This article is part of our FanDuel College Football series.
Now that daily college football is back in the rotation, I will be providing my weekly picks for FanDuel, who reintroduced it in "Week 1" of the season. Given the volume of players in this game, it may be difficult to wade through the muck, but I will do my best to give you picks at each position each week. Of note, these picks relate to the main slate as defined by FanDuel, which begins at 3:30 PM ET.
Given that this is the first week for this article, I will copy some of the guidelines highlighted by college football editor John McKechnie in his first installment of the daily series.
1.) The extremes that come with a given college football slate are wild
- There will be teams favored by 20-or-more points with regularity, whereas anything more than two touchdowns in the NFL is rare.
- The overall tempo and scoring is far greater in college as well.
- There will be teams running 80-plus plays every week, and there will be teams barely getting over 62 offensive snaps. The wide variety of systems and philosophies make this format unique. In the NFL, teams tend to run between 61 and 67 plays per game, with very few exceptions outside that range.
2.) The player pool is deeper, which means there really are "sleepers" in college DFS.
- Sometimes that No.3 wide receiver on Middle Tennessee can swing an entire contest.
3.) Follow the expected game script
- If a blue blood program is playing one of the weaker teams in the FBS as a warmup game, it's important to be wary of deploying the good team's studs.
- For instance, using a player like Alabama's Damien Harris against Colorado State last season would have cost a pretty penny, but only netted you 11 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown – certainly not the outcome for which you would've paid.
- On the other hand, games with high projected totals and narrow spreads are always games to target.
Now that we've established some guidelines, let's get to some picks!
Quarterback
Elite ($10,000 and up)
McKenzie Milton, UCF (vs. SCST) $10,700
Milton and the Knights take on an FCS opponent in South Carolina State that was pummeled by Georgia Southern last week 37-6. While I don't expect this game to be close by any means, and Milton will likely be yanked eventually, he's also bidding for a Heisman trophy run this season. Before his departure, Milton – who totaled 346 yards and five touchdowns in the opener against UConn – will need to boost his stat totals to look juicy enough at the end of the season to warrant selecting him over others in power five conferences. He should provide plenty of value at his price point, which ranks fifth among quarterbacks this week.
Mid-Tier ($8,000-10,000)
Sam Ehlinger, Texas (vs. Tulsa) $9,100
Ehlinger and the Longhorns sit around 23-point favorites for the clash with Tulsa in what is expected to be one of the higher scoring contests on the slate. The game should remain close enough to keep him in action, and he squares off against a Tulsa pass defense that surrendered 263.9 yards through the air per game a season ago. Pair that with a lackluster running game and a Texas squad that's hungry following a Week 1 loss to Maryland, and Ehlinger should be out for blood.
Bargain Bin (<$8,000)
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh (vs. Penn State) $7,900
While Pickett's Week 1 showing against FCS Albany – 154 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception – won't blow you out of the water, it's worth noting that he was efficient in completing 16 of his 22 pass attempts and displayed his ability on the ground in the form of 42 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries. Pitt enters the game as just 8.5-point underdogs, and justifiably so. Penn State's defense allowed 38 points and a whopping 292 passing yards to an Appalachian State offense under the direction of sophomore quarterback Zac Thomas in his first career start. The Nittany Lions have some ironing out to do in the secondary after losing three key contributors from last season and Pickett catches them early enough to take advantage of that.
Running Back
Elite ($9,000 and up)
Mike Weber, Ohio State (vs. Rutgers) $9,800
Sophomore J.K. Dobbins received most of the hype out of the Buckeyes' backfield entering the 2018 season, but Weber quickly reminded everyone in Week 1 that he's no slouch by totaling 186 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against Oregon State. His price remains behind Dobbins heading into Week 2 and sixth overall despite the Buckeyes having the second-highest implied total of games with lines this week (around 49). While Rutgers was stout versus the run last week against Texas State, Ohio State is a different animal and has something to prove, while head coach Urban Meyer is suspended. Weber is also the preferred goal-line back for Ohio State, which plays up a bit more in the 0.5-point PPR format.
Mid-Tier ($7,500-$9,000)
Raheem Blackshear, Rutgers (at Ohio State) $8,900
It may seem counterintuitive to choose a running back on a team that's a 35.5-point underdog against Ohio State, but Blackshear is just as much a receiver for the Scarlet Knights as he is a runner, hauling in seven passes on eight targets for 56 yards and a touchdown last week. With Rutgers expected to be behind most of the game, expect Blackshear to see plenty of run in the contest, and he should serve as a security blanket for freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski, who makes his first road start at the Horseshoe.
Bargain Bin (<$7,500)
Keaontay Ingram, Texas (vs. Tulsa) $7,000
Coming off a disappointing loss against Maryland that saw the backfield do little to nothing, Ingram was the only minor bright spot. The freshman tailback averaged 6.2 yards per carry and found paydirt against the Terps, prompting offensive coordinator Tim Beck to declare that he will receive more carries in Week 2 against Tulsa and moving forward. Ingram flashes the most upside of the Longhorns' backs at this point and should be worth the price of admission this week against a Tulsa defense that ranked 102nd in defensive rushing S&P+ last season.
Wide Receiver
Elite ($9,000 and up)
David Sills V, West Virginia (vs. Youngstown St.) $10,500
Much like McKenzie Milton, Mountaineers quarterback Will Grier has Heisman aspirations in 2018 as well. As a result, West Virginia will likely attempt to rack up pass attempts early and often against Youngstown State and David Sills is clearly among the elite wide receivers in college football to pair with him. Coming off a two-touchdown week against Tennessee, Sills is worth the highest-priced investment at wideout against a Youngstown State team that gave up 23 to FCS Butler last week.
Mid-Tier ($7,500-9000)
Gabriel Davis, UCF (vs. SCST) $8,200
While Dredrick Snelson and Tre Nixon receive most of the accolades for the Knights, it was Davis in Week 1 who led the team in targets with nine, turning them into six catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. If you're looking to save some money with an option to pair with a premier quarterback, look no further than the 6-foot-3 wideout, who could serve as a red-zone threat with the 13 receiving touchdowns from Tre'Quan Smith last season up for grabs.
Bargain Bin (<$7,500)
Justin Hobbs, Tulsa (vs Texas) $7,200
Although Hobbs caught just three passes in the season opener against Central Arkansas, the senior recorded 61 yards and a touchdown and was targeted eight times out of quarterback Luke Skipper's 24 pass attempts. Maryland sliced up Texas' defense through the air for 264 yards (7.8 yds/att) last week, and with Tulsa expected to be trailing, the passing volume for the Golden Hurricane should increase in Week 2. That should only benefit Hobbs' production.
