Hard to believe it’s Week 4 of the College Football season already but here we are. DraftKings has their usual assortment of games to fit any budget posted in the lobby. It gets a little easier to manage as we move along through the season but there are still a huge number of games to look into spread across two main slates, 26 games in total. Let’s get right into it, starting with the early slate.
Saturday Early Slate
Things kick off at 12pm and we have 15 games included on the docket for the early slate. Tournament highlights include the $100K Redshirt ($3 entry fee, $10,000 to first place) and the $100K Tailgate ($27 entry fee, $10,000 to first). The Redshirt is a larger field tournament that offers a chance at a huge prize pool for only $3. The Tailgate features a smaller field but at a higher price point. If you’re on the fence about joining either of them be sure to make your mind up quickly, both of these tournaments should fill up well in advance of 12pm.
On to the games themselves, we have five games that have an over/under of at least 60 points. Three of those five crack at least 70 points. And then we have one that has to outdo all of them and exceed 80 points. Forecast for that one appears to call for points, touchdowns and plenty of fantasy goodness to go around. Let’s start with the three games of at least 70 points for an O/U:
- Bowling Green @ Purdue. Bowling Green -4 ½, O/U 75.
- Rice @ Baylor. Baylor -34 ½, O/U 74 ½.
- TCU @ Texas Tech. TCU -3, O/U 83.
Many different ways we can go here. We can zero in on one of these three games and try to stack a bunch of players from it, we can try to find the best values among players from these games or we can try to gain some exposure to each game by selecting a player from each. No matter which approach you choose, you’ll definitely want to consider some players from these three games. Here’s a player from each one to keep in mind:
- Purdue RB Markell Jones $4,400. Jones has found the end zone for three straight weeks, could be an affordable source of points for a high-scoring game. A little risk as D.J. Knox also sees carries, but Jones should continue to see plenty of snaps.
- Baylor QB Seth Russell $9,700. Russell will not come cheap but he will produce as he’s thrown for 718 yards and 9 touchdowns already this season. The concern lies with the blowout potential, but Russell should produce more than enough before he takes a seat.
- TCU WR Josh Doctson $7,500. Looks like an old-fashioned Texas shootout for this game, we’ll go with TCU’s top target. Doctson leads the team’s receivers with 17 receptions, 326 yards and three touchdowns. One of the more expensive receivers for the early slate, Doctson should provide a healthy return.
Some other picks outside of these three games to consider for the early slate:
- West Virginia QB Skyler Howard $6,800. Howard has thrown for 622 yards and five touchdowns thus far, look for him to pad those stats this week against Maryland – a team that has allowed 771 passing yards and seven touchdowns already this year.
- Cal QB Jared Goff $8,200. Goff is a steady and consistent fantasy performer with three consecutive weeks of at least 23 points on DraftKings. The game against Washington projects to be close with Cal a 3-point favorite and an O/U of 60, look for Goff to pay off his salary.
- Indiana RB Jordan Howard $8,400. Howard will cost you but our projections like him to be one of the top producing backs of the early slate. He has rushed for 507 yards and three touchdowns so far, nice chance to find the end zone against Wake Forest.
- Texas RB Jonathan Gray $5,400. Gray found the end zone twice last week and presents a nice value at $5,400. The game versus Oklahoma State has an O/U of 59 with Texas a 3-point underdog, Gray should easily pay off his salary.
- Virginia Tech WR Isaiah Ford $5,000. Ford leads Virginia Tech in receptions with 14 and has found the end zone on three occasions. Our projections call for him to be one of the top-scoring receivers on the early slate which would provide tremendous value for a $5,000 salary.
- Michigan State WR Aaron Burbridge $7,400. Burbridge has had at least 100 yards receiving for three consecutive weeks and found the end zone three times last Saturday. He’s the clear top target for the Michigan State offense and a good bet to make value on Saturday.
Saturday Late Slate
Late slate action kicks off at 7pm and includes only 11 games. Featured tournaments include the $50K Redshirt ($3 entry, $4,000 to first) and the $50K Tailgate ($27 entry, $10,000 to first). These tournaments will also fill up in advance of the deadline so be sure to get your lineups in on time. Only three games feature an O/U of at least 60 points, we’ll start there to find a good base for our lineups:
- UCLA @ Arizona. O/U 66, UCLA -3.
- Utah @ Oregon. O/U 64 ½, Oregon -11.
- USC @ Arizona State. O/U 62 ½, USC -5 ½.
We end the day with three potential shootouts that should be good sources of fantasy points, here is a player to consider from each game:
- UCLA QB Josh Rosen $7,600. Rosen had a down week last week in completing only 11 of 23 with one touchdown and three picks. This game has the highest O/U of the evening slate, look for Rosen to bounce back and meet value.
- Oregon WR Bralon Addison $5,700. Addison has had two mediocre weeks sandwiched around a solid Week 2 that saw him record 29.8 points on DraftKings. Oregon receivers can be tough to predict but Addison leads the team in receptions and yardage with 13 for 185.
- USC RB Tre Madden $5,900. Madden was slightly banged up last week but still managed to find the end zone twice. He should be good to go this week but monitor any news just in case. Arizona State has allowed 646 yards and five touchdowns to opposing backs this year.
The rest of the games on the slate offer up plenty of choices and value plays for your rosters, here are some names to keep in mind:
- Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott $8,900. Prescott faces an Auburn team that has been struggling and that he has had success against in the past. Last year’s meeting saw Prescott accumulate three total touchdowns and 367 combined yards. Could be a high-scoring one with an O/U of 59.
- Arkansas QB Brandon Allen $7,100. Arkansas meets Texas A&M in one of the higher projected scoring games of the late slate with an O/U of 58. Arkansas has traditionally been a run-heavy offense but hasn’t been afraid to air it out this season. Look for Allen to have no choice but to throw to keep pace with the high-powered A&M offense.
- Fresno State RB Marteze Waller $6,800. Good upside at a great price. The game against San Jose State features an O/U of 56 ½ and our projections like Waller to be one of the top scoring backs of the evening games.
- Wisconsin RB Dare Ogunbowale $4,700. Ogunbowale has seen plenty of work in the absence of lead back Corey Clement and that should continue as Clement will remain out for up to six more weeks. Great price for a piece of a solid rushing attack.
- Ole Miss WR Cody Core $5,400. Core leads the stellar group of Rebels receivers in yardage with 299. Ole Miss should have little trouble putting points on the board against Vanderbilt and Core should have a big hand in that.
- Mississippi State WR De’Runnya Wilson $5,000. Low price for a wide receiver with a huge upside. A Prescott-Wilson stack could pay off handsomely on the late slate. Last year’s meeting with Auburn saw Wilson haul in four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
That concludes this week’s Saturday Sleepers and GPP Plays. There are 26 games in total to consider while building your rosters, be sure to take advantage of all of the awesome CFB tools right here on Footballguys. Best of luck this weekend!
