We are now into the first full week of the 2022 college football season is and I am back to break down the Week 1 CFB DFS 6 game Friday Night slate. Make sure to check out my top plays below as you are building your college football daily fantasy lineups. Friday’s Week 1 Night slate kicks off at 7 pm ET and you can build CFB DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. This playbook focuses on the Friday Night slate but make sure to also check out the Saturday Main slate breakdown. You can access all of our College Football DFS coverage with a Fantasy Alarm All-Pro subscription. Fantasy Alarm All-Pro Subscription. If you have any questions about CFB daily fantasy lineup strategy for Week 1 or beyond, ask away in the Fantasy Alarm Discord chat all the way until lineup lock. Without further ado, let's get into the CFB DFS top plays for Week 1 Friday college football.

 

 

College Football Week 1 Thursday Night Betting Odds

  • 7pm ET - Virginia Tech (-6.5) @ Old Dominion: 47.5 O/U
  • 7pm ET - Western Michigan @ Michigan State (-21): 54.0 O/U
  • 7pm ET - Eastern Kentucky @ Eastern Michigan (-14.0): 58.5 O/U
  • 7pm ET - William & Mary @ Charlotte N/A: DK Only  
  • 7:30pm ET - Temple @ Duke (-9.5): 51.0 O/U
  • 8pm ET - Illinois @ Indiana (-1.5): 45.5 O/U
  • 8pm ET - Tennessee Tech @ Kansas: N/A DK Only
  • 10pm ET - TCU (-13.5) @ Colorado: 58.0 O/U

 

Top Implied Team Totals

  • Michigan State - 37.50
  • Eastern Michigan - 36.25
  • TCU - 35.50
  • Duke - 30.50
  • Virginia Tech - 27.00
  • Indiana - 23.50
  • Eastern Kentucky - 22.25


CFB DFS Playbook Week 1 Friday

CFB DFS Quarterbacks

Payton Thorne (MSU) vs. WMU ($8.1K DK/$11.5K FD)

Payton Thorne reportedly had an amazing camp, and the redshirt junior was just named to the Manning Award Watch List. After earning the starting job last season, Thorne delivered with a school single season record of 27 touchdown passes and finished the season throwing for 3,233 yards, 27 TDs, and 10 interceptions. He threw for 200-plus yards in eight games and 300-plus yards in three games and capped his season with a career-high 354 yards in a 31-21 victory over No. 12 Pitt in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Thorne has the highest floor of any quarterback on the slate, but he is also the most expensive. He posted 28 fantasy points or more eight times last season and even though this game with WMU should be a blowout Thorne should see enough action to make value.

 

Taylor Powell (EMU) vs EKU ($7.5K DK/$8.7K FD)

Taylor Powell, who came to EMU after stops in Troy and Missouri, was once a top-20 QB prospect and won the battle for the Eagles' starting quarterback spot. He started the first five games at Troy last season before getting hurt. Powell completed 66% of his passes last season and all reports are that he has been even better at practice. He’s not a running threat, but he’s accurate and smart and has probably the best group of receivers in the MAC to throw to including Hassan Beydoun, who had 1,000 receiving yards last season on a school record 97 receptions. 

 

Riley Leonard (DUKE) vs. TEMP ($6.6K DK/$9.0K FD)

Riley Leonard was thrown into battle after Gunnar Holmberg went down against Pittsburgh last November and he showed some potential in directing a 14-play, 67-yard scoring drive in the second half. For the season, Leonard appeared in six games and completed just under 60% of his attempts for three scores and threw one interception. He drew raves in the spring game due to his poise and confidence and carried it over into a strong summer camp. Temple finished dead last in scoring defense last season and offenses under new OC Kevin Johns have finished inside the top 50 in Pace each of the last seven seasons.
 

Other Top Quarterbacks:

  • Grant Wells (VT) GPP
  • Hayden Wolff (ODU) GPP
  • Jalon Daniels (KU) Cash/GPP
  • Chandler Morris (TCU) Cash/GPP

 

CFB DFS Running Backs

Chase Brown (ILL) @IU ($5.4K DK/$9.5K FD)

What is DraftKings thinking? Did they notice what he did in Week 0?  His 151 rushing yards against Wyoming were the most by any Illinois player in an opening game of a season since 1945 and it was also the third most in his career– only behind the 200-yard games against Penn State and Charlotte in 2021. Indiana is a bit stronger than Wyoming, but Brown was at a 7.9 yards per carry rate last week and the Hoosiers were bad against the run last year allowing 142 yards to opposing running backs. Brown will be very popular but a must play in cash on DraftKings.

 

Blake Watson (ODU) vs. VT ($4.0K DK/$7.1K FD)

Here we again with DraftKings. They list a 1,000-yard runner at only $4K? This is another free square but maybe one you want to pivot off of in GPPs due to high ownership.  Watson is coming off a 2021 campaign that saw him rack up 1,112 rushing yards and eight touchdowns and he will see even more work after the suspension of Elijah Davis, the Monarchs second-leading rusher last season. Watson is a workhorse and will see plenty of action in a competitive game against a Virginia Tech rush defense that ranked 204th in the country last season.

 

Kendre Miller (TCU) @ COL ($7.5K DK/$7.3K FD)

Top running backs in Sonny Dykes’ offense have always been big fantasy point producers and the RB1 gets a 36.2% volume share. Zach Evans, TCU’s leading rusher from last year transferred to Ole Miss, but Kendre Miller was only 25 yards behind him and led the Horned Frogs in yards per carry (7.5) and rushing touchdowns (seven). Miller is also a pass-catching running back as his 17 receptions lead him to 117 receiving yards and a touchdown. He gets to work behind one of the strongest offensive lines in the nation so a floor game at minimum should easily be in the cards.

 

Shaun Shivers (IU) vs. IL ($4.6K DK/$8.2K FD)

Indiana’s 2021 running game was terrible so new offensive coordinator Walt Bell head to the SEC and returned with Auburn transfer Shaun Shivers. This is one of the fastest players in the country and he brings an element of explosiveness that Indiana hasn’t seen in a few years. He’s versatile and can be a dangerous pass-catcher out of the backfield which should lead to many multi-back sets. The Hoosiers return three starters from the offensive line and the Illinois run defense was shaky at best against Titus Swen and Wyoming. Shivers is another misprice on DraftKings.

 

Other Top Running Backs:

  • Devin Neal (KU) Cash/GPP
  • Jalen Berger (MSU) GPP Value 
  • Alex Fontenot (COL) Cash/GPP
  • Jack Broussard (MSU) GPP
  • Samson Evans (EMU) Cash/GPP
  • Edward Saydee (TEM) GPP 
  • Terry Moore (DUKE) GPP Value

 

 

 

CFB DFS Wide Receivers

Jayden Reed (MSU) vs. WMU ($7.3K DK/$9.4K FD)

Jayden Reed is a returning All-Big Ten wideout who bypassed the NFL to play a senior season with Michigan State and the opening game will be against his former school that he transferred from in 2018, Western Michigan. With Jalen Nailor graduating, Reed will be one of the top offensive weapons once again for a Spartan offense that also will not have star running back Kenneth Walker III. These losses will expand the role for Reed who recorded over 1,000 yards last year with 10 touchdown catches and he will also be involved in the running game. 

 

Quentin Johnson (TCU) @COL ($8.0K DK/$9.5K FD)

Quentin Johnson is my favorite play of the slate. He may have been inconsistent last season but now Johnson has a new offensive system and coaches who vow to feed their Alpha. This is a potential NFL first rounder in 2023 that will be facing a Colorado defense that was ranked 90th last season in the pass by allowing 242.3 yards per game. Sonny Dykes has taken over the offense that is protected by a new and improved offensive line. Johnston was First-Team All-Big 12 last season and ranks first in Big 12 history with a 20.4 yards per catch average for a player in his first two seasons. He led TCU in receiving yards (634), yards per reception (19.2), and touchdown catches (six) last season plus he topped 100 yards in every one of his final five games. Lock him in.

 

Jalon Calhoun (DUKE) vs. TEMP ($6.5K DK/$8.2K FD)

Now entering his senior season, Jalon Calhoun seems primed to take over for Jake Bobo as the team’s primary pass-catcher. As a freshman, Calhoun led the Blue Devils in receiving yards, and as a sophomore he led the team in receptions. His best season came as a junior, when Calhoun finished last season with 718 yards and 3 touchdowns on 56 receptions. Calhoun has started in 33 of 35 total games, and in the process has cemented himself as one of Duke’s top players and now with Bobo gone, Calhoun is the undisputed leader of the receivers, so look for him to be one of this season’s biggest bright spots as an ALL-ACC nominee. Love this spot especially in a PPR setting like DraftKings. 

 

Victor Tucker (CHAR) vs. W&M ($5.8K DK)

Victor Tucker is a veteran that works out of the slot and is the nation’s active leading receiver. After two concussions late last season, he is back to 100% health and is ready for one final run with QB Chris Reynolds (who is out this week). According to Pro Football Focus, Tucker saw 71% of his snaps in the slot, more than doubling any of his previous seasons. He brought in 51 catches for 639 yards and two touchdowns last year, totaling 13 100-yard receiving games in his career. Tucker might be a popular pick in cash lineups with his reasonable salary as he was tied with Spencer with six targets last week against FAU.

 

Other Top Wide Receivers:

  • Hassan Beydoun (EMU) Cash/GPP
  • Tanner Knue (EMU) Cash/GPP (popular cash play)
  • Dylon Drummond (EMU) GPP
  • Grant Dubose (CHAR) Cash/GPP
  • Corey Crooms (WMU) Cash/GPP
  • Kaleb Smith (VT) GPP
  • Ali Jennings (ODU) Cash/GPP
  • Jordan Bly (ODU) Value
  • Adonicus Sanders (TEM) GPP Value

 

CFB DFS Core Plays Week 1 Friday

DraftKings Core

  • Taylor Powell (EMU)
  • Quentin Johnson (TCU)
  • Blake Watson (ODU)
  • Chase Brown (IL)

 

FanDuel Core

  • Taylor Powell (EMU)
  • Chase Brown (ILL)
  • Tanner Knue (EMU)
  • Blake Watson (ODU)
     
 

 

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