Welcome back, college football fans! While the upcoming CFB season will look vastly different than in years past with COVID affecting what, when and where teams and conferences will actually play the season - we have real games happening this week to give us our first CFB DFS slate of the year. 

On Thursday night’s opening slate on DraftKings, we have only two matchups - but there are still some stud plays and key values to build lineups from. Let’s dive in! 

GAMES ON THE SLATE: 

  • Central Arkansas at UAB (-14.5) -- 47.5 O/U 

  • South Alabama at Southern Miss (-13.5) -- 54.5 O/U

QUARTERBACK

Tyler Johnston III - UAB ($9,300)

Johnston is far-and-away the most expensive at the position on this slate - but he may be worth it with UAB being a two-touchdown favorite over the FCS-level Central Arkansas. The junior ended the 2019 season on a low note with injuries and inconsistent play putting a damper on his first full year as the starter. However, Johnston put up some really good statistical performances over the first half of last season - with at least 20 DK points in six of the first eight games and tossing at least 285 yards and three scores in three of those outings. The price tag is definitely high, but this is a case where you don’t want to miss out on a potential big game from a QB on such a short slate.

Desmond Trotter - South Alabama ($6,000)

If you don’t want to pay all the way up for Johnston at QB, the optimal route may be going with two of the mid-range QBs to fit in two (CFB DFS uses the Super-Flex position). Trotter was named South Alabama’s starter after taking over the job in the final four weeks of the 2019 season. Over those four games, he tossed eight touchdowns against two picks and added valuable rushing production from the QB position. Trotter’s squad is a two-touchdown underdog in this matchup with Southern Miss so they will likely need to be passing late in the game to play catch-up. This dual-threat should provide plenty of value for either your QB or S-Flex spot. 

Breylin Smith - Central Arkansas ($5,200)

Central Arkansas is the only team on this slate that’s already played a game this season and in that opener last week, Smith tossed 283 passing yards, one TD and two INT on a whopping 49 pass attempts. As the starter last year, Smith finished with a 32:16 TD:INT ratio and 3,704 passing yards over 13 games - so we know he has the passing skills to put up good DFS performances. While UAB owned one of the nation’s best pass defenses a season ago, there’s something to be said about Smith having a game under his belt already - and putting up a solid stat line at that. Central Arkansas will likely be trailing in this game against the better overall UAB team, so we should expect Smith to be passing often enough to return enough production at this price point for your Super-Flex spot. 

RUNNING BACK

Spencer Brown - UAB ($7,500)

Brown is the lead back for one of the two favorites on this slate so we should be prioritizing him over the lower-priced backs tonight. The senior is basically a living legend at UAB as the school’s all-time leading rusher heading into his fourth season as the lead back. Brown ran for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons his first two collegiate years before injuries limited him to just 566 yards in 2019. We should expect a bounce-back campaign for Brown this year, though, and it all starts tonight against a Central Arkansas defense that allowed 152 rushing yards and two scores to Austin Peay in the opener last week. Plus, Brown will benefit from his team leading and getting more carries later in the game - UAB is favored by two touchdowns in this one. 

Don Ragsdale - Southern Miss ($6,500)

Although Southern Miss could use a committee approach in the backfield this year, it’s Ragsdale who’s listed as the starter for Week 1. Ragsdale is a highly touted junior college recruit who finds himself atop the depth chart after senior tailback Steven Anderson opted out of the season. In 19 games for Hinds Community College, he racked up 1,796 yards and 21 touchdowns across two seasons. He clearly has the football talent to play at the D-I level and he even received an offer from Tennessee before signing on with Southern Miss. Ragsdale should have plenty of opportunities to show off his skills in a game where his team is favored by a decent amount and in a matchup against a South Alabama defense that gave up 192 rushing yards per game in 2019. 

Kierre Crossley - Central Arkansas ($5,000)

If looking to save a little salary at RB - or wanting to fit a third rusher in your FLEX spot - this is a pretty affordable price for Crossley. The Central Arkansas lead back ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries in last week’s opener, and added four receptions for 26 yards as well. This matchup vs. UAB will be a step up in competition (compared to Austin Peay), but if Crossley is getting the work at this cheap price tag then he’ll be worth it - especially if he’s getting dump-off receptions in garbage time. As is the case with all the Central Arkansas players tonight, there’s something to be said about these guys having a game already played and facing a team that’s playing their first of the season. 

WIDE RECEIVER

Austin Watkins Jr. - UAB ($8,000)

Watkins is the highest-priced WR on this slate for a reason. For starters, he’s the best pass-catcher on UAB’s roster and will be facing an FCS-level defense in Central Arkansas. The step down in competition is notable, even if they already have a warm-up game under their belt last week. Watkins led the offense in receptions (57) and receiving yards (1,092) last year with six touchdowns as well. He was clearly QB Tyler Johnston’s favorite target a season ago and that shouldn’t change in 2020 - especially in the team’s opener tonight. The pairing of Johnston and Watkins in lineups is obviously an expensive one, but it may be more than necessary for cashing on this short slate. 

Jason Brownlee ($7,000) & Tim Jones ($5,300) - Southern Miss 

Southern Miss is projected to score the most of any offense on this slate and both Brownlee and Jones are firmly in play as the top pass-catchers in the matchup. Jones is probably the safer of the two for cash games not only because of his lower price, but also since he’s already proven in this offense. Jones led the Golden Eagles in receptions (73) last season and his 902 receiving yards were second only to Quez Watkins’ 1,178. Watkins is now off to the NFL so it’s Jones who returns as QB Jack Abraham’s top target. Meanwhile, Brownlee is a former standout at JuCo powerhouse East Mississippi CC and he could easily fill that void left by Watkins in this offense. Since we’ve yet to see how much Brownlee is involved in the attack, he makes for more of a GPP play on this slate with his expensive price - but he could break off a massive performance because of his pure talent.  

Kawaan Baker - South Alabama ($5,500)

Although South Alabama is a double-digit point underdog in this one, their receivers could be solid DFS plays with the team losing and needing to throw to play catch-up. Baker is the starting slot WR and he’s returning as the offense’s best pass-catcher from last season when he led the team in receptions (35), targets (72) and receiving yards (574). 

Lujuan Winningham ($4,700) & Tyler Hudson ($4,300) - Central Arkansas

The only reason Winningham & Hudson are priced this low is because they play for an FCS team in a road matchup against an FBS squad. We’ll gladly take the discount, though, because they could both rack up plenty of PPR points as Central Arkansas’ best receivers. In last week’s opener, Winningham had a team-high six receptions for 80 yards and the lone receiving touchdown while Hudson had five catches for 82 yards. Both are viable cheap options as they should see a ton of targets in the second half with their team likely trailing. Hudson led Central Arkansas pass-catchers in receptions (55), receiving yards (975) and touchdowns (12) last year while Winningham was second in all categories. Both are solid cash game options at their sub-5k price tags. 

Also Consider: 

  • QB Jack Abraham - Southern Miss ($7,000)

  • RB Lucious Stanley - UAB ($4,100)

  • RB Frank Gore Jr. - Southern Miss ($3,900)

  • WR Myron Mitchell - UAB ($6,000)

  • WR Jalen Tolbert - South Alabama ($5,100)

Example Lineup 

Please note this lineup is not meant for plug and play but an example of lineups created using the playbook above.

QB: Tyler Johnston III - UAB ($9,300)

RB: Spencer Brown - UAB ($7,500)

RB: Don Ragsdale - USM ($6,500)

WR: Austin Watkins Jr. - UAB ($8,000)

WR: Tim Jones - USM ($5,300) >> Pivot >> Jalen Tolbert - USA ($5,100)

WR: Tyler Hudson - CARK ($4,300)

FLEX: Frank Gore Jr. - USM ($3,900) >> Pivot >> Lucious Stanley - UAB ($4,100)

S-FLEX: Breylin Smith - CARK ($5,200)