Devy Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers: Ollie Gordon, Phil Mafah, Sam Hartman, Nicholas Singleton

With five matchups between ranked opponents and a handful of other intriguing games on the schedule, Week 10 of the college football season had the potential to be great. Not only did it live up to the hype, but Week 10 might have exceeded all expectations.

On the early slate, No. 7 Texas defeated No. 23 Kansas State in an overtime thriller, No. 10 Ole Miss survived Texas A&M, and unranked Clemson upset No. 15 Notre Dame. In the afternoon, No. 2 Georgia survived a scare from No. 12 Missouri, while No. 22 Oklahoma State defeated No. 9 Oklahoma 27-24 in what is currently the final-scheduled Bedlam matchup between the two rivals.

Just when you think the action couldn’t get any better, the night slate stepped up with two of the best games of the season. No. 5 Washington and No. 20 USC exchanged touchdowns in the Huskies’ 52-42 victory over the Trojans, while No. 8 Alabama eventually pulled away from No. 14 LSU en route to a 42-28 victory. What a weekend of college football.

Devy Risers & Fallers

If you’re unfamiliar with the format, devy (developmental dynasty league) is a type of fantasy football league that goes deeper. In these leagues, you draft and stash potential NFL prospects years before they enter the league. Scott Fish, the creator of the massively popular Scott Fish Bowl tournament, is also credited with creating devy back in the 1990s, and the format has gained popularity ever since.

Regarding risers, we refer to players whose perceived value has increased based on their on-field performance. However, when we talk about fallers, we consider several factors, such as on-field performance, injuries, playing time, and even some extenuating circumstances, which can impact a player’s value.

Risers

Ollie Gordon (RB – Oklahoma State)

In the first three games of the season, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon had 109 rushing yards on 19 rush attempts. Since then, Gordon has been the focal point of Oklahoma State’s offense and is the main reason for their current five-game winning streak.

Gordon has 100+ rushing yards in six straight contests and he’s averaging over 25 carries per game over that same timeframe. After putting up 271 yards against Cincinnati and 282 yards against West Virginia, Gordon had a “down game” on Saturday with “only” 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns. If that’s considered a down game, you’re doing something right.

Phil Mafah (RB – Clemson)

Last week, Clemson running back Will Shipley took a scary-looking hit that has sidelined the starting running back for an undisclosed amount of time. While Shipley seems to have avoided serious damage, that type of hit to the neck/spine area might keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future.

In Shipley’s absence, Clemson running back Phil Mafah was handed the keys to the offense. Mafah responded with 186 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. Those 36 rushing attempts tie the school record previously shared by Jim Shirley (1951), Ray Yauger (1969), and Raymond Priester (1997).

That type of volume won’t be there every game, but Mafah took full advantage of the favorable game script. Mafah is an upright runner who lacks top-end speed, but he makes up for it with smooth, decisive cuts and the ability to shed arm tackles.

Fallers

Sam Hartman (QB – Notre Dame)

After throwing zero interceptions in the first six games of the season, the wheels have fallen off of the Sam Hartman hype train. The 24-year-old quarterback was never considered an elite devy talent, but whatever perceived value he had is all but gone.

Hartman has tossed seven interceptions over the past four games, including two each over the last two weeks. In Notre Dame’s 31-23 defeat to Clemson, Hartman completed a season-low 43.3% of pass attempts and got away with a handful of other near-interceptions.

Hartman will assuredly make a Senior Bowl appearance and have every opportunity to make an NFL roster next season, but it’s hard to imagine him making an impact on Sundays. He’s a savvy scrambler and has had some good moments over his career, but Hartman looks like a career backup in the NFL right now.

Nicholas Singleton (RB – Penn State)

Entering the season, Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton was considered one of the best running back prospects in the country. The talent is still there, but it just hasn’t worked out for Singleton this season.

After racking up 1,000+ rushing yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman, Singleton’s sophomore campaign has mostly disappointed. In the first nine games of this season, Singleton has only managed 480 yards on the ground. He does have seven rushing touchdowns, but Singleton doesn’t have a 100+ yard rushing game this season.

You might be able to blame some of those struggles on Penn State’s struggling offense, but fellow running back Kaytron Allen is putting up better numbers behind the same offensive line. Allen has nearly 100 more rushing yards (573 yards) than Singleton despite two fewer carries on the season.