Bowl Games Kickoff FD CFB Slates (December 15, 2018)
AFriedman15 – Aaron Friedman researches and writes college football articles for DFS Army. Aaron is a lifelong resident of the Chicago suburbs and a Northwestern alum and football season ticket holder. College football was Aaron’s first DFS sport and he was thrilled to see it return in 2018. He believes that the thrill, pageantry, and the importance of every game are unparalleled in sports. Aaron enjoys betting on the games and watching everything from #Pac12AfterDark to #MACtion, and especially enjoys the Tuesday-Friday games with so much happening on Saturdays. In real life, Aaron is an IT analyst and with his wife, is the parent to three small dogs. Find Aaron on Twitter at @AFriedman15DFS.
Main FD Slate (1:30pm ET) Overview and Picks:
Quarterbacks:
Cash: I was surprised to see Utah State’s Jordan Love priced as QB5, but here we are and with Utah State having the highest implied team total (37.8), I will be starting off my builds with Love. On DK, Love is the highest priced QB and usually they have a sharper pricing algorithm than FD, so there is some value to playing Love on FD. There are two QB’s I like pairing Love with: his counterpart North Texas QB Mason Fine and Tulane’s Justin McMillan. Fine’s Mean Green are implied for the third-most points of the slate (30.5) and it could be a very good back and forth game. I also really like McMillian here, who has played pretty well since taking over as the starter, but Fine is probably safer here.
GPP: Marcus McMaryion is one of my favorite QB on DK today (nearly $3,000 less than Love), but I still think there is some merit playing him to move off Love and Fine. This is McMariyon’s final game with Fresno State so I am expecting a bounceback performance from him. Also of note, Fresno is going for a program-record 12th win of the season. The Bulldogs have six 11-win seasons, so there is some motivation to be had here, which is a key differentiator in bowl games. I also love Shai Werts on DK, and I think with his price so expensive on FanDuel, Werts will not garner much ownership.
Running Backs:
Cash: Eno Benjamin is not expensive enough for his upside here. Stud ASU reciever N’Keal Harry will not be playing in the bowl game so I am expecting a concerted effort from the Sun Devils to establish the run. Fresno State has a very good defense (ranking #9), but so does Utah, and Benjamin still went for 157 yards. As for personal motivation, Benjamin is just 42 yards away from the ASU single-season rushing record. Another favorite of mine is North Texas’ DeAndre Torrey, who has been very good since taking over as the top back for North Texas. He is 58 yards from 1,000 on the season. I will have more of Georgia Southern’s Wesley Fields on DK, but he has been very consistent and he is also playing his final game. If you need to save a little, I am fine with Darrynton Evans and Gerold Bright well.
GPP: This is very much a boom-bust play, but there will be next to no ownership on Louisana’s Elijah Mitchell, who is third on the slate with 21.2 DK FPP. This is the kind of player a like in a GPP where you use a 3rd RB in SuperFlex. His teammate Trey Ragas is in play too, but I like Mitchell more.
Wide Receivers:
Cash: With North Texas’ Rico Bussey very questionable with a hamstring injury, Jalen Guyton the #2 receiver becomes an elite value at just $6,800. KeeSean Johnson is always in play if you can fit him in. Utah State’s Jalen Greene is reliable enough as a cash play, but I also would play him on DK, where he has more upside as a PPR guy.
GPP: Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk is the beneficiary to Harry being out for this game. Williams and Darby are the two other top receivers for ASU, but their roles have already been somewhat defend, where as Aiyuk is intriguing coming off of a game where he caught 5 balls for 106 yards and a TD. I love MTSU’s Zack Dobson more on DK where he is just $3,500, but a tougher pill at $8,500 on FD.
Late FD Slate (5:30pm ET) Overview and Picks:
Quarterbacks:
Cash and GPP: I would pick from Stockstill, Thomas, and Werts. In GPPs, I’d probably go Thomas and Werts, because I don’t see Stockstill as a huge upside guy.
Running Backs:
Cash: Wesley Fields and Darrynton Evans are my preferred plays in all formats.
GPP: Tavares Thomas and Shaq Vann are the two spend downs here.
Wide Receivers:
Cash: Tanner Lee and Corey Sutton are my preferred plays in all formats.
GPP: Zach Dotson has been more involved in the offense lately and he has 5 TDs in his last 5 games. App State TE Collin Reed is a spend-down option under 5k.
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