RADIO
Mike's top Week 5 college fantasy football team offense and defense waiver wire streamers - OFF, DEF pickups, streamers and starts for 2026. Target these fantasy CFB streaming options with strong matchups.
We only have three teams playing FCS teams this week, and only one of them is in Yahoo! leagues. That would be LSU, and neither the offense nor the defense is available in most leagues. Now we need to find teams playing the bottom of the barrel in their respective conferences or those few that still are dipping in non-conference waters.
All of the recommended offenses last week scored at least six touchdowns, so I'll consider that a successful week. Three of the five defenses were good last week, but none of them put up scores that would gain you significant ground. Unfortunately, that's where we are with defenses in college fantasy football.
Waivers for Week 5 open tomorrow. We'll highlight some team offense and team defense adds for Week 5 in college fantasy football. Teams featured are 25% rostered or lower on Yahoo! leagues. I'm going to put these in order of the best claims, not based on roster percentage. The best options aren't always the ones that are on the most rosters.
Waiver Wire Adds Week 5 - Team Offense
Nebraska OFF
6% rostered
Nebraska hasn't scored less than 15 fantasy points in any of their four games so far. We just saw UCLA's offense light up Maryland for 52 points last week. We could make a strong argument that Nebraska's offense is better.
Highest Graded Quarterbacks This Season? pic.twitter.com/r6OojVdmmr
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 23, 2026
Anthony Colandrea is a perfect fit for this offense, and RB Jamal Rule is a wrecking ball as a freshman. Nebraska has scored 22 touchdowns in four games, has topped 400 yards of offense in three games (over 500 in two), and has only turned it over once.
Numbers like that are a cheat code in Yahoo! scoring for offenses. Maryland has only forced three turnovers in four games. This is a great spot for Nebraska.
Mississippi State OFF
6% rostered
I know that Mississippi State is playing Alabama, but the Tide has given up 890 yards of offense in the last two games to Florida State and South Carolina. The Mississippi State offense is better than both of those.
KAMARIO TAYLOR HIGHLIGHTS VS MIZZ
27/38-360 PASS YARDS-3 PASS TD
THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY. #HailState pic.twitter.com/p8aO9YwgxM
— GUCCE (@gucceCU) September 27, 2026
The Bulldogs have scored 22 touchdowns in four games. Three of those games are against Power 4 opponents (South Carolina, Minnesota, and Missouri).
They aren't piling up as many yards as Nebraska, and the Bulldogs have turned it over three times, but they should still be in for a strong game. The only bad part is that the Bulldogs may lose some points by taking a loss.
Louisville OFF
9% rostered
The strong play of Lincoln Kienholz has already turned a lot of fantasy owners to Louisville's offense. They are still available in over 90% of Yahoo! leagues, and this is a really good matchup for the Cardinals.
North Carolina State has allowed at least 375 yards to all three FBS teams they have played this year. That includes the struggling offenses of Vanderbilt and Appalachian State.
Louisville is by far the most put-together offensive unit that the Pack has faced this season. Louisville has already lost two games, but they are piling up yardage bonuses, going over 350 yards of offense in all four games. They have only turned the ball over once.
Wake Forest OFF
7% rostered
Stanford has allowed at least 34 points in all four games this season. Against Miami and Duke, it was expected. Against Hawaii and Georgia Tech...not so much.
Gio Lopez and Carlos Hernandez have this offense playing very well. Wake even put up over 300 yards of offense in Miami. We'll consider Stanford around the same caliber of defense as Purdue. Wake scored 18 fantasy points in that one.
Virginia OFF
1% rostered
Florida State allowed 585 yards to SMU and 567 yards to Alabama. Virginia's offense isn't quite that potent, but they're close. Beau Pribula and Jekail Middlebrook have revitalized this Virginia offense.
The Cavs demolished North Carolina State in Week 0 and lit up a Delaware defense that had played pretty well. 500 yards of offense is more than possible. It's likely.
Other offenses to consider:
Houston vs. Central Florida, Cincinnati vs. Arizona, Kentucky vs. South Carolina
Waiver Wire Adds Week 5 - Team Defense
Nebraska DEF
2% rostered
UCLA held Maryland to just three points last week and 181 yards of offense. We have underestimated the strength of UCLA's defense this year, but the same is true of Nebraska.
Turnover Margin vs Sack Margin
Power 4, through Week 4 pic.twitter.com/wfkhBCywo1
— The Fourth Quarter (@4thQuarterCFB00) September 28, 2026
That graph shows that the Nebraska defense has been elite in four games this season. New defensive coordinator Rob Aurich led San Diego State's defense last year to three shutouts. The Aztecs also allowed 10 points or less in eight of the 13 games.
Aurich's defense has been impressive since the first half of the season opener against Ohio.
Michigan DEF
18% rostered
A lot of fantasy players soured on the Michigan defense after Iowa scored 20 on them. That was the most points that Michigan has allowed this year. That's still a strong number.
Minnesota's offense has struggled to move the ball at times, but they don't turn the ball over a lot. Still, I've seen enough from Michigan's defense to know that they can stop this offense and likely get a couple of turnovers.
Minnesota DEF
1% rostered
Michigan's offense has moved the ball fairly well over the last two games, but after watching Minnesota's defense on Saturday night in Seattle, I'm intrigued.
Minnesota sacked Demond Williams Jr. seven times and picked him off twice. He's better than Bryce Underwood, but Michigan's offensive line is a very strong unit.
Minnesota should be disruptive enough to get a sack or three and force Underwood into at least one bad throw. This game promises to be another low-scoring affair.
Michigan scored a lot of points against UTEP, but only had 13 against Western Michigan, 17 against Oklahoma, and 19 against Iowa. The Gophers should put up a solid stat line, even if it isn't one that scores a ton of fantasy points.
Kansas DEF
3% rostered
This is all about the opponent and has very little to do with the skill of Kansas (or lack thereof). Middle Tennessee State has over 300 yards of offense in every game, but the best team they have played is Jacksonville State.
As flawed as Kansas is, they are still better than Jacksonville State. The Jayhawks have five sacks, two fumble recoveries, and a special teams touchdown in three games this season.
Despite losing to both Missouri (allowing 38 points) and Arizona State, the Jayhawks still got positive points from their defense. They're not the best option, but Kansas is a very low-risk option.
Houston DEF
11% rostered
Central Florida has had some trouble moving the ball without Alonza Barnett III under center. Barnett has already been ruled out for the Week 5 game against Houston.
I was interested in the Cougars' defense last week because they are getting sacks and forcing turnovers. However, they allowed 28 points for the second straight game.
Houston has still notched eight sacks, three interceptions, and three fumble recoveries in four games this season. Central Florida has only scored 28 points in two games against Power 4 teams. I'll take my chances with Houston again. This is still a good spot.
Other defenses to consider:
Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh, Arizona vs. Cincinnati, California vs. UNLV
