Schedule and Vegas lines

6:00 PM - UNC @ Wake Forest (-3.5) - 67 O/U

7:30 - Kansas @ Boston College (-18) - 54 ½ O/U

9:15 - Washington State (-6) @ Houston - 76 O/U

Quarterback

Anthony Gordon - Washington State - FD $10,400 DK $8,600

We have quite a few quarterback options for just a three game slate. In tournaments, any of these guys can break the slate. You certainly want a guy one of the higher totals, but this is college football and anything can happen. Anthony Gordon has exploded onto the scene these first two games, throwing for 884 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s completed a wild 81.1% of his passes and has numerous weapons you can pair him with. All attention will be pointed towards D’Eriq King, who put up 50 touchdowns last season and is extremely fun to watch. Gordon will have his mind set on turning those eyes his way as Washington State makes a push for the top ten. 

Houston is the first real competition for the Cougars, but their defense is nothing to worry about. They gave up 49 points to Oklahoma in week one and followed it up with 17 to FCS bottom feeder Prairie View. This well oiled Washington State machine shouldn’t have any issues moving the ball and Vegas agrees with a 41 point implied total. There are other guys you can consider here, but Gordon has been too good to pass up in cash games with this total. Let’s look at a couple other options. 

D’Eriq King - Houston - FD $9,800 DK $8,000

With Houston just a six point underdog, this game can go either way. Washington State hasn’t been tested up to this point, so it remains to be seen how they will handle this elusive Houston offense. They gave up 35 to Utah State and Jordan Love, so I suspect King is going to have his fair share of opportunity to do damage. If you’re not a huge fan of college football or somehow don’t know who D’Eriq King is, he’s the guy who was drafted first in every season-long CFB league and is arguably the most explosive player in the country. In 2018, King threw for 2,982 yards and ran for another 674, combining for 50 total touchdowns. He ended up with negative yards on the ground against Prairie View, but still ran for two scores. I still think Anthony Gordon is a bit safer with what he’s shown through the air, but King is the guy with more upside. The Houston defense has already seen Jalen Hurts and could be a bit more prepared to slow down the passing attack. D’Eriq King has the ability to throw for 250+ and run for another 100 if things click. He has the weapons to pair with and he’s the pick if you think Houston covers that six point spread. This is a one-man offense. 

Also Consider - Jamie Newman (WF), Sam Howell (UNC)

Running Back

A.J. Dillon - Boston College - FD $10,200 DK $7,800

If you’re going to get exposure to this low total outlier game, this is my favorite way to do it. Kansas has only given up 24 points through two games, but they’ve faced terrible teams and have allowed six yards per carry. They’ll now face off with a team in Boston College that is focused on establishing the run with A.J. Dillon. Through two games, they’ve run the ball 93 times to just 43 passes. They’re expected to lead this game once again throughout and the rush attempts should just build up. David Bailey will get a few carries as well, and he’s in play where cheap, but Dillon is the best player on this offense and this game script sets up perfectly for him. Look for Boston College to allow Dillon to get the ball rolling before the Eagles get to the challenging part of their schedule. All in all, Kansas is the worst run defense on the slate and you’ll want to take advantage with either A.J. Dillon or David Bailey. Bailey is a tournament only option.

Max Borghi - Washington State - FD $9,400 DK $7,300

In most cases, you want to avoid playing both the quarterback and running back of a team, as they rarely correlate. This is one of those rare times. Max Borghi hasn’t been overly involved in the passing game up to this point, but caught 47 balls in 2018 for 352 yards and four scores. Just one less yard than he ran for. He’s been more of a true running back this season, but he will be out there on third down and i think he sees more action once Gordon can’t find an open receiver every time. For one of the better offenses in the nation, running back is where they run thin. They’ve even had to move former LB Cole Dubots to running back for depth. 

Washington State is favored by just six points here, so they shouldn’t have comfortable passes all night long. Houston will put up more of a fight than the last two defenses and I think that results in a few more check-downs. You also get the only guy that’s going to run the ball, as his 17 carries are far ahead of McIntosh’ 5. Washington State is the top team to have exposure to on this slate and Borghi is way too dangerous to keep out of your cash games.

Cade Carney - Wake Forest - FD $8,200 DK $5,800 

Jamie Newman is certainly in play at quarterback, but so is Cade Carney. With that being said, I would only play one or the other with plenty of other options. It’s tough to trust defensive stats after just two games in college football, as everyone has played drastically different opponents. You have to look at each situation in a unique light. The UNC Tar Heels have faced off with two average quarterbacks, but they’ve been good against them.

They’ve struggled against the run, where they’ve allowed a whopping 6.1 yards per carry to the opposing starter. Cade Carney missed last game with an unannounced injury, but should be good to go here. If he misses another game, Kenneth Walker III ran for 125 yards on nine carries and would be a phenomenal value option. Pay attention to this fluid situation and I will make sure I keep you updated on Twitter as soon as I hear anything. 

Also Consider - David Bailey (BC), Kyle Porter (HOU), Michael Carter (UNC)

Wide Receiver

  • FanDuel and DraftKings have QB’s and RB’s priced similarly, but this is where it all changes. At WR, things are VERY different on both sites. Just make sure to pay attention to the drastic price differential some of these guys have. 

Washington State Wide Receivers

There is a lot to love here. In fact, maybe too much. Through just two games, six receivers have surpassed 95 yards and eight different receivers have found the end zone. A lot of that has to do with the level of competition through these first two weeks. However, more of it has to do with the Cougars having so much talent at wide receiver. Calvin Jackson Jr. is one of the top receiving prospects in the country and he hasn’t even seen the field yet. I am hesitant to name what receivers have done best so far, as I really don’t think it’s indicative of what will happen in the future. As games get tighter, Anthony Gordon will start honing in on a few guys and they will separate from the field. 

Dezmon Patton led the team with 850 receiving yards in 2018 and is going nowhere as the emotional leader of this group. Davontavean Martin and Patton are both over 6 foot 3 and will be targeted heavily in the red zone. With that said, Easop Winston Jr. scored three more times than Patton last season and is four inches shorter. They’re both listed at the Y WR position, and we will see plenty of five wide receiver sets in this game. We’ve run through their top three receivers at this point without touching the senior who currently leads the team in yards. Brandon Arcanado has caught 14 passes for 193 yards and has been a clear favorite of Anthony Gordon. Arcanado is a bit of a feel good story, as a redshirt senior who had more tackles than catches last season. He’s been highly praised by HC Mike Leake and fellow receivers, and he will continue getting run. I dedicate this paragraph to running through everyone worth playing, so I guess Renard Bell and Travell Harris must be noted. These guys come out of the slot together, and while Bell is listed as the starter, Harris has 105 more yards and two touchdowns more through just two games. I prefer Harris, but this is a tough situation to get a grip on this early. 

Ok, so who the hell do you play with six receivers getting sufficient run? If you’re playing on DraftKings, lock Dezmon Patton into your lineup. Winston Jr. is too expensive, so take your choice of either Arcanado or Martin to pair with Patton if you’re playing Gordon at QB. I wouldn’t even mind three of these receivers if you play Harris as one of them at just $4.1k. On FanDuel, Arcanado and Martin are cheaper, though all five are pretty expensive. If you have the funds, paying up may actually be worth it as the difference in price isn’t much and the ownership will be much lower on the pricier option with all receivers having a similar expectation.  There’s a lot to process here, but to sum it up, Dezmon Patton is WR1 with Winston Jr., Arcanado and Tay Martin the main complimentary options. Max Borghi, Travell Harris, and Renard Bell all come out of the backfield or slot and have plenty of upside. Feel free to reach out if I’ve boggled your mind with the above. I don’t think HC Mike Leake himself goes into a game knowing what the plan is, so it’s foolish for anyone to say they know exactly how this will go. 

Sage Surratt - Wake Forest - FD $9,300 DK $6,800

You’re getting a clear discount on Sage Surratt on DraftKings. While Scotty Washington impressed in week two and will have plenty of productive weeks, there is no doubt as to who the wide receiver one is in this offense. While I say that, let me quickly run it back with Washington being one of the best tournament options on the slate as every sharp mind will be on the discounted Surratt. Surratt is one of the best receivers in all of the nation and has started the season nothing short of impressive with 13/203/2 through two games. I expect Newman to lean on Surratt even more as 6 foot 2 senior cornerback Patrice Rene should be on the taller Scotty Washington. With a lot of attention on the WSU WR’s and rightfully so, make sure you give Surratt the time of day he deserves on DraftKings. On FanDuel, he’s a GPP-only play for me. 

Marquez Stevenson & Keith Corbin - Houston - FD $9,000 DK $5,200 - FD $7,800 DK $6,100

Stevenson is another guy that’s way too cheap on DraftKings. They have priced a lot of wideouts down, so you won’t be able to fit all of them in there. With that said, if you’re playing D’Eriq King, Marquez Stevenson is his top option. He put up over 1,000 yards last season and clearly nothing has changed, catching 10 balls to the second leading receivers five. If you can fit him in there, I would recommend doing so on DraftKings. 

On FanDuel, you finally get some savings with Keith Corbin. He actually caught one more touchdown than Stevenson in 2018 and is a red zone favorite of King. He’ll line up against the worse Washington State CB, which will matter with senior Marcus Strong a pretty good cover corner. It likely won’t matter at all in this game, as there will be plenty of yards to go around. On DK, Stevenson. On FD, Corbin. 

Dyami Brown - North Carolina - FD $8,500 DK $6,000

This is the worst defense North Carolina has faced up to this point. They’ve given up 21 points to Rice and 35 to Utah State. It’s not easy to target the UNC running game as Javonte Williams and Michael Carter are splitting carries evenly. I don’t mind taking a shot on Carter as he can get involved through the air as well. The passing game is a bit more concentrated, though, with Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome accounting for over half of the receiving yards. Brown has been the clear favorite of Howell and he’s scored twice. You can target either of these guys, but I like Dyami Brown to continue as WR1 for this squad.

Also Consider - Scotty Washington - Steven Claude (WF), Dazz Newsome (UNC), Andrew Parchment (KU), Kobay White (BC)

 

DraftKings Example Lineups

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FanDuel Example Lineups

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