College Fantasy Football: Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em for Notre Dame vs. New Mexico

Notre Dame is 1-0 heading into their home opener against New Mexico next weekend. The Irish had the last week off after opening the season at Louisville on Labor Day.

Irish nation and the South Bend faithful will welcome home the Notre Dame football team this Saturday. The Irish will face the New Mexico Lobos of the Mountain West Conference in the home opener.

Playing a “Group of Five” opponent makes for a ton of favorable matchups for Notre Dame players in this contest. And college fantasy football is all about finding the best matchups each week.

Here are the Notre Dame players you should start or sit in week three:

Start ‘Em

Tony Jones Jr. (RB)

The Irish have suffered a couple of hits to their running back depth chart that — while detrimental for the team — have created a golden opportunity for Tony Jones Jr.

Early in the season opener, running back Jafar Armstrong suffered a groin injury that will cause him to miss an extended period of time. Entering the game, Armstrong and Jones were considered 1A and 1B at running back for the Irish offense. In addition to that, backup Jahmir Smith suffered a toe injury during a practice this past weekend that may limit his workload on Saturday.

With Armstrong out, Jones becomes the clear starting running back. That coupled with Smith’s injury means Jones will receive the lion’s share of the carries against New Mexico. The Lobos defense ranked 111th amongst FBS teams in rushing yards per game allowed.

Any starting running back playing against the New Mexico defense is an automatic start. You can take that to the bank.

Ian Book (QB)

Book was not stellar against Louisville in week one, but I will not hold that against him this week. I think he wants to make a statement that he can lead this Notre Dame team to another berth in the College Football Playoff.

There is a slight risk starting Book this week, though. He may not play the entire game if the Irish build a significant lead. However, the matchup vastly outweighs this risk here.

I talked about the favorable matchup for the Notre Dame run game, but the matchup for the passing attack is even better. The New Mexico defense ranked 130th (aka dead last) amongst FBS teams in passing yards per game allowed last season.

Jonathan Doerer (K)

A good matchup for the offense is a good matchup for the kicker. This may be Doerer’s first year as the starting place kicker, but, do you know what is relatively easy for a college kicker? Making extra points.

You can start Doerer this week and almost virtually guarantee your team a minimum of five points, which is how much he scored against Louisville in week one.

Now let’s look at who you should sit against New Mexico.