By Aaron Friedman
Aaron Friedman is an avid college football fan and bettor based in the Chicago suburbs. A Northwestern alum and season ticket holder, Aaron loves the passion and pageantry of college football and will watch anything from the SEC game of the week, to #MACtion, to #Pac12AfterDark. Follow Aaron @DFSArmyCFB
Friday September 21, 2018 features a rare three-game college football slate.
- Florida Atlantic @ UCF
- Penn State @ Illinois
- Washington State @ USC
FAU:
PLAYS
I have mentioned before that the FanDuel player cards do not generally include FCS data, so some of the FPPG numbers are skewed. Right now, the only FAU receiver I am interested in is WR Jovon Durante (9,500 FD/7,000 DK). RB Devin Singletary ($10,000 FD/ $8,600 DK) had two touchdowns going into last week’s game vs. Bethune Cookman, then went off for 5 TDs, so now his 7 rushing TDs on the season lead the country. He was FAU’s 1st AP All-America last year and has 51 career TDs. Singletary feels like the safest RB on the slate.
With the ITT being what it is I am also interested in Singletary’s backfield mate QB Chris Robison ($9,800 FD/$8,100 DK) in FD GPPs and all formats on DK. Robison is priced off of the Air Force game where he went for 472 passing yards and 3 TDs. With McSorley ($10,400), Minshew ($10,300), and Milton ($10,300) not too much more, I think a majority of the field will gravitate to some combination of two of these three between the QB and Superflex position. On DK, Robison’s price is more than fair and I like him a ton in all formats. I love Singletary in all formats too, especially considering that he is not in a timeshare.
FADES
Outside the Army, they may look at WR Tavaris Harrison ($8,900 FD/$5,00 DK), who did not record any Week 3 stats vs. FCS Bethune Cookman (I am trying to find out if Harrison is injured) or WR Willie Wright ($8,900 FD/$5,500) who only mustered 2 catches for 10 yards against Bethune Cookman
UCF:
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UCF does only have the two games played due to Hurricane Florence wiping out last week’s game. As long as FAU can keep it close, UCF Heisman candidate QB McKenzie Milton ($10,200/ $10500) will be the man. I want plenty of exposure to the Golden Knights with the highest implied team total on the board. There are a lot of running back mouths to feed, so I would next look at WR Tre Nixon ($9,100 FD/$6,400 DK) or or WR Dredrick Snelson ($8,400 FD/$6,400 DK), who I am expecting a touchdown soon after grabbing 8 last year. On FD, Milton is a slam dunk. On DK, it is more difficult to fit Milton in, but the receivers Nixon (6,200 DK), Davis (7,300 DK), or Snelson ($6,400 DK)
FADES: Hard to fade. You will want some exposure to UCF, if not a lot
Washington State:
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FD: It is night and day between FD and DK, when it comes to Washington State. FD the prices are outlandish. There is only one Washington State play on FD in my opinion: People generally think of the Mike Leach Air Raid and prolific passers when it comes to WSU. However, USC has given up more rush yards per game (209) than pass yards per game (171). While I like Singletary better, I want some exposure to the top priced back on FD, RB James Williams ($10,100 FD/ $6,300 DK), who has double the plays from scrimmage as fellow RB Max Borghi ($8,300 FD/ $3900 DK)
DK: WASHINGTON STATE IS THE NUTS. QB Gardner Minshew ( $10,300 FD/ $7,500 DK) is an elite play. Don’t be shy in stacking a few Cougars such as RB James Williams ($10,100 FD/ $6,300 DK) who has virtually double the plays from scrimmage as the next best Cougar. Especially in PPR play, such as DK, you cannot go wrong with Davontavean Martin ($6,000 DK) and Easpon Winston ($3,200 DK) who are great per-dollar investments
FADES:
I am off Borghi, as I like other cheap running backs better. On FD, it is harder to fit the Cougars
USC:
PLAYS: Only true freshman WR Amon-Ra St. Brown ($9,300 FD/ $6,500 DK) who has topped 20 FDP in two of USC’s three games so far. To me, he is the only reliable option on USC.
FADES: Everyone else.
Penn State:
PLAYS: Trace McSorley ($10,400 FD) will be my highest owned player on this slate and a lock in my cash lineups. What more needs to be said about QB Trace McSorley ($10,400 FD/ $10,300 DK) who along with Milton has the highest floor on the slate. McSorley actually has more rushing TDs (6) than passing TDs (5). Trace is the definition of a cash lock. Along with Singletary, RB Miles Sanders ($9,200 FD/ $7,900 DK) is the other back not in a timeshare and he is solid as well Beyond that, Illinois has had the 123rd worst pass defense, allowing 325 yards per game. Bit who to target? As a punt, I am interested in Pat Freiermuth ($4,800 FD/3,000 DK) who Penn State is high on. For FD Only. On DK there are better punts.
On FD, I am having trouble with finding value (outside AJ Bush), so playing a $4k player allows you to get everyone in. I do want to mention Backup QB/Lion Tommy Stevens ($4,000 FD/ $8700 DK) who went through warm ups last week. Penn State has used him in a variety of roles with McSorley entrenched. Just some food for thought. PLEASE ONLY USE STEVENS IF YOU ARE MULTI-ENTERING! VERY RISKY!
FADES:
Penn State Receivers. I am fine running McSorley naked or with Sanders. A quarter of the way through the season, Penn State’s receivers haven’t shown much consistency or the type of production you want to see in DFS
Illinois:
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You gotta think senior grad transfer QB AJ Bush ($6,400 FD/ $4500 DK) will play if he’s anything close to healthy. He was out last week vs. South Florida and MJ Rivers ($6,800 FD/ $4,600 DK) made his first career start. The whole point of having a grad transfer QB, like Bush, at a rebuilding program, is so you can be competitive in games and potentially push for a bowl game. Monitoring his health will be key because he is a dual threat QB. If Bush does play, he’s arguably the best value on the slate
Penn State’s rush defense has been average to poor. I will gladly take the discount with Reggie Corbin ($7,800 FD) one of Illinois’ few playmakers and I believe that his abilities in open space will be imperative vs. Penn State
FADES
FD Fade: I need to see RB Mike Epstein ($8,500 FD/$4,200 DK ) get it done versus a good Big Ten defense (and a good one in Penn State before I pay that kind of price for him on FD. In an injury-shortened year last year, Epstein did not do anything notable versus the Big Ten. On DK, I am okay with his value/price.
