I really like the slate this week. There is a good mixture of exciting, close spread conference games and even a high total non-conference game. There is a lot of value on this slate which opens up the possibilities in building a lineup. Half of the teams on this slate have an implied team total over 30 so I look for a higher scoring week.
Auburn (-4) @ Ole Miss ITT 33
Last week Auburn got upset losing to Tennessee for their 2nd SEC loss of the season. All season long, they have been a great defensive team, still ranked 2nd in the S&P+ rankings, but their offense has been awful for fantasy production. That being said, in a game last week where they were trailing, QB Jarrett Stidham was forced to air out the ball more than normal and ended up with over 300 yards passing for the first time this year. I think Stidham could be a sneaky GPP play this week going up against a very week Ole Miss secondary that is giving up 28.9 DK Points per game. Last week was also the first game in 4 weeks that Auburn eclipsed 100 yards rushing, but their leading rusher was a wide receiver. Once again though, Ole Miss is awful against the run giving up over 200 yards a game. RB JaTarvious Whitlow is day to day with a shoulder injury and that could open up opportunities for backup Kam Martin or Malik Miller (who actually out-touched Martin after the injury). Miller really intrigues me if Whitlow is out. If you are playing Stidham you will want to pair him with one of his pass catchers. Ryan Davis has been the hot receiver of late, with 21 targets in the last 2 weeks. Darius Slayton is the only other receiver that I would consider playing with Stidham, and he has 17 targets the past 2 games.
Oklahoma (-8) @ TCU ITT 34.5
Kyler Murray is the focal point of this offense and if it wasn’t for a certain Alabama quarterback would be your Heisman favorite. This week he is taking on a is a top 15 S&P+ defense in TCU. TCU has done very well against dual-threat quarterbacks this year but I wouldn’t put it past Murray to tear them apart. He will be a GPP play for me this week. I will, however, be fading the OU backfield. Trey Sermon just has not gotten it going as a starting running back and I don’t think this will be the week he does. I do have confidence in the 2 primary receivers for Oklahoma. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and CeeDee Lamb are target machines. Brown has 3 straight games over 33 DK points and Lamb has at least 18 in each of those. Brown was also just named to Sports Illustrated’s Mid-Season All American team. While this is a tough matchup I think they will be just fine this week.
Illinois @ Wisconsin (-26) ITT 40
Wisconsin, fresh off a loss to Michigan, hosts Illinois this week in a game that is predicted to be a blowout. Illinois is bottom 25 in rush defense giving up over 225 yards a game on the ground and bottom 10 in pass defense giving up over 300 yards a game in the air. Alex Hornibrook is not a good quarterback, that is not a hot take. But against such an awful defense, and at $4,600 it is possible that he could be a great value for a GPP lineup. If you are going to play him, you will want receiver AJ Taylor in there with him. Taylor is the top receiver for Hornibrook with 34 targets on the year. Tight End Jake Ferguson is a possible value play this week as well, with 18 receptions on the year. The main target for this game in all formats should be running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor is the picture of consistency with over 100 yards rushing in each of his 6 games this season. He should have a field day against this weak defense.
Alabama (-29) @ Tennessee ITT 43
Another week, another predicted Alabama blowout. This week they get to take the show on the road to Tennessee for “The Third Saturday in October” rivalry. Alabama has won the past 11 and should make it 12. Tua Tagovailoa is a beast among boys and if we ever see him play into the 4th quarter it will be amazing. In the one game that he was forced to play a little more than normal (against Texas A&M), he went for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns. The only knock on Tua is that he doesn’t play the whole game and until he needs to, he will be GPP only for me. Damian Harris seems to be taking back the lead role in the Bama backfield again with 29 carries the past 2 weeks. This too can fluctuate though with Najee Harris and Joshua Jacobs getting a fair share of carries but I really like Damian at his price this week. The most consistent receiver for the Crimson Tide is Jerry Jeudy, who has just under 60 DK points the last 2 games. DeVonta Smith has been huge for the Tide as well but was injured in the last game which might give more opportunity to Henry Ruggs III and Jaylen Waddle. Jaylen Waddle, who has 8 targets over the last 2 weeks, is sitting at $4,400 and could be a great value.
Colorado @ Washington (-14) ITT 32
Washington is fresh off a loss to Oregon busting their hopes for a playoff run. They take on a Colorado team that only has 1 loss but a very weak schedule. Quarterback Jake Browning has had a very middling year, with no games over 25 DK points and 3 under 15. I think this week there are better spots to attack. Running back Myles Gaskin was injured last week against the Ducks, but he is expected to play this week. He is at a great price this week and should see plenty of touches. Aaron Fuller is the most prominent receiver for Washington but Ty Jones has had 12 targets in the last 2 games. Jones could be a great GPP play this week. Look for Washington to bounce back this week against Oregon and use their main targets to get there.
Kansas @ Texas Tech (-20.5) ITT 40.5
Texas Tech is the team that we need to watch the most going into the weekend. Quarterback Alan Bowman, who has been injured, is slowly recovering but is not yet cleared to play. When Bowman was active, the Red Raiders were completing over 30 passes completed a game. In the 2 weeks that Jett Duffey has played at QB, he has averaged 15 completions. McClane Carter also came in a few plays against TCU but was not comfortable and did not return. One thing I want to say before I go on, I love whichever Texas Tech QB starts if we get news and if it is just 1 of them. Duffey is a dual threat that will run 15 times and Bowman can light up the scoreboard against this Kansas team. Texas Tech has a stable of running backs that I want no part of. Antoine Wesley is the top receiver on the team and has been a monster regardless of who is under center. Ja’Deion High has also continued to rack up targets with Duffey under center. If Bowman is starting, I really like TJ Vasher and Zach Austin as GPP plays and stacks.
NC State @ Clemson (-16) ITT 36
Clemson has possibly its toughest test left of the regular season when undefeated NC State comes to town this week. Since becoming starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence has not yet played a complete game. I think that changes this week and Lawrence is a good pivot off some of the more expensive options. NC State has been top 10 against the run this year but has not yet faced an elite rusher on the level of Travis Etienne. Etienne has 4 straight games over 100 yards and is becoming an elite running back, with 3 touchdowns last game against Wake Forest. If you are going to roster Lawrence, his two primary receivers are Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross and are both GPP options. If NC State does indeed stuff the rush, Clemson could make for a great GPP stack.
Penn State (-14) @ Indiana ITT 37.5
Penn State is coming off back to back losses knocking it out of the playoff chase. Last week quarterback Trace McSorley had his worst week of the season with under 15 DK points. This week, he is the cheapest he has been all year and this could be a time to jump on him. Indiana is giving up over 23 DK points a game to opposing QBs. Behind McSorely, Miles Sanders has really come on as of late. He is a shoe in to see 15-18 carries and some red zone work as well. There are plays in his price range that I like better this week but he is in play for sure. KJ Hamler has really stepped up the last 2 games with 17 targets for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is still relatively inexpensive and I love the McSorely-Hamler stack.
Memphis (+9) @ Missouri ITT 32.5
Memphis, fresh off a tough loss to UCF travels to play Mizzou this week in the highest total game on the slate. Memphis’ offense runs through Darrell Henderson who is having a historically great season. He has an astounding 1133 yards through 7 games on only 110 carries. All this and he isn’t the most expensive running back on the slate. He will be a cash lock for me, but he might be very chalky for GPPs. Tony Pollard is one of Henderson’s backup in kind of the 3rd down, pass catcher role. He is priced up compared to last week but is still very cheap under $5,000 and I love him as well. At quarterback for Memphis is Arizona State transfer Brady White. Memphis runs about 15% more than is passes, but will be going up against one of the worst pass defenses in the country. White is a great GPP pivot off the Henderson chalk this week. Missouri is bottom 10 in the country giving up over 50 DK points to receivers every week. Damonte Coxie has been the top receiver for White with 11 targets in 2 out of the last 3 games. I expect to see a heavy dose of Coxie at a very cheap price. A White-Pollard-Coxie stack could be a GPP winner if this game turns into a shootout.
Memphis @ Missouri (-9) ITT 41.5
Missouri has been very lackluster in conference play and will love this break. Quarterback Drew Lock has been awful in conference play, yet averaged over 35 DK points in 2 non-conference games this season. That being said, he is the 3rd most expensive QB on the slate and will be a deep GPP only play for me. Larry Rountree and Damarea Crockett have both had some great games this season. The problem is, they are in a 2 headed running back situation that goes with the hot hand. This makes them both GPP only, but one of them could have a very good game. Where I really want to attack this team is with the pass catchers. Stud Emanuel Hall has already been ruled out due to personal reasons this weekend which will leave some great value. Tight End Albert Okwuegbunam has become the top target on this team and is very cheap this week at $5,100. Jalen Knox has also really stepped up with Hall hurt with 16 targets over the last 2 weeks. Either one of these are cash options for me. Johnathon Johnson has also been a top target for this team, but has not done much with his targets which makes him a GPP pivot for me.
Week 8 Lineup Construction
Cash
My approach to cash is generally the same every slate. I want to get 2 QBs, 3 RBs and 3 WRs. This might waver on smaller slates but in general this is what I am going for. If I am paying down for a QB, I want to make sure that it is a dual threat QB that can get points with their feet as well as their arm. If I am paying down at RB and WR, I want opportunity, whether that is in total rushes or targets. I generally prefer to pay up at for one QB and for RB’s and to try to find value in the WR position.
This is a week that there is a lot of good value QBs, so I think it is very viable to lock in one of the stud QBs over $8,500 and then get a cheap one under $6,600. Even if you go up to Kyler Murray, which gives you a great base, you can get a cheap QB and still have plenty of salary left. I then want one of the stud RBs and lock in a ton of touches out of the backfield. I like taking the route from here of going with 2 more value running backs as there is not as much deep value at receiver this week. At receiver, I like looking at guys in the $5k-$6k range that get plenty of targets.
Week 7 CFB $125K MINI MIDSEASON MAIN EVENT Winning Lineup
GPP
The more I look into the winning lineups of top GPPs the more it shows me that we should generally be using a quarterback in our super-flex positions. While this may seem obvious, it has proven true time and time again in these top GPP lineups. On top of that, the flex position should be used for a wide receiver most of the time. In about 90% of top 10 lineups in the main DK GPP, a pass catcher has been in the flex. Most of the top lineups pair a pass catcher with each of their 2 quarterbacks for a 2-way stack, and I think this is also the way to approach the DK GPP lineup construction. While I do not want an all chalk lineup, I am not too concerned with the chalk as you can see, a few pivots with some higher owned players can still win you $25,000.
This week there is so much value at quarterback that there are many ways to approach building GPP lineups. I actually really like to start the same way as I have been in cash, choosing 2 QBs. In order to pivot off of the chalk, I think you can either go with 2 expensive QBs, or even 2 cheaper QBs this week and pay up at other positions. I think if you got a high upside low to mid-tier QB and paired it with another high upside low-tier QB, it would be very unique. I want to pair each of those QBs with one of their pass catchers. If you are going with 2 cheaper QBs, you can pay up and get 2 elite RBs that will rack up a ton of touches. This skeleton of a lineup should be very unique but have a ton of upside.
