Texas Tech had gone at least 12 years under coach Mike Leach without having to change quarterbacks in the middle of the season.

It has been a whole mess of another story in 2009 in Lubbock. First it was gunslinger Taylor Potts, Graham Harrell's successor, who suffered a concussion in a win over New Mexico on Oct. 3. Potts missed a few weeks and his backup, Steven Sheffield, came on and did fantastically well.

Sheffield was so good, in fact, that the Red Raiders decided to keep him as the starter last Saturday in a big game at Nebraska even though Potts was cleared to play.

In retrospect, that may have been a bad decision. Not because Sheffield didn't play well but because the quarterback suffered an injury of his own. Sheffield will now be out at least two to three weeks with a foot injury after tweaking it against the Cornhuskers. He was seen limping around at the end of the game and will now hope to return Nov. 14 at Oklahoma State.

Sheffield's injury wouldn't be a huge deal if Potts could return to his early-season self. Potts was cleared to play last week but reports suggest that he may still be a bit woozy. One big hit could mean the team will be forced to turn to third-string redshirt freshman Seth Doege.

Although it seems that any quarterback throwing passes for the Red Raiders should succeed, we just don't see the inexperienced Doege stepping in and putting up monster numbers against Texas A&M on Saturday.

This situation is a mess. If you own Potts, we'd monitor him up until game time, but he's still a risky play. We fully expect the Red Raiders to put up big numbers against the Aggies, but just don't think it will be worth using any of their quarterbacks in Week 8.

Quarterbacks

Tony Pike, Cincinnati: Pike's name has been mentioned in the Heisman race at times as he has the Bearcats smelling a BCS berth. Owned in 68 percent of Fantasy leagues, Pike has been phenomenal and ranks 17th in the nation in passing. The Bearcats dominated the USF Bulls last week but the big story was Pike injuring his wrist. Pike broke his left forearm last season and has played ever since with a plate and screws in his left arm. That same injury was re-aggravated against the Bulls and he underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair the damaged plate. Fans and Fantasy owners were holding their breath, expecting Pike would miss several weeks of action, but the good news has been that Cincinnati hopes to have him in tow on Saturday against Louisville. That's right, despite the injury and the surgery this week, Pike hopes to be back on the field on Saturday. If that happens, feel free to use him against a porous Louisville defense. The injury is to his non-throwing arm and we expect big yardage if he is able to play. Status: Questionable

Austen Arnaud, Iowa State: The Cyclones signal caller is owned in 67 percent of Fantasy leagues and has been very good this season. The junior has thrown for 1,246 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions and rushed for 434 yards with seven more touchdowns. He is averaging over a rushing and passing touchdown per game and is a solid Fantasy option across the board, when healthy. There lies the rub. Arnaud has been healthy for most of the season but bruised his throwing hand Week 7 and missed some time in that game. He's considered probable to play Week 8 at Nebraska. We expect him to play, especially after re-entering the Week 7 game, but worry that bruised throwing hand will limit his production just enough, coupled with Nebraska's defense, to make him someone worth benching Week 8. Status: Probable

Jarrett Brown, West Virginia: While it took Florida's Tim Tebow and Texas Tech's Taylor Potts at least two weeks to get healthy after their concussions, West Virginia's Brown hopes to be back one week following his own head injury. Brown suffered a mild concussion from a blow to the head Week 7 against Marshall and his recovery has been much faster than anticipated. He's been upgraded to probable for the Week 8 game against UConn and coach Bill Stewart said he appears healthy and that he would start Saturday if he can finish the practice week strong, though he also said he wasn't 100 percent committed to using him. Thus far, Brown hasn't had any headaches and has resumed taking first-team snaps in practice. We like him to start the game against the Huskies but we're just not sold he'll be able to finish it. He hasn't really taken any hits since the big one and that will be the true test of his health. Owned in 59 percent of leagues, it might be a good idea to keep him grounded until he proves healthy on the field in game action. Status: Probable

Blaine Gabbert, Missouri: The Missouri Tigers are hosting the No. 3 Texas Longhorns on Saturday and they desperately need a healthy Gabbert to have any chance. Gabbert is listed as probable for the game with an ankle injury but he is clearly not 100 percent healthy. The ankle injury was suffered two weeks ago and he's since played through it. That said, he was noticeably limping and favoring the ankle in Week 7. Gabbert has thrown 12 touchdown passes this season and has been great all year but has recently suffered because of the injury. Since getting hurt, Gabbert has seen his interception numbers rise and his production go down. With senior Jimmy Costello ready to play at a moments notice, we'd go with another Fantasy option Week 8. Gabbert, owned in 47 percent of Fantasy leagues, wasn't going to be a great play against a tough Texas defense anyway. Status: Probable

Ricky Dobbs, Navy: First of all, the nation's leader in rushing touchdowns should be owned in far more than 40 percent of Fantasy leagues. He's scored 16 ground touchdowns and rushed for 579 yards while throwing for 618 yards. He won't do much with his arm, but his legs have been golden. Unfortunately, his legs are the problem. Specifically his knee, Dobbs has actually been playing through the pain the past few games but it got so bad in practice this week, Dobbs went for an MRI. He will be held off his feet in practice leading up to the home game against Wake Forest. The MRI gave the Mids some good news and some bad news as Dobbs does not have any tendon or cartilage damage to his knee. What they did find, however, was an existing small bone crack in the knee that was probably suffered earlier in the year at some point but was aggravated when he took the hit last Saturday against SMU. Dobbs could have surgery and would miss 6 to 8 weeks but is likely going to keep playing through the pain as long as he can. Navy is waiting for Dobbs to make the decision and so are Fantasy owners. A healthy Dobbs would run all over Wake. Status: Questionable

Stephen Garcia, South Carolina: Steve Spurrier's quarterback is ailing heading into Week 8 against Vanderbilt. Garcia was noticeably limping late in the Alabama game on Saturday and is dealing with a knee injury. Seen on the field grabbing the back of his knee and wincing in pain, Garcia is likely to not be at 100 percent if he's able to go this weekend. He's probable for the game but the dual-threat QB does just as much with his legs as his arm and the knee issue could have his value down in the doldrums. Owned in 15 percent of Fantasy leagues, Garcia is far too risky for Fantasy use on Saturday. Status: Probable

Running Backs

Toby Gerhart, Stanford: We don't want to scare you so close to Halloween but Stanford's Gerhart, the fifth-best running back in the nation with 124 yards per game and 12 touchdowns, is injured. Gerhart injured his ankle and was forced to leave the game against Arizona last week on a critical late drive. He was seen hobbling off the field and could not return for a fourth-and-two situation that meant the game. The injury must have been bad for him to not be able to get in there on that important of a play and that makes us skeptical of his availability for Week 8 against Arizona State. Owned in 89 percent of Fantasy leagues, Gerhart is listed as probable for the game. Still, we have trouble believing he'll be 100 percent and think monitoring the news regarding his health status right up until game time is the best way to decide upon his use. If reports say he had a successful practice week, he will return to being a must-start option against a tough ASU defense. Status: Probable

Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State: Hunter has been out since Week 2 when he limped off the field in the 3rd quarter against Houston. The All-American has been trying to get back to action but has continued to have setbacks. The Cowboys are targeting Saturday at Baylor for his return, but at this point we'd like to see it before we actually believe it. Owned in 72 percent of Fantasy leagues, Hunter is expected to start immediately upon his return, we just can't assume for sure that will happen Week 8. Status: Questionable

Michael Smith, Arkansas: The Razorbacks were forced to play last week's game at top-ranked Florida without their leading rusher as Smith missed the game with a hamstring injury. Despite taking the narrow defeat, the Arkansas running game didn't miss a beat as sophomore backup Dennis Johnson ran all over the Gators' solid rush defense and simply couldn't be tackled. Arkansas heads to Mississippi to face the Rebels on Saturday and Smith has been back at practice this week in preparation. The senior looked to have his quickness back on Tuesday, reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The coaching staff is hopeful he'll return in Week 8. Smith is still not yet 100 percent healthy and will not be sure of his availability before the end of the week. That said, we expect he'll play but should split more carries with Johnson to keep him healthy. Owned in 46 percent of leagues, it just doesn't seem prudent to be starting Smith against the Rebels' solid defense. Status: Questionable

Alexander Robinson, Iowa State: The Cyclone's Robinson, owned in 41 percent of leagues, left last Saturday's 24-10 win over Baylor after re-injuring his already sore groin that he originally suffered on Sept. 26 against Army. Coach Paul Rhoads told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that he won't know Robinson's status until later in the week. Robinson has already missed parts of games against Kansas State and Baylor with this injury but still has managed to become the Big 12's leader with 105.3 rushing yards per game. He's listed as probable on the injury report and we're convinced he'll at least give it a go at Nebraska on Saturday. Against their very solid defense, however, we think it might be best to keep him benched in Week 8. Status: Probable

Daniel Herron, Ohio State: The Buckeyes tailback is quickly losing his starting gig as he continues to deal with a disappointing ankle injury. Herron has rushed 66 times on the year for 246 yards and leads the team with five rushing touchdowns. That production makes him third on the team behind QB Terrelle Pryor and Brandon Saine, who started in his place last week at Purdue. Herron managed just two carries against Wisconsin Week 6 after re-injuring the ankle and missed the trip to West Lafayette. Saine carried the load in his first career start and will likely continue to get the reps going forward. Herron will get his when he returns, but he will not be worth use in the 32 percent of leagues in which he's currently owned. Herron is questionable for the game Saturday against Minnesota and we wouldn't use him again in Fantasy until he proves to be the No. 1 guy once again. Status: Questionable

Mikell Simpson, Virginia: Virginia's top runner left the game against Indiana two weeks ago on a stretcher with a neck injury and was immediately taken to the hospital. He then missed last Saturday's game against Maryland. Now, as the team heads into Week 8 at home against Georgia Tech, Simpson's status is still very much in doubt. Simpson was doubtful for the game against the Terps and has been upgraded to questionable for Week 8. Still, he suffered a very serious injury and we implore the 15 percent of Fantasy who have him on their roster not to use him against the Jackets. Wait until he's able to return and prove healthy once more. Status: Questionable

Wide Receivers

Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M: Fuller was A&M's leading receiver after two weeks of the season with 12 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. He was always expected to lead the Aggies' passing game this season but that was before he suffered a broken right fibula Week 3 against Utah State. The Aggies moved on without him, expecting their top pass catcher to miss at least 4 to 6 weeks. Fuller, however, hopes to be on the field Saturday at Texas Tech. Fuller has been practicing for two weeks now and the plan has been in place to allow him to return for the big divisional matchup, reports the Austin American-Statesman. Fuller is still owned in 45 percent of Fantasy leagues but we wouldn't use him until he does get back on the field and re-establishes himself as the Aggies' go-to guy. Status: Probable

Riley Cooper, Florida: If Cooper is hurt, who is Tim Tebow going to throw to? Cooper is first among Florida receivers with 23 catches for 333 yards and three touchdowns on the season and the next best wideout, Deonte Thompson, has just 127 yards on five catches. Cooper suffered a hip pointer in the game against Arkansas last Saturday in the Swamp and is now questionable for Week 8 at Mississippi State. Cooper is a gamer and despite being listed as questionable, we assume the player owned in 14 percent of Fantasy leagues will be on the field against the Bulldogs. That said, his hip injury could limit him and force the Gators to find other options in their passing game. Or run the ball a million times, which is far more likely. Status: Questionable