I hope you all are having a great week! Yes, the NFL season has started but we will certainly not stop covering the college football slate! DraftKings is offering a 4 game slate covering Thursday night’s game and 3 Friday night games. We will break down each game and look at the possible plays from that game. If you’re new to DraftKings and want to try out college football, sign up here and receive a special bonus! For those of you who have a DraftKings account but are new to college football, review the rules here!
Let’s get started!
Clemson (-6) @ Louisville — O/U: 51
As much as I don’t want to see it, I wouldn’t be surprised if Louisville won this one at home on primetime. Although, Watson seems pretty fired up so I guess we’ll see 🙂
Clemson
QB: On such a small slate, it’s easy to say Deshaun Watson ($9,500) is the top option at QB. Louisville has allowed QB’s to throw for 373 yards and 4 TD’s while also allowing them to rush for 109 yards and a TD. Watson hasn’t been too productive fantasy-wise, averaging 20.3 FPS but keep in mind, those were both blowouts where he left the game early. His talent is simply unmatched compared to the other options for the evening.
RB: Wayne Gallman ($6,400) is off to a quick start for the Tigers, rushing for 171 yards and 3 touchdowns. Louisville has been dominated on the ground, allowing 416 yards. Expect Gallman to pick up 75-85 on the ground with a TD, at minimum.
WR: Artavis Scott ($7,400) is off to a hot start, leading the team in yards with 148 and touchdowns (2) on 12 receptions. With this one expected to stay close, I wouldn’t be surprised his volume increase. Another option to consider would be Charone Peake ($4,400). The senior is helping fill the void left by the injured Mike Williams and has compiled 98 yards and 2 TD’s on just 6 catches. I wouldn’t necessarily lean on him on Thursday, but keep your eye on him moving forward.
Louisville
QB: This situation is an absolute disaster. There were questions on who would start the season at QB for the Cards and those questions are being asked even more with the team dropping their first two games. Three different QB’s have seen the field this season: Lamar Jackson ($5,600), Kyle Bolin ($5,400), and Reggie Bonnafon ($4,600). Jackson has the most upside on the ground, but lacks accuracy in the passing game. Bolin is a solid pocket passer who is athletic enough to make plays on the run. Bonnafon is the true dual-threat QB and the highest ranked recruit out of the three coming out of high school. If I had to make a prediction today, Bolin starts but splits time with Bonnafon Thursday night. Expect Jackson to take a bench role and continue to improve his game through studying rather than learning on the fly.
RB: The uncertainty of the passing game means good things for Brandon Radcliffe ($4,800). Radcliffe is dominating the carries (27) over backup Jeremy Smith ($3,800) (9), and should continue to be leaned on Thursday. At his price, he’s a near must play on the short slate.
WR: NO OPTIONS TO CONSIDER here as four different receivers lead the team in receptions, all tied with 8.
Florida State (-7) @ Boston College — O/U: 46.5
The Seminoles travel to Chesnut Hill to face the nation’s top defense (okay, I know, it’s early and BC’s two opponents were Howard and Maine, but hey, facts are facts!)
BOLD CALL: BC wins at home, 17-16.
Florida State
QB: NO OPTIONS TO CONSIDER — Everett Golson ($8,400) hasn’t had a single rushing attempt this season. Sure, they will come, but in this one, BC will control the time of possession limiting the upside of FSU players for DFS.
RB: If you watched college football last season, you knew Dalvin Cook ($9,400) was going to be special. He’s averaged over 40 fantasy points per game and will continue to shine this season. However, with BC’s run-heavy offense, I find it hard to pay up for Cook. Again, I think BC controls the T.O.P., limiting Cook’s touches. Pay up elsewhere Thursday.
WR: ^See above: Travis Rudolph ($5,100) and Jesus Wilson ($4,900) are the top options in the FSU passing game with Wilson leading in yardage and touchdowns while Rudolph leads in receptions and has one TD of his own. If you feel you must use an FSU receiver, go with Rudolph, but I’ll be avoiding the FSU offense Thursday.
Boston College
QB: NO OPTIONS TO CONSIDER. In a run-heavy scheme, QB Darius Wade ($5,400) doesn’t get enough volume in the passing or running game to warrant any fantasy consideration.
RB: 11 different players have at least one carry so far this season. There’s talent on this team, but again, but too many different backs touch the ball to count on one individual to produce for fantasy.
WR: NO OPTIONS TO CONSIDER — 16 different players have 1 or more reception(s) with no individual having more than 3…
Idaho State @ Boise State (N/A) — O/U: N/A
This one will be ugly early. The Bengals are notorious for not playing defense and Boise State will have a field day. Note: Idaho State players are not eligible to be chosen in this game.
Boise State
QB: Obviously playing time could be an issue with a potential blowout looming and likely which is why I will not be on Ryan Finley ($9,100). The sophomore from Phoenix was an all-around athlete in high school, averaging 18 points per game on the basketball team, ranking #1 on the school’s tennis team, and participating in track & field. The kid can make plays with his arm and his legs and would normally be a top 10 option but his price is too high for me. I don’t feel his ceiling is high enough to justify paying up for him.
RB: Jeremy McNichols ($8,900) IS a Bronco I can get behind on this slate. He’s dominated the carries in the backfield (39, compared to backup Kelsey Young’s ($3,700) 13) and has 4 touchdowns. He’s also the team’s #2 receiver in receptions (8) and yardage (73) and has the only receiving TD on the year. He’s only averaged 3.5 YPC but expect that number to increase as he’s had two tough tests with Washington and BYU to start the season.
WR: This will be a tough position to fade here with the lack of options across the board so if you’re looking to choose a Bronco, you can choose from Shane Williams-Rhodes ($7,000) or Thomas Sperbeck ($6,500) as the top options. Sperbeck led the team in yardage last year with 877 yards while SWR led the team in receptions (68) and TD’s (7). SWR is off to a strong start this season with 13 catches for 123 yards and while Sperbeck has started off slow (5 receptions for 41 yards) he’s very involved in the offense and should pick up where he left off last season starting Thursday.
New Mexico @ Arizona State (-27.5) — O/U: 65.5
The Sun Devils are favored big at home in the game with the highest over/under on the night. Expect this game to be everyone’s favorite to target for DFS.
New Mexico
QB: I fully expect Lamar Jordan ($5,000) to be the highest-owned QB on the slate, despite him giving away some time to the more polished passer, Austin Apodaca ($4,500). Jordan clearly has the most upside and has rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown, tossing a touchdown going 14/20 for 205 yards so far this season. Apodaca is a two-star recruit out of Longmont, Colorado who offers no fantasy value. Jordan may not play the entire game, but he should get around 75% of the snaps and produce enough to pay off his cheap price tag. He’s a must start for me, in the highest over/under of the slate, especially with the Lobos playing from behind.
RB: THERE ARE NO OPTIONS TO CONSIDER as Jordan takes away several rushing attempts from backs and 12 different players have carried the ball this season, with 9 or more having five or more carries in the first 2 games of the season.
WR: There’s really not enough of a passing game to typically roll with a Lobo WR but since the over/under is so high, New Mexico will be forced to throw the ball to their #1 receiver, Dameon Gamblin ($4,800). I consider Gamblin a must-start here as he’s caught 11 of the 23 total receptions with the next closest individual catching just three.
Arizona State
QB: Mike Bercovici ($8,900) is priced too high for me, especially if this one gets out of hand early. He;s averaged 19.1 FPS in State’s first two games. He’s a pure pocket passer who offers very little upside for DFS. He could throw for 300 yards and 5 TD’s but I think 250/3 is more realistic. I’m not going to fault you if you decide to roll with him with such limited options but he won’t be on any of my teams.
RB: With D.J. Foster ($8,500) moving to WR before the start of the season, the RB position was up for grabs, and Demario Richard ($8,000) is the #1 guy. Richard has 41 carries for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns. Foster still receives some but is far back with just 15 carries. Richard is a must play against a rushing defense that ranked 125th out of 128th last season.
WR: Back to D.J. Foster ($8,500), the Sun Devils’ #1 offensive threat as evident by his team-leading 12 catches, 106 yards, and 1 touchdown through the air as well as his 15 touches on the ground, totaling 89 yards (5.9 YPC). I’d be perfectly fine with paying up for Foster but if you;d like exposure to the Sun Devils’ receivers and want to save some salary cap, the UCLA-transfer Devin Lucien ($4,000) is worth a look. Lucien is currently 2nd on the team with 9 receptions and 104 yards.
THANK YOU so much once again for reading. I wish you the best of luck this Thursday & Friday evening! The weekend is almost upon us.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me on Twitter.
Be on the lookout for an article covering Saturday’s slate coming Friday evening!
Take care,
Tyler
