Welcome back College Football!
We start things off with the infamous Week 0 slate and there are of course three games between FCS and FBS schools, which really waters down the slate in my mind on top of the fact that Week 0 & 1 are always a little funky overall.
I will be working on a video tutorial of the Dashboard and Tools for you all to help things out and over the first 2-3 weeks we’ll be ironing out some new additions for live updates and news information pre-lock although hopefully we don’t really need it that much.
Here are the six games on this DK slate
- Austin Peay at Western Kentucky (No Line)
- Nebraska vs Northwestern (-13)
- Being played in Ireland
- Idaho State at UNLV (-20.5)
- UCONN at Utah State (-27.5)
- Wyoming at Illinois (-10)
- Duquesne at Florida State (-39)
The extra game on FanDuel is:
- Charlotte vs FAU – FanDuel Only
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There’s not that one typical back and forth game that we should be looking at here today, so it’s more focused on specific teams and this is the type of slate you want to find the optimal plays around a CORE team stack.
Utah State
Utah StateLove Utah State this week. At home with the best QB on the board and talented but new faces in the offense on the outside. Look for a huge game from Utah State out the gate.
Picking on the right WR is a challenge with many teams this early, Maryland transfer Brian Cobbs and 6’6 target Justin McGriff are the most logical picks while Xavier Williams (Alabama xfer) should be in the mold too.
- QB – Logan Bonner
- WR – Justin McGriff
- WR – Brian Cobbs
- RB – Calvin Tyler
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Florida State Seminoles
Florida State SeminolesIt should be a better season for Florida State this year, which isn’t saying much considering they went 5-7 a year ago. Jordan Travis appeared in 10 total games but really only was the main guy in 6 of them and they went 4-2 in those games. He has talent both with his arm and more importantly for us in DFS on the ground and he should power them to likely cover a massive spread if you can find it on your favorite Sportsbook.
- QB – Jordan Travis
- WR – Mycah Pittman
- WR – Ontaria Wilson
- RB – Treshaun Ward
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Western Kentucky
Western KentuckyWe love the scheme here but the faces are new. Expect Austin Reed to be the chalkiest play on the board and it’s the running game where he and the Hiltoppers should do damage today.
- QB – Austin Reed
- RB – Kyle Robichaux
- WR – Daewood Davis
- WR – Michael Mathison – Will look to make an impact after transfering from Akron and I think he could wind up being the gem of the slate.
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Jordan Travis – Florida State – $8,800
Travis is my number one because he is the most sure thing this week. He won’t break the slate with a 40 or 45 outing, but he also won’t drop a dud and I would rather bank on him than the unknown with the Western Kentucky QB.
Logan Bonner – Utah State – $8,600
Bonner on the other hand is my slate winner, and yes I will be doing 2 QB this week and I have a rant on that below.
UCONN is the worst defense on this slate in my opinion and that is saying something since Northwestern is on the slate. Bonner is a veteran in the college ranks and should throw the ball a ton without much problem as he will complete 65% of his passes vs the Huskies on his way to a 3+ TD passing game.
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Chase Brown – Illinois – $7,900
I expect Brown to be the #1 RB this week and he has potential to be a difference maker on this slate. He’s a work horse who should go over 100 yards rushing versus a defense which probably hasn’t improved on their 180.7 Rush YPG from a season ago.
Rahmir Johnson – Nebraska – $5,400
This game is only to be looked at on the ground but Johnson is likely to be utilized some in the short passing game as well which boosts his value tremendously on DK.
Evan Hull – Northwestern – $6,300
Staying in the same game with Johnson we have the more popular Hull who is going to touch the ball 15+ times and get all their goal line work (if they get there).
Treshaun Ward – Florida State – $6,100
Ward is more of someone to roll with if you come off of Travis. Even though FSU could blow this game out I don’t trust that they each would get the necessary volume. I am always a fan of considering non 2 QB lineups and this week you could roll 3 RB with 4 WR and just 1 QB allowing for Ward to be a pivot off Travis if you choose with a Utah State Stack
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Michael Mathison – Western Kentucky – $5,600
My favorite pick this week is Mathison. If you want exposure to Western Kentucky he is the guy on DraftKings while on FanDuel you just take Malachi Corley since pricing is softer there.
Justin McGriff – Utah State – $6,800
Leads the Utah State WR with a 14% target share a season ago and his big 6’6 frame likely comes into play against a defense that should have nobody that can match-up against him.
Mycah Pittman – Florida State – $7,500
Very hard to project where Florida State QB Jordan Travis is going to roll this week. Ontaria Wilson is way cheaper at $4,900 and has big play potential but I trust Pittman a little more. You have a cake walk opponent in Duquesne who should give it back to the Seminoles often and allow Travis and Pittman to work some things out.
Brian Cobbs – Utah State – $6,000
I can see Cobbs (Maryland transfer, remember we wanted to use him good amount there) having more targets this week than McGriff, but maybe not quite the TD production. Both are fine in a Utah State stack.
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Value WR …
Jalen Johnson – Idaho State – $3,000
UNLV allowed nearly 70% completion rates through the air last season. Johnson is a 6-2 Arizona Transfer who is currently listed as the #1 on their depth chart. Shane Daily Jr (Soph) is another cheap option from Idaho State. I really think we need to take a gamble with a cheap WR and I have confidence in these guys, especially Johnson.
Xavier Williams – Utah State – $5,000
Another weapon for Bonner and Utah State stacks. Offers a little price and ownership discount off Cobbs and McGriff.
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DEEPEST POSITION
Quarterback
Once again we are going to hear everyone who is claiming “YOU CAN ONLY PLAY Quarterbacks IN SUPER-FLEX” and that is just fucking wrong — especially on DraftKings. FanDuel, alright, it’s more of a situation there, but on DK where you get a full PPR you will find many times that a WR or RB fits well when there are high scoring and high tempo spots.
This slate isn’t necessarily with lack of depth on it, but I just wanted to get my first of 13 rants out of the way this year.
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VALUE POSITION
There really isn’t one unless you consider that we should have some 3k Wide Receiver’s who are getting 3+ receptions this week. That alone makes it the position most worth throwing in a punt play or two.
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LINEUP CONSTRUCTION THOUGHTS
Two methods I am finding myself building this week
- Core plays with a sub 3500 Punt or Two at WR
- Two team stacks
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BETS
Oh man. This is dicey in Week 0
Nebraska/Northwestern UNDER 50.5 … a rare CFB under
Idaho State +20.5
Utah State -27.5
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CORE BUILD
QB – Logan Bonner
RB – Chase Brown
WR – Jalen Johnson
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FANDUEL ONLY THOUGHTS
The game on FanDuel (Charlotte/FAU) is actually a pretty interesting one. I don’t think it pushes the other games for being a must own but two teams who will move the ball well and are fairly evenly matched.
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