CFB DeptHITS: Friday, November 15
Week 12 is upon us and it is a big week for movement at the top and within the Conference standings. We take a look at the 'big ones' from our many updates over at CFBDepth.com.
We are making many tweaks and adjustments to our 134 live FBS depth charts over at CFBDepth.com — this feature is designed to pull out the ‘big ones’ that you’ll want to know heading into each weeks games. Today, we’ll hit on these and do a quick preview of our Friday slate based on our (CFBDm) Model. Enjoy!
We’ll start with a look at the week 12 status and availability updates…
Georgia ::: Big update for the Dawgs as starting RB Trevor Etienne's injuries continue to hamper him and will keep him out against Tennessee in week 12. For a struggling offense, which has pointed to a lack of running game as the primary culprit, this is certainly not going to help things. Nate Frazier will be leaned on very heavily with other injuries to that running back room looming large.
Florida ::: Good news for the Gators offense here as well. QB DJ Lagway and WR Elijhah Badger are both expected to return to their starting roles for week 12 against LSU.
Nebraska ::: QB Dylan Raiola is 'good to go' against USC in week 12 after a "great week of practice" per HC Matt Rhule.
LSU ::: WR Chris Hilton Jr. has made his way back to the field but has not been 100% full-go with just two catches in two games. Could week 12 be the breakout week for him? Brian Kelly mentioned that he is moving around better and looks like he did early in preseason before injury befell him.
Kentucky ::: Mark Stoops lets us know that he expected QB Brock Vandagriff to start week 12 against Murray State. He also mentioned that we will likely see the return of CB Maxwell Hairston, who is a key defensive cover corner who has not played since week four.
West Virginia ::: Good news for the Mountaineers offense as both QB Garrett Greene and top WR Hudson Clement are returning for week 12 against Baylor. This should really open things up and could lead to a breakout performance. Meanwhile, WR Jaden Bray is not quite ready but they remain hopeful for his return in week 13.
South Florida ::: QB Byrum Brown is expected to return to the field week 12 against Charlotte.
Pittsburgh ::: QB Eli Holstein took a big hit in week 11 and is now considered a game-time decision for week 12. Nate Yarnell, who struggled mightily in relief, would get the call if Holstein is not able to go.
|||||| OTHER NEWS AND NOTES
Kennesaw State ::: More Owls hit the Portal after the ousting of head coach Brian Bohannon. This includes his son, WR Blake Bohannon, who was second on the team with 16 catches this season. RB Qua Ashley, who was splitting carries with Michael Benefield and their top dynamic kick returner, will also leave the Owls. WR Gabriel Benyard announcing his intent to enter the transfer portal as well. He is the top option in the passing game and has missed most of the season with injury before a recent retrun the past two weeks. He played four games and will likely get a waiver for an additional year of eligibility.
Tulsa ::: QB Cooper Legas solidified himself as the Hurricanes' starter with a solid performance against East Carolina, going 20/32 for 293 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. He also ran for 43 yards. He led them to a near upset win over the Pirates on Thursday evening here in week 12.
Wisconsin ::: QB Tyler Van Dyke is expected to return to Wisconsin for a sixth season in 2025. He was injured this year in week three and was then announced out for the season. He could apply for and receive a medical waiver and return. Injuries have been a big part of his career, dating back to his time at Miami.
|||||| WEEK 12 FRIDAY GAMES PREVIEW
We have a fun little slate of games tonight (Friday) and we’ll go through a quick preview and what our Model thinks of them here. We have one BIG play mixed in here…
Wyoming at Colorado State — 8:00 PM ET
A Mountain West battle between two teams that appear to be far apart on the surface. The Rams are hosting and are on a four-game winning streak. Wyoming is coming off a thrilling win over New Mexico back in week 10 and are also coming off of a bye week. The Cowboys need to that time to get some of their contributors healthy as the Injury & Impact report has them at a Critical/High rating on that front. Most of the ‘edges’ go the Rams’ way as expected, but the most glaring difference between these two is in the trenches. The Cowboys aren’t mustering much of a pass rush and the Rams are ranked in the top 35 in pass protection this season. Ultimately, that should propel the Rams to a comfortable victory Friday night.
North Texas at UTSA — 8:00 PM ET
Looking at these records, you may think that North Texas has the edge. We obviously look far beyond those records in our analysis of these games. We’ll start with North Texas’ dWIN stat of 4.1 (compared to the 5 wins they have). That impact is ranked 104th and means that it is a bit misleading to where they are at. Both teams have played similarly ‘easy’ schedules thus far and are similarly banged up overall. The Roadrunners’ are particularly thin at wide receiver and will need others to step up to help the offense take advantage of a below average Mean Green defense. UTSA is coming off of a bye week and that could be a slight advantage, but where we see the biggest difference between these two is in those trenches again. UTSA has shown an ability to get to the quarterback this season and while UNT has protected decently to this point, this front seven is more talented and dynamic. If the Roadrunners can cause havoc in the backfield, it could be a long day for Chandler Morris and this offense that mustered just three points against Army last week.
UCLA at Washington — 9:00 PM ET
The Bruins’ sudden turn around is one of the bigger storylines from this 2024 Big Ten season. After suffering through a six-game losing streak (against a pure gauntlet of a slate), they have won three in a row, including two road games - Rutgers and Nebraska - before returning home and upsetting Iowa a week ago on Friday night. The Bruins have played the 2nd toughest schedule in the land according to our SOS+ metric and deserve almost a full win more according to dWIN. Washington is in a similar boat, having been through a rough Big Ten slate of games and are. coming off of a rough outing at Happy Valley in week 11. QB Will Rogers struggled and was even benched for a bit before a vote of confidence from their head coach. We could see some packages featuring Demond Williams Jr. in this one. We all knew the Huskies offensive line would be decimated in the off-season, but nobody could have seen the drop-off in production. They have overcome that for the most part, but UCLA’s defensive pass rush is on the rise and could cause many problems. In the end, the talent level on defense for the Huskies will win out in a low-scoring affair according to the Model…
Houston at Arizona — 10:15 PM ET
The nightcap features two teams heading in opposite directions as the Willie Fritz-led Cougars have salvaged some of the life in their season to rally to a 3-3 Big 12 record with two straight wins against quality opponents in Utah and Kansas State. QB Zeon Chriss has been a big reason for that breath of life in the program. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have been ravaged by injuries and inconsistent play to drop five in a row. Both are coming off of a bye which may slow some of the Cougars momentum and allow Arizona to return to some semblance of health and reset for the final stretch. This appears to be an evenly-matched game talent-wise and being at home is the main difference that Model sees playing out…
That’s our show for today. Enjoy the Friday night slate and we’ll be back tomorrow with the HITS and the full Model Saturday Plays article in the morning. Thanks for following along!