacement.

Miles Boykin (WR)

After a big game in week two, Miles Boykin significantly regressed. This past week, Boykin only caught one pass for 14 yards. His pedestrian stat line may not be entirely his fault, but it appears to be closer to what we can expect from him on a weekly basis than the numbers he put up in the previous game.

Notre Dame is struggling to get consistent production from their quarterback. As a result, all Irish pass-catchers have been devalued in fantasy football. There is no need to roll the dice with Boykin or any of the other receivers until they show some improvement.

Alize Mack (TE)

Alize Mack had his best game of the season last week. He finished with three catches for 25 yards. He benefitted from some additional snaps in the absence of Cole Kmet, who is expected to be out again this week.

All that said, I do not know how much better Mack will get as the season progresses. If you are starting him in fantasy football, you are really just hoping he can score a touchdown. I am still a bit skeptical at this point and think the jury is till out on Mack’s fantasy value.