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Below is our game-by-game previews on which players should be considered on your roster as well as which players you may want to stay away from.
San Diego State At Cal
Kickoff: 5:00 PM EST
Spread:
O/U: 58.5
Cal -12.5
QB – Jared Goff- $8,100
Analysis: In case you haven’t seen Jared Goff play, he is one of the best quarterbacks in college football. He is a prototypical drop back passer, which limits his upside, but he makes up for that in his passing ability as he is consistently passing for more than 300 yards per game. While the matchup isn’t great as San Diego State is a low tempo team meaning they’re going to attempt to slow the game down and limit the number of possessions, Goff is still a quarterback who is matchup proof due to Cal not wanting to run the football.
Recommendation: Goff is a decent cash game option if you’re looking to save a little bit from Dobbs. His upside is limited due to the matchup not being great, but he should throw for 300+ yards and 3 TD’s.
RB- Daniel Lasco- $7,600
Analysis: Daniel Lasco is a running back who is much better than his stats show him to be. The problem with him is that he is so dependent on catching the ball, as he is not going to get more than 12-14 carries per game. He is in a great matchup, as San Diego State had issues with stopping the run last year, so
Recommendation: Lasco is a GPP option, as he should see increased touches than he normally would in an attempt to exploit that San Diego State defense. They often allowed season-high rushing totals to opposing running backs, so if Cal goes to a running attack, he is a great option.
San Diego State
RB –Donnell Pumphrey- $8,200
Analysis: Donnell Pumphrey is the top running back option on this slate, as he is a guy who is going to get a significant amount of touches as San Diego State attempts to slow down the Cal offense.
Recommendation: Start Pumphrey in both GPP and cash
Tennessee At Oklahoma
Kickoff: 6:00 PM EST
Spread: Oklahoma -1.5
O/U: 57.5
Oklahoma
QB- Baker Mayfield- $8,600
Analysis: After an impressive showing in week one, Baker Mayfield gets his first test of the year in facing a Tennessee team that comes in with a lot of hype. Vegas expects this to be one of the highest scoring games on this slate, and Mayfield will be leading the charge for the Sooners. Tennessee showed in inability to stop the passing game of Bowling Green, so Baker Mayfield is a top option for this slate
Recommendation: Mayfield is a great option in cash games, but does not possess the upside that other quarterbacks have on this slate due to the lack of running ability.
RB- Samaje Perine-$8,400
Analysis: Samaje Perine is a player who had an extremely disappointing game versus Akron in week 1. He is a bruising running back who relies on volume in order to wear down the defense as he does not have tremendous speed. The problem is that Oklahoma has changed offenses and are currently running an air-raid attack offense. This severely limits Perine’s production as he is no longer in the same offense that he was in as he is just not going to get the volume that he received in 2014.
Recommendation: Avoid Perine until further notice
WR- Sterling Shepard-$7,800
Analysis: Sterling Shepard seems to shine in these types of games. He did not receive a high number of snaps as predicted last week due to having injury issues that made it pointless for him to stay in the game longer than absolutely necessary. He is risky, as he has been known to lay an egg in some games, but is the top receiving option in this air raid attack and should be targeted often by Baker Mayfield
Recommendation: Shepard is one of the top wide receivers in both cash and GPP games.
Tennessee
QB- Joshua Dobbs- $9,000
Analysis: Joshua Dobbs has the perfect combination of running and passing, and has shown that he has the ability to have a monster game as he combines both his legs and his arm. The challenge is for the first game of the year, Tennessee went to a run game offense that did not allow Dobbs to throw the ball as much as expected. While Dobbs did not throw as much as expected in week one against Bowling Green this was largely due to the game getting out of hand in the second half.
Recommendation: Dobbs is the top play as for Tennessee to stay close in this high scoring game they will be riding on the shoulders of Dobbs.
RB- Jalen Hurd- $8,000
Analysis: Jalen Hurd is a player who is incredibly talented. In the first game, he was in a time share situation with Alvin Kamara, as both running backs received over 15 carries. In this game, we expect Jalen to receive 20-25 touches, and should be a great play due to his pass catching ability and utilization rate in the offense.
Recommendation: Hurd should be considered in this game, especially if you are looking to not start Dobbs. While it doesn’t possess the most upside by going both of them, he is a nice GPP play if you’re looking to fade Dobbs.
RB- Alvin Kamara- $5,500
Analysis: Alvin Kamara had 15 carries for 144 yards and 2 td’s. He is a home run hitting running back who should serve as a change of pace for Jalen Hurd.
Recommendation: Kamara is a pure punt play, as we don’t expect him to have the 15 carries that he had last week. Most of his carries were once the game was over and Tennessee was looking to run out the clock. Overall he’s a guy who is a change of pace play in this game, and you are likely looking to hit on a long rushing touchdown for him to hit value.
Pitt At Akron
Kickoff: 6:00 PM EST
Spread: Pitt -12.5
O/U: 50
Pitt
RB – Qadree Ollison- $7,800
Analysis: The James Conner injury is one of the most devastating injuries of the early 2015 season. The offense had run through him for the past few seasons. In steps Qadree Ollison, while the sample size is not there, the production was there in week one. He had 16 carries for 207 yards and a touchdown in week one as he faced Youngstown State. The problem is he is highly priced, so it is a little bit difficult to trust a running back who while he looked great, there is concern that once they re-evaluate their running back options they will go with a mixed slate of running backs. Therefore he’s a wait and see guy for us.
Recommendation: Ollison is a GPP option, as there are safer running backs in this slate. He is in an offense that is run heavy, so if he is going to get the full load of carries, he should have an incredibly productive day versus the Akron Zips. There is talk of potentially sharing the work-load which limits his upside.
WR- Tyler Boyd- $7,700
Analysis: Thankfully for Pitt, they get their #1 wide receiver back in a time where they desperately need him. He has shown that he is one of the best wide receivers in the country, and should only see an increased work-load now that James Conner is out for the year.
Recommendation: Coming back from suspension, he can be used in both cash games and GPP, Pitt will be looking to use him all year now that James Conner is out, so his utilization rate will only increase.
Akron
There are no fantasy relevant options on Akron this week
Memphis at Kansas
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Spread: Memphis -12
O/U: 60
Memphis
QB- Paxton Lynch- $8,000
Analysis: This isn’t so much of an endorsement of Paxton Lynch as it is against Kansas. Kansas is the worst FBS team, and it may not be close. Paxton Lynch should be able to have a decent game, but he isn’t very skilled, so while he is in a great matchup, be cautious with this.
Recommendation: Paxton is a GPP play, at his price he is not a safe option.
TE- Alan Cross- $2,000
Analysis-
Alan Cross at $2,000 is simply too cheap, as he is the most consistent tight ends on this slate. He had a catch in 12 of his 13 games last season, and should be a very consistent safe option to use this week. With no elite tight ends on this slate, save the money and just punt with Cross.
Recommendation:
Cross is one of two punt options that can be safely used in this game.
Kansas
Kansas is one of the worst teams in college football. Move on.
North Texas AT SMU
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Spread: SMU -6.5
O/U: 60.5
North Texas
WR- Carlos Harris- $6,600
Analysis: Carlos Harris is PPR gold, and is one of the safest wide receivers in college football as he had 71 catches last year. This should continue versus an SMU team that had a difficult time in stopping Baylor’s passing attack
Recommendation: Carlos Harris is a great start at wide receiver in cash games.
Western Michigan at Georgia Southern
Kickoff: 7:30 PM EST
Spread: Western Michigan -5
O/U: 56
Western Michigan-
WR- Daniel Braverman- $6,600
Analysis: Daniel Braverman is very similar to Carlos Harris. Versus Michigan State last week he had 13 catches for 109 yards. The problem with Braverman is he does not see many touchdown looks, which severely limits his upside.
Recommendation: Daniel Braverman is a great start at wide receiver in cash games.
Georgia Southern-
There are no fantasy relevant options at Georgia Southern this week
Marshall at Ohio
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Spread: Marshall -3
O/U: 60
Marshall-
RB- Devon Johnson- $8,800
Analysis-
Devon Johnson was one of the top running backs last season and started off the year with three touchdowns versus Purdue. Historically Ohio has had a very strong defense, so the matchup is not the greatest for him today.
Recommendation-
Devon Johnson is a great GPP play, as he is someone who will be under-owned due to his matchup, but is someone that at times can be matchup proof.
Ohio-
Ohio scored 45 points last week, and there was no one who fantasy relevant, consider Derrius Vick in GPP’s due to his running ability, but he is a very risky option.
Ball State at Texas A&M
Kickoff: 8:00 PM EST
Spread: Texas A&M -30.5
O/U: 63.5
Ball State
There is no one who is fantasy relevant
Texas A&M-
WR- Speedy Noil $6,000, Ricky Seals-Jones $5,400
Both of these wide receivers are great plays for GPP’s, as they’re under-priced, and all it takes is for one long touchdown for them to make value. There are no safe cash game plays in this game due to the blowout potential as well as pricing for the top options in this offense.
Missouri at Arkansas State
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Spread: Missouri -10
O/U: 56
Avoid this game and move on there are a number of great games in this slate, so there is no need to go down to this game for fantasy options.
Arizona at nevada
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Spread: Arizona -10
O/U: 63
Arizona
QB-Anu Solomon- $9,000
Analysis: Anu Solomon is one of the top options every single week as he is someone who in Rich Rodriguez’s offense has shown that he has the ability to put up great stats. He is a little bit boom/bust in the sense that even at times when the team scores a significant amount of points he is not guaranteed to go off. For example last week in a non-blowout the team scored 42 points, but he only had 226 yards passing with four touchdowns. Nevada is not a great defensive team, and the spread is not expecting a blowout which puts Anu in a great situation this week.
Recommendation: Anu Solomon is one of the top GPP options on the slate at quarterback due to his upside, but there is the risk that we mentioned that he does not always have the yardage numbers to go along with the touchdowns.
WR: Caleyb Jones- $7,400
Analysis: Similar to Anu Solomon, Caleby Jones is a boom/bust type receiver who is in a great matchup this week. He seems to exploit the non-conference non FBS schools averaging over 100 yards per game in his career when playing those types of schools
Recommendation: Caleyb is the top wide receiver GPP option, as he is one of the wide receivers to get to 200 yards and multiple touchdowns.
RB: Nick Wilson- $9,100
Analysis: Nick Wilson had a disappointing week one, but don’t let that fool you, he is one of the best running backs in college football. He ended 2014 with 5 of his last 7 regular season games over 100 yards, and finished the season at 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Recommendation: At his price, if you can fit him in, he is a great option that should be safely used in both your cash gaems and your GPP’s.
Nevada-
TE: Jarred Gipson- $2,000
Analysis: Jarred Gipson had 33 catches last season, which for those of you that have been playing college football for a while know that this is a great number. He does not have great yardage potential due to only having 8.8 yards per catch last year, and started the season with 3.5 yards per catch.
Recommendation: Jarred Gipson at minimum price is the other tight end that we are recommending for this slate.
East Carolina At Florida
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Spread: Florida -20.5
O/U: 53.5
East Carolina-
RB- Chris Hairston- $5,300
Analysis: Let’s start this by saying that East Carolina is in an awful matchup against Florida, but at $5,300 Chris Hairston has to be mentioned as the pricing is simply too low. Last week he had 154 yards and 4 touchdowns after taking over for Breon Allen last season.
Recommendation: He is the top punt play of the day, as even if he ends up with 50 yards and a touchdown, he will be reaching value.
Florida
Will Grier is a fine punt play, if you have to have a piece of this team, but they spread the ball around too much at this point to trust them.
Kentucky at South Carolina
Kickoff: 7:00 PM EST
Spread: South Carolina -7.5
O/U: 56
Kentucky-
RB: Stanley Boom Williams-$7,100
Analysis:
As his name mentions, he has some Boom in his game. He had a great week one with 10 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown. The problem though is that he only had 10 carries. The matchup today is much more difficult as he is no longer playing Louisiana Lafayette, and is now playing a conference game in South Carolina.
Recommendation:
He is a GPP play, due to his long-play potential, but absolutely should not be considered for cash games, as he will only receive 10-15 touches which is not enough to safely be used.
South Carolina
WR: Pharoh Cooper-$8,500
Analysis:
For anyone who watched the games last week, when Pharoh Cooper is electric when he gets the ball in his hands. He only had 3 receptions, but also had 4 rushes last week. He was selected first team All-SEC, so he should improve on those initial stats, as he is such a major part of South Carolina’s offense. Steve Spurrier himself mentioned that the play calling was poor, so we fully expect Cooper to receive more touches this week. Kentucky does not have a great defense, as they allowed 33 points last week against UL Lafayette.
Recommendation:
He is a great GPP play, due to his price he is not a great cash game option, but he is one of the most electric player in college football.