College Fantasy Football Waiver Wire, Week 7: Bear Bachmeier, Jaziun Patterson among top pickups

Week 6 was the second-most consequential bye week of the college football season, leaving the potential of some valuable open bench spots as players acquired for a spot start can be dropped in favor of higher-upside options who can help teams in the second half of the regular season. Here are some players who you should consider adding for the stretch run who are still available in most leagues.

Bear Bachmeier, BYU - 17% Rostered on Yahoo

A rock-solid asset whose husky, powerful frame makes him a goal-line vulture, Bachmeier has scored 29+ points in three-of-five games and cleared 20+ in four of them. Only a 7.78-point aberration against Colorado State blemishes an otherwise sterling résumé, with Bear averaging 24.4 PPG on the year. His rushing utility is key, as his 239 yards and four touchdowns on the ground give him an exceptionally high floor. He has zeroed in on true freshman WR Legend Glasker as his primary target, providing a downfield element to his game. Glasker is averaging a 17.4 ADOT on his targets, which is more than twice as much as the next highest ADOT on the team (TE Walker Lyons, 8.1). Which makes sense since BYU throws to the slot at the fourth-highest rate in the nation, emphasizing precision and staying on schedule as is evidenced by BYU's 53% success rate (5th in FBS). The one caveat is Notre Dame comes to Provo this weekend, so if you can stash Bachmeier on your bench, he's going to be a valuable asset against his second-half Big 12 slate.

Lopez was coming off 45.4 points against Stanford, and then had a 31.1-point eruption in a 38-14 bashing of NC State in Week 6. He should make it three big games in a row this weekend against a reeling Cal team that ranks 120th in pass plays of 20+ yards (19%).

If you're looking for week-in, week-out consistency, Fifita is as valuable as any QB in the country, scoring at least 21+ points in all six games, ranking sixth in QB points while averaging a cool 26.6 PPG. He's on bye this week, but has a dream matchup against Iowa State in Week 8 if you can float the bench spot for a week.

Jaziun Patterson, Michigan State - 5% Rostered

Injuries are out of our control, all we can do is adjust to the circumstances. When MSU RB1 Cam Edwards was lost for the season, Iowa transfer RB Jaziun Patterson was handed the reins to the starting running back job heading into last week's contest against Wisconsin. He rushed 18 times for 62 yards in a humiliating 31-3 loss to Illinois. This week, the Spartans were ready for Illinois, taking the game to OT in a heartbreaking 38-37 loss. Patterson was ready for the challenge as well, rushing 17 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns while catching three passes for 26 yards and another score for a gaudy 37.4 points. What was encouraging was just four carries were distributed to the rest of the RB room, which affirms the stranglehold Patterson has on the RB1 role. MSU had played a brutal set of run defenses prior to Illinois, and face a gauntlet of Big Ten contenders down the stretch, but Patterson is highly streamable against Northwestern in Week 7 .

After receiving just 16 carries for 108 yards over Notre Dame's first four games, the true freshman has amassed 36 carries for 301 yards and two touchdowns, with four receptions for 56 yards for 54.7 points over his last two contests. Walton has outscored his backfield contemporaries over the last two, solidifying a share of this rapidly evolving three-way dance between him, Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr. While it may be difficult to parse which player is going to go off each week, Notre Dame's schedule is so light it might not matter if they're all scoring 15+ points like they did in Week 6 against Stanford. Walton is a pickup and hold versus BYU on the road on Week 7.

Cardae Mack, Arizona State - 0% Rostered

I had been hearing about freshman sensation Cardae Mack since talking to my ASU sources who speculated that he could take the starting gig at some point this season. Despite his undeniable talent, Mack was not prominently featured in the spring depth chart. His time came this weekend while celebrating his 19th birthday with 13 carries for 154 yards and two touchdowns versus Hawaii, putting RB1 Kyson Brown on notice. Mack is an excellent bench stash to watch in the second half.

Ijeboi exploded on the scene with three straight games of 17+ points to open the season, including a 36.6-point bludgeoning of Wake Forest. Yet, he somehow slipped in roster rate after a forgivable 5.7-point performance against a superior Notre Dame defense and 8.0 points on 20 touches in a 24-17 victory over Illinois in Week 5. These minor hiccups are in the past after Ijeboi detonated on Minnesota, carving up the Gophers for 31 carries, 195 rushing yards, three touchdowns and 43.1 fantasy points in the 41-13 win. He needs to be active for his Week 7 contest against the hapless Washington Huskies.

With projected WR1 Tre Spivey and WR2 Giovanni Richardson both missing extended time, there were questions about which wideout would step up to become Fifita's new primary target. Despite making his first career start, Mizell answered the call with six catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns for 30.3 points in Week 6 against West Virginia. He had been a steady presence in the offense before getting the starting nod, earning 5+ targets in each of the last three games with two touchdown receptions in that span, so that breakout wasn't completely out of the blue. Head coach Brent Brennan praised Mizell's approach and preparation heading into the contest and he appears primed to take over the Arizona WR1 role after their Week 7 bye, when the Wildcats get to feast on Iowa State's secondary that ranks 126th in yards per successful pass (17.0).

"Cactus" Jack Foley, Wake Forest - 0% Rostered

With gawd as my witness, "Cactus" Jack Foley has broken NC State's secondary in half!

Few freshman wideouts have had the kind of impact that we've seen from Mrs. Foley's baby boy, with Cactus Jack benefitting from the extra attention NC State gave star Wake Forest WR Carlos Hernandez, reeling in eight catches for 156 yards and a touchdown for a career-high 24.4 points. It marks the third time in four games that Foley has eclipsed 50+ yards with a receiving touchdown as Wake Forest's offense continues to throttle its overmatched opponents. The Demon Deacons have scored 30+ points in five-of-six games, with their 33-20 loss to last year's National Championship runner-up, Miami. It's hard to believe he's still practically un-rostered despite being a key contributor in the expertly-schemed Wake Forest passing attack, which features just 12% of the pass attempts being contested. Foley is well worth starting if you need a bye-week WR against Cal in Week 7.

Mosley missed the last three games to injury, accounting for the surprisingly low 25% roster rate. He is now officially back after a 22.5-point explosion against Penn State this weekend and is an absolute matchup-proof superstar who should be everyone's priority on the waiver wire this week. His Week 7 bye is irrelevant, as Mosley is one of the top-15 fantasy wideouts in the country when healthy and a superstar in the making.

Glasker is the third true freshman wideout highlighted in this week's waiver column, with the budding star scorching Iowa State's secondary for a 75-yard touchdown reception and 19.9 points as BYU rolled up 506 total yards on a beleaguered ISU defense. It marks the fourth time in five games that Glasker produced 80+ total yards, as he is a dangerous weapon in the run game as well, recording 11 carries for 83 yards and two rushing scores. He is well worth scooping and holding for the rest of the season.

Syracuse has been a fantasy honey-hole for tight ends in recent years, with "TEITO" Oronde Gadsden II posting league-winning numbers and TE Dan Villari running Wildcat QB packages. The new beneficiary of the 'Cuse TE legacy is Bacheyie, who has somehow flown under the radar at a 1% roster rate despite catching a pass in four out of five games. He blew up for four receptions, 97 yards and a touchdown for a career-high 17.7 points in a close 28-25 loss to UVA this weekend. The fact Syracuse's defense frequently puts the offense in an aggressive pass script greatly favors Bacheyie despite the fact Syracuse has started three different quarterbacks in the last three weeks. He is an excellent start Week 7 against a Louisville defense that has been uncharacteristically soft this season.

Preston Douglas, NC State - 35% Rostered

Douglas has taken over Justin Joly's high-volume TE1 role for the Wolfpack and has parlayed it into one of the safer bets at the tight end position. Douglas has scored at least 7.0 points per game in every game this year, while securing at least four passes in each of the last four games. If you can stash Douglas on the bench for his Week 7 bye, he will be an auto-start Week 8 versus the pitiful Stanford defense.