Another Saturday is fast approaching and with that comes another full day of College Football and DFS. DraftKings has their usual assortment of games spread out over two main slates and we have a bunch of games to look into – 29 in total for this week. Let’s get right to it, starting with the early games.
Early Slate
The early slate kicks off at 12pm and includes 17 games, eight of which hit the sweet spot of at least 60 points for a projected total. Tournament highlights include the massive $200K Big Game and the $135K Redshirt. The Big Game is a $20 buy-in tournament that pays out the top 2,300 spots with an incredible $25,000 to 1st place. The Redshirt has a $3 entry fee and pays out the top 11,025 finishers with a top prize of $10,000.
Game totals for the early games range from a low of 41 points for Iowa at Northwestern to a high of 78 for the game between Tulsa and East Carolina. With nearly half of the games projected for 60 points or more, the early games could be a high-scoring slate. Three of the games check-in with totals of at least 70 points. We’ll start with those three to find some core plays that could make a great foundation for our lineups.
- Tulsa @ East Carolina. East Carolina -13 ½, 78.
- Texas Tech @ Kansas. Texas Tech -31, 77 ½.
- West Virginia @ Baylor. Baylor -21 ½, 75.
Picks to keep on your radar for the high-scoring games:
- Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes II, $9,500. Mahomes II is averaging 38.8 points per game and is facing a Kansas team that is allowing 299.2 passing yards per game. Kansas has also allowed 14 passing touchdowns this year, including five last week against Baylor. Sign me up.
- Baylor QB Seth Russell, $9,000. As expected, Baylor’s blowout win over Kansas led to a slight dip in production from Russell. West Virginia offers a step-up in competition and should be able to keep things interesting long enough for Russell to do some damage.
- East Carolina RB Chris Hairston, $5,200. Hairston has the privilege of going up against the defense of the Tulsa Hurricanes, which has allowed 1,347 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground this year. Great value for a lead back in a game with the highest projected total of the early slate.
- Texas Tech RB DeAndre Washington, $6,300. In addition to their struggles against the pass, Kansas also has their issues with rushing defense. Washington has scored seven touchdowns this season and could add on a few more against a team that has allowed 15 on the ground this season.
- East Carolina WR Isaiah Jones, $5,800. Jones is the top receiving option for the Pirates and is averaging 21.5 points per game. He has only found the end zone three times so far this season, good shot to add to those totals against Tulsa.
- Tulsa WR Keyarris Garrett, $6,900. Garrett is one of the top receiving options for the early games and has a game script squarely in his favor. He has one monster game under his belt for 2015 with Week 3’s 41.9 points, nice chance for another one this week.
For the rest of the games, we have three contests with projected totals in the 50s and six games in the 40s. Picks from these games to keep on your short list:
- Akron QB Thomas Woodson, $6,800. Woodson and the Zips head to Bowling Green as an 11 ½-point underdog in a game with a projected total of 67 points. He threw for four touchdowns last week and should be throwing all day to keep pace in a high-scoring affair.
- Washington State QB Luke Falk, $8,900. Falk had six total touchdowns last week en route to 44.3 fantasy points. There’s a little risk here as Oregon State is pretty strong against the pass, but the pass-heavy attack of Washington State should still produce.
- Wisconsin RB Dare Ogunbowale, $4,900. Ogunbowale received the bulk of the workload last week and could be in line for more of the same if Taiwan Deal remains sidelined. Purdue is allowing 216.5 yards per game and a big 23 ½-point underdog on Saturday.
- Alabama RB Derrick Henry, $7,300. Henry has run for 665 yards and 10 touchdowns this year. Saturday’s game against the Aggies projects to be close and relatively high-scoring with the Tide favored by 4 points and an O/U of 53 ½.
- Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell, $5,700. Treadwell had his most productive game of 2015 last week and scored 36.6 fantasy points. Not sure that he gets there again, but a projected total of 69 ½ points to a game we want some exposure to, may as well go with the best receiver from this game at a great price.
- Alabama WR Calvin Ridley, $5,200. Ridley burst into consciousness with Week 5’s 5/120/1 against Georgia and followed that up with 9/140/1 versus Arkansas last week. We could be looking at the next in a long line of great Alabama receivers, grab him while his price remains low.
Late Slate
The late set of games starts at 7pm and includes 12 games. Featured tournaments include the $70K Redshirt ($3 entry, pays top 5,400, $5,000 to 1st) and the $60K Tailgate ($27 buy-in, pays top 502, $10,000 to 1st). Projected totals range from a low of 37 ½ for the Boston College at Clemson game all the way up to 73 ½ for TCU’s game at Iowa State.
Only three games hit the magic number of 60 for a projected total.
- TCU @ Iowa State. TCU -20 ½, 73 ½.
- USC @ Notre Dame. Notre Dame -6 ½, 61.
- Arizona @ Colorado. Arizona -8, 68.
Players to consider from the high-scoring games:
- Arizona QB Anu Solomon, $6,900. Solomon’s production took a dip last week as the Wildcats leaned on the running game, leading to a drop in his salary. He’s averaging 20.6 points per game and has a good chance to exceed that in a game that could turn into a shootout.
- Colorado QB Sefo Liufau, $5,800. On the opposite side of a potential shootout, we have Liufau and his 17.2 points per game average. Our projections call for Liufau to best his average production this week and at a very salary-cap friendly price to boot.
- TCU RB Aaron Green, $7,200. We’ll take a different tact for the projected highest-scoring game of the late slate. While the passing game for TCU gets all the attention, we’ll gladly look to Green and his 21.6 average points per game.
- Notre Dame RB C.J. Prosise, $7,900. Prosise will be tested against USC’s 46th-ranked rushing defense, but our projections like his chances to be one of the top scoring running backs of the late games. Three touchdowns last week against the 41st-ranked Navy defense helps make the decision even easier.
- Colorado WR Nelson Spruce, $5,800. Our projections call for Spruce to be the highest-scoring receiver for the late slate. A very reasonable price offers the opportunity for an affordable stack with Liufau.
- Notre Dame WR Will Fuller, $6,300. Fuller has not scored 20 fantasy points since Week 3 but came close with last week’s 19 points against Navy. For a close game with a projected total over 60, we like his chances to get closer to his average of 22.9 points.
The remaining games for the night cap include three games with projected totals in the 50s and six games with totals under 50. Two picks for each position for this group of games:
- Arizona State QB Mike Bercovici, $6,500. Bercovici threw for five touchdowns last week against Colorado. Arizona State has a tough matchup with Utah on tap, but a low price makes Bercovici a risk worth considering.
- Utah QB Travis Wilson, $6,700. Wilson had a down week in last week’s close victory over Cal. Arizona State’s 102nd-ranked pass defense provides a nice opportunity for the dual-threat to bounce back.
- Temple RB Jahad Thomas, $8,500. Thomas will cost you but his production warrants the hefty price tag. He’s averaging 28.9 points per game and faces a winless UCF squad that has surrendered nine rushing touchdowns this season.
- Clemson RB Wayne Gallman, $6,200. Gallman is coming off a great game that saw him rush for 115 yards and two touchdowns. This is a contrarian GPP pick with plenty of risk as he faces off against a top-ranked rushing defense in Boston College.
- Washington WR Jaydon Mickens, $4,100. Mickens is a value pick against an Oregon team that has really struggled against the pass this season. They have allowed 21 passing touchdowns already this season. You’ll need to save some salary to fit the studs on your roster for the late games and Mickens could provide some nice upside.
- Ohio State WR Michael Thomas, $4,500. Another value pick at wide receiver, this is a very reasonable price for the top receiving option on the Buckeyes. Thomas has scored at least 15.0 fantasy points for four consecutive weeks.
That’s a wrap for the Week 7 edition of Saturday Sleepers and GPP Plays. Be sure to get your lineups in on time and best of luck this weekend!
