Fantasy Football: Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em for Notre Dame vs. Michigan

After a bye week, Notre Dame starts the second half of their season with a primetime game in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines. Here are my thoughts on the fantasy football value of some Irish players in this top-20 matchup.

Through eight weeks of the 2019 season, there are six Notre Dame players that are relevant in college fantasy football. By relevant, I mean they should be on a roster in your league. Those six players are: Ian Book, Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet, Tony Jones Jr, Jafar Armstrong, and Jonathan Doerer.

The inclusion of Jafar Armstrong might be surprising to some, given he has only touched the ball four times this season, but he is just that talented. After missing seven weeks with a groin injury, Armstrong should be a bit refreshed when he returns to the Irish offense this week.

If any of those six players are available in your league, close this article right now and submit a waiver wire request to add them to your roster.

Now we turn our attention to this weekend. Here are the Notre Dame players you should start and sit when the Irish take on the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

Start ‘Em

Chase Claypool (WR)

Claypool has had a reception of at least 23 yards in five games this season. He has had a reception of at least 34 yards in three games.

Despite his propensity to make big plays in the passing game, Claypool has yet to eclipse the 100-yard mark in a game this season. Do you know what that means? He’s due.

I think Claypool will finish this game with somewhere around 110 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Notre Dame Defense (D/ST)

The Michigan offense currently ranks 67th among all FBS teams in points per game with an average of 29 points. In their three games against ranked opponents, they are averaging just 15 points per game.

Th Notre Dame defense, on the other hand, is allowing 16.8 points per game this season and has held opponents to 30 points or fewer in their last 20 games.

Considering all of that, the Irish defense has a pretty high floor in terms of fantasy football value this week.

On the Fence

Ian Book (QB)

The Michigan defense currently ranks 8th in passing yards allowed. Through seven games this season, they have only allowed six passing touchdowns, three of which came last weekend at Penn State.

In his last two road games, Ian Book has completed 61.3 percent of his passes and thrown two interceptions.

His fantasy football value is also hurt a bit by the return of Jafar Armstrong, who is now closer to full health. Adding Armstrong to a rushing attack that has been impressive these last few weeks will likely limit Book’s passing attempts.

With two great defenses, this game seems like it is going to be a low-scoring affair, which lowers Ian Book’s ceiling in fantasy football this week.

Sit ‘Em

Tony Jones and Jafar Armstrong (RB)

Before the USC game, it was reported that Armstrong was ready to return and was expected to play 15 to 20 snaps. Because of that, I advised college fantasy football participants to sit Tony Jones Jr.

On October 12th, I learned that the coaching staff straight up lied to me. Armstrong was only on the field for a couple of plays and he finished the game with one carry for negative four yards.

Two weeks later, there is far less uncertainty about Armstrong’s health. He will play a significant role in the offense on Saturday. I do not think Armstrong will be a workhorse back in what will essentially be his first full game back from injury, but I do think he could end up with close to ten touches.

I would not be surprised if either player has a great game on Saturday. I think it will come down to which one (hopefully both!) can find the endzone.

For this week, I think the smart move is to hold off on starting either running back. Wait until we have a clearer idea of how the workload will be distributed with both backs at full health.