With Week 8 already underway, here are my favorite plays to fill up your College Football Daily Fantasy Picks.
QUARTERBACK: Brock Purdy
$9,800 FanDuel; $8,100 DraftKings
Iowa State @ Texas Tech: Saturday October 19: 12:00 PM EST (Iowa State -7.5; 57)
Iowa State love to throw the football and they rank 11th in the nation in passing yards per game averaging 317.8. Quarterback Brock Purdy is completing 69.7 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,807 total yards and boasts an 11:3 touchdown to interception ratio. He also has two passes of more than 70 yards already this season, so the long ball is a threat especially versus a Texas Tech team allowing 8.8 yards per passing attempt (112th in the nation).
Look for Purdy to light up the Texas Tech secondary who have been prone to surrendering lots of passing yards allowing 264.8 a game.
RUNNING BACK: Jonathan Taylor
$10,800 FanDuel
Wisconsin @ Illinois: Saturday October 19: 12 PM EST (Wisconsin -31;50.5)
As much as I wanted to find a cheaper option at running back, the upside on Jonathan Taylor is just tremendous this week. He is a threat in both the running and passing game eclipsing 825 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns. Taylor has also caught 15 passes for 136 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season. Although he had a tougher week versus Michigan State, he still managed to put up 80 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Expect big numbers out of Taylor going against an Illinois defense ranked 103rd in passing yards allowed per game with 204.7. The Illini have also allowed the sixth highest rushing yards per game (6.0), over their most recent three games.
WIDE RECEIVER: Ja’Marr Chase
$9,900 FanDuel; DraftKings $7,700
LSU @ Mississippi State: Saturday October 19: 3:30 PM EST (LSU -17.5; 62)
LSU have been a force through the passing game averaging the 2nd most yards per game with 377 along with ranking 4th in average completions per game with 27.2. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is having a big season and in games he has logged 7 or more receptions, he has accumulated no less than 127 receiving yards. He enters today averaging a huge 19.3 yards a reception and has already found the end zone eight times this year.
Mississippi State have been average against the pass this season allowing 230.7 yards through the air. Their secondary’s worst defensive showing was surrendering 161 receiving yards to Seth Williams from Auburn. Thinking Chase posts similar numbers is not at all unreasonable.
FLEX/RUNNING BACK: Rodney Smith
$9,300 FanDuel
Minnesota @ Rutgers: Saturday October 19: 3:30 PM EST (Minnesota -28.5; 47.5)
Rutgers defensively are allowing an average of 208.3 rushing yards per game and 449.3 yards of total offense. They have given up no less than 30 points to any team all season, and offensively have been shut out by Michigan and Indiana and have only managed 7-points through their most recent three games.
Look for the Golden Gophers to score at will and Rodney Smith to make it his fourth straight game of 115 or more rushing yards. We have already seen him log 20 or more carries in four of six games this year; expect similar numbers Saturday.
