What a wild Saturday of college football we had last weekend. The season just didn’t feel right without the SEC on the field. As we await other conferences to begin play, we have an upcoming week full of teams that have at least played a game.
If you read last week’s column, I highlighted KJ Costello as my afternoon bargain QB ($5.9K). All he did was throw for 623 yards and 5 TD’s against the defending national champions. While it will be hard to top that performance, let’s see what we can do this week:
College Football DFS Picks Week 5
QBs:
College Football DFS Picks:
Sam Ehlinger (afternoon), Texas ($8,800)
There are four or five QB’s in the afternoon slate who have the potential to put up big numbers. You’ll need one of these top guys to keep up. For me, I’ll grab the Longhorn QB who has surpassed 40 fantasy points in both games he’s played this year.
Ehlinger has thrown for 688 yards and 10 TD’s while adding another 80 yards and a TD on the ground. The Horned Frogs of TCU come into Austin after giving up 37 points to Iowa State (The Cyclones could only put up 14 points vs Louisiana Lafayette) so expect some offense fireworks.
Dillon Gabriel (night), UCF ($8,200)
While taking KJ Costello again is tempting, his $9.3K price tag has scared me off. Instead, I’ll go with the UCF QB who has put up over 35 fantasy points in both games this year. The O/U for the Tulsa @ UCF game sits at 72 so yea, there’s gonna be some offense. My only warning is to double check that McKenzie Milton won’t play before kickoff. Sounds like he’s at least a few weeks away but has returned to practice recently.
Best Bargains:
Max Duggan (afternoon), TCU ($5,800)
For the bargain QB in the afternoon slate, we’ll stay in the same TCU/Texas game. Against ISU last week, Duggan replaced starter Matthew Downing at halftime and threw for 241 yards and 3TD’s. Putting up 20 fantasy points in a half is pretty damn impressive and all signs are pointing towards Duggan starting this week. Plus, Texas Tech just threw for 325 yards and 5 TD’s against the Longhorns.
Zach Smith (night), Tulsa ($5,800)
With only six games in the night slate, I’m not crazy about any of the cheaper QB’s. Smith looked shaky at best in Tulsa’s lone game against Okla State where he only threw for 165 yards and a TD. However, did I mention the O/U in this game? The game script vs UCF will be much different than it was against OK St and Tulsa will be forced to pass more. I may not play a QB in the Super Flex spot, but if I do, Smith is a solid option
RBs:
College Football DFS Picks:
SaRodorick Thompson (afternoon), Texas Tech ($7,100)
While Bama’s Najee Harris is appealing, for almost $2K less I can get Thompson who has put up over 30 fantasy points in both Red Raider games this year. The sophomore RB has exceeded 100 yards on the ground each game while totaling 4TD’s. Additionally, he has caught 3 passes in each game which provides a nice PPR floor.
The O/U for the Tx Tech/Kansas State sits at 64 and it’s the Big 12 – we know no one plays any D. Plus, without having a full stadium, the road trip to Manhattan is less daunting. Sign me up for SaRodorick!
Breece Hall (night), Iowa State ($7,900).
Breaking news – Oklahoma sucks at defense. Hall has rushed for a combined 257 yards and 4 TD’s in the first two games of the season and the Cyclones will surely feed him the rock early and often against the Sooners.
Last year, as a true freshman, Hall ran for 110 yards and caught 4 passes for another 33 yards in Norman . He’s the focal point of this offense and a safe bet to produce. I got your Breece Hall highlights here:
Best Bargains:
LD Brown (afternoon), Oklahoma State ($4,400)
While Chubba Hubbard is the household name, you could argue that the other RB for the Cowboys, LD Brown, has been more impressive. Hubbard has ran for 194 yards on 49 carries while Brown has amassed 166 yards on 20 carries. Plus, Hubbard had two fumbles in the 2nd half of the WVU game last week.
OK St plays the lowly Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday who gave up over 200 yards on the ground vs Baylor last week and 185 rushing yards against Coastal Carolina week 1. There will be plenty of opportunity for both Cowboy backs so gimme the one who is $4.5K cheaper.
Bentavious Thompson (night), UCF ($3,800)
If you are looking for a cheap option as your 2nd RB or your flex spot, I like the idea of snatching up Thompson. Did I mention I want a lot of shares in this Central Florida offense? UCF has a RB by committee approach, but Bentavious has been given at least 10 carries in both games and is a good bet to put up at least 10 fantasy points. Not too shabby for the cheapest guy in your lineup.
WR/TEs:
College Football DFS Picks:
Damonte Coxie (afternoon), Memphis ($8,300)
While there’s a boatload of intriguing options at WR in the afternoon slate, you might want to consider spending up for Coxie. The O/U in the Memphis/SMU game sits at a ridiculous 74.5 points. It’s an understatement to say this game will be a shootout and the Memphis wideout is one of the best receivers in the nation.
In the first Memphis game this year, Coxie caught 8 of 11 targets for 90 yards and a TD. Expect even greater production this week in a game where the Tigers will need to keep their foot on the gas. Oh BTW, in last year’s 54-48 win over SMU, Coxie caught 7 balls for 143 yards and 2 TD’s. See the highlights for yourself.
Osirus Mitchell (night), Miss State ($7,500)
I expect to spend big money at the WR position in the night slate and that’ll start with Mitchell. After seeing the Air Raid against LSU last week, you’d be crazy not to have pieces of this Miss St offense against Arkansas this week.
Mitchell was WR1 last Saturday, catching 7 balls for 183 yards and 2TD’s. The Mike Leach offense is known to spread the ball around and often has different leading receivers from week to week, but Osirus is a safe bet to clear the century mark and find the end zone.
Best Bargains:
Kenny Yeboah (afternoon), Ole Miss ($4,000)
If you don’t have a lot of $ to spend on your 3rd receiver or your flex spot, you could do worse than a WR who caught 5 balls for 91 yards and a TD against Florida last week. The grad transfer from Temple appears to have a good rapport with Rebel QB Matt Corral and Ole Miss is going to find themselves in a lot of shootouts this year.
Jaylon Robinson (night), UCF (5,200)
If you haven’t noticed it yet, I’m targeting a couple games in the night slate where I’ll be going heavy. The Oklahoma transfer has already caught 15 balls for 255 yards and 2 TD’s in his first two games as a Golden Knight and he’s only at $5.2K? Now, there is a chance that starting WR Tre Nixon is back (questionable currently) but either way, the UCF offense is explosive enough to feed three WR mouths. Plus, if Nixon doesn’t play, Robinson’s ceiling is much higher than any other wideout at this price point.
