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Welcome to a special edition of College Football DFS FREE primer! We are going to do something a bit different with some new slates added by our partner DFS sites this week. We will not do this EVERY week, but as often as we can. We’ll release multiple options for the weekday slates in advance of the big Saturday Playbook.  If you are a DFS Playbook Pro subscriber, you likely have already taken advantage of the Tuesday-Thursday/Friday Playbook released Tuesday afternoon. Those contests have started but there are the following slates that we’d like to provide a quick primer to get you the information you need to dominate tonight and tomorrow. If you don't play College Football DFS...what are you waiting for?

 

This article covers these current open slates:
 

FanDuel: Thursday Only & Friday Only

DraftKings: Thursday-Friday
 

First, let’s discuss the games/teams/players that are included in these slates…
 

Thursday, October 15th

Auburn (-2.5) at Kentucky - Total: 51.5 - 7:00 PM ET (ESPN)

The Wildcats host the Tigers in a key SEC matchup. Kentucky seeks a 5-1 start and their third win in four SEC games. They won in South Carolina and took care of Missouri at home with the only slip up a 14-9 loss to a sudden SEC favorite in the Florida Gators. The offense gets a boost with their leading rusher Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams returning to the backfield to complement JoJo Kemp. The rushing attack has struggled in Williams’ absence, while the Tigers have struggled to stop the run. Auburn is 3-2 and are lucky those numbers aren’t reversed. In Week 2 the Tigers were outplayed in every facet (except the final score) by FCS Jacksonville State but escaped with a 27-20 win. Their losses include a 45-21 loss to LSU and 17-9 to Mississippi State.

 

The Tigers have been searching for an offensive identity all season and this included a quarterback change from Jeremy Johnson to freshman Sean White. Head coach Gus Malzahn hasn’t named a starter for this one and there could be packages for both (read: avoid). Peyton Barber has emerged as the lead back in what was believed to be a three-headed monster between Barber, Roc Thomas and Jovon Robinson. Both Thomas and Robinson have struggled with injury and inconsistency.
 

Western Kentucky (-32.5) at North Texas - Total: 70 - 7:30 PM ET (CBSSN)

If you are looking to stack (as we are), this is the only place to look. It took a few games for this high-powered WKU attack to take form, but have they ever. Quarterback Brandon Doughty has thrown for an average 429 yards per game in the last four to go with 18 touchdown passes. He spreads the wealth amongst a talented group of receivers, including Jared Dangerfield, who was slowed by injury to start the season, but has recently come back to full speed. Taywan Taylor is right up there with Dangerfield and then there is Nicholas Norris and Antwane Grant to chip in as well. Don’t forget about tight end Tyler Higbee taking advantage of the middle of the field when Doughty is spreading the ball around. This effective passing attack opens running lanes for a pair of backs filling in for the injured Leon Allen. Anthony “Ace” Wales was given the first chance to succeed the senior Allen, who ran for 1,542 yards a year ago. Wales was slowed himself, though, and that opened the door for D’Andre Ferby who has scored six times this season, despite a less-than-spectacular 3.7 yards per carry. Wales returned last week and dominated the carries (19 for 111) but Ferby found the end zone early in the game, finishing with eight carries for 33 yards. Update: Ferby is listed as "Doubtful" for this game. We are making adjustments to our lineups that included him.

 

North Texas is just plain bad. They just fired their head coach Dan McCarney and replaced him with offensive coordinator Mike Canales (this is the second time he’s taken over for a fired coach) and their defensive S&P+ rating is dead-last in FBS. Their only bright spot is wide receiver Carlos Harris, who has 36 catches for 469 yards and four touchdowns this season. Another wrinkle to keep an eye on is former Hilltopper quarterback DaMarcus Smith, who has been backing up this season, is expected to get the start. If that’s the case, we’ll see a bit more mobility and potentially a shot in the arm for the Mean Green.
 

UCLA at Stanford (-6.5) - Total: 54 - 10:30 PM ET (ESPN)

This is a Pac-12 showdown with both squads suffering through one loss but maintaining Top-25 status. Both teams are coming off a bye week but had very different fates from their previous games as UCLA suffered a blow to their National Championship hopes by losing at home 38-23 to Arizona State, while Stanford pounded Arizona 55-17. The Bruins are going to need to stop the run and are going to need to do so without two key defensive players in Eddie Vanderdoes and Myles Jack. If UCLA is going to beat the Cardinal for the first time in eight tries, they’ll need to find a way to get their own running game going and take the pressure off true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen.

 

Stanford will do their best Sun Devils impression as Arizona State held the Bruins to just 62 yards in their contest. Prior to that, Paul Perkins and the rushing attack were making hay so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. We’re avoiding that one, especially since Perkins is the most expensive of the backs. On the other hand, the Stanford rushing attack is clicking on all cylinders behind Christian McCaffrey, who is leading in carries (105) and yards (601), but Remound Wright is vulturing all of the touchdowns (7) and Barry Sanders Jr. (yes, his son) has four touchdowns to McCaffrey’s one score. Head coach David Shaw likes the balance in the rushing attack and they are leaning heavily on it with 63.3 percent of the play calls being handoffs. McCaffrey is leading them down the field and giving way to Wright to pound it in. Sanders is chipping in with some longer runs (9.71 YPC) and all is well - for the Cardinal. For DFS purposes, it’s endlessly frustrating.
 

Friday, October 16th

Cincinnati at BYU (-6.5) - Total: 66 - 8:00 PM ET (ESPN)

The Bearcats come into this game with a top passing attack, amassing 385.8 yards passing per game despite losing their starter Gunner Kiel to a head injury. Backup Hayden Moore picked up right where he left off. Both are cleared to play, making this situation one to avoid, especially since head coach Tommy Tuberville has no incentive to tip his hand to a BYU defense licking it’s wounds from allowing 518 yards and 38 points to East Carolina last week. Cincinnati’s rushing attack is also one to avoid as three backs contribute each week and who comes out on top is anybody’s guess. Hosey Williams, Tion Green and Mike Boone make up the three-headed monster that we typically want nothing to do with.

 

On the other side, BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum has stepped in for the injured (again) Taysom Hill and is leading this offensive charge. After being the first in line to be shut out by Michigan, they bounced back to score 30 and 45 points, against UConn and East Carolina, respectively. Being in Provo will help and Cincinnati’s defense is nothing to write home about - especially against the run. Jamaal Wiliams and Adam Hine are out and Algernon Brown has emerged as the horse in this rushing attack (with our boy Francis Bernard chipping in). Mitch Mathews is the unquestioned go-to guy in the receiving corps and provides a nice target for the freshman Mangum. Later, you'll see Terren Houk in our lineups as he qualifies at tight end in FanDuel and is really a slot receiver.
 

Houston (-19) at Tulane - Total: 60.5 - 9:00 PM ET (ESPNU)

The Cougars have been a favorite of ours all season, in particular quarterback Greg Ward Jr. who is just taking games over with his legs and scoring major points. That’s driving his price through the roof, but he’s worth just about every penny. Things shouldn’t change much against the Green Wave, who may be only slightly more equipped to shut down the Cougs as their past three opponents - Texas State (128th), Tulsa (124th) and SMU (122nd). The other difference between this week’s opponent and those "defenses" is that those schools all possess quick-paced offenses themselves, giving more opportunities to Ward and Houston.

 

Tulane will slow it down a bit and while they may not be wildly successful, this shouldn’t turn into a back-and-forth shootout. Houston running back Kenneth Farrow is the unquestioned leader in this backfield and will contribute to the cause as he did last week with three rushing touchdowns, giving him five in the last two games. Ward can throw it too - and he’s been looking Demarcus Ayers’ way quite a bit this season - 46 targets for 40 catches for 469 and three touchdowns. Chance Allen and Stephen Dunbar are his other options and will be active in the passing game as well. Tulane is slow-paced and ineffective on offense as they rank 120th, and with a pure timeshare in the backfield and a less-than-exciting passing game, we’ll avoid any of their players.
 

Boise State (-9.5) at Utah State - Total: 49.5 - 9:00 PM ET (CBSSN)

Well, just when it looked like the Broncos have taken a step back offensively, they lose their starting quarterback in a blowout win over Idaho State and a true freshman named Brett Rypien enters to save the day. In their current four-game winning streak, this offense has put up 56-55-41 points with an average of 549 yards of total offense. Running back Jeremy McNichols leads the FBS with 12 rushing touchdowns, but his status is uncertain for this one after suffering an apparent concussion last week. This week they taken their show into Utah State, who possesses a tough defense (particularly against the run) and will do all they can to rattle the true freshman quarterback, something they were unable to do against Washington’s Jake Browning, who threw for 368 and three touchdowns in the Huskies' 31-17 win in Seattle. Even with the Aggies offense putting up 33 (Colorado St) and 56 (Fresno St) points in the last two weeks, we are avoiding them completely against a Broncos defense that has been smothering all season long.
 

UNLV (-6.5) at Fresno State - Total: 54 - 10:30 PM ET (ESPN2)

Fresno State is in really bad shape on both sides of the ball and while the Runnin’ Rebs aren’t much better, we at least see some opportunity with their offense. We’ll start with the Bulldogs (this won’t take long), who have an uncertain quarterback situation and it doesn’t matter who starts and plays between Zack Greenlee and Kilton Anderson - you’ll want to avoid this completely. Running back Marteze Waller dominates the carries in the backfield, but he’s managed just a 3.84 yards per rush average and one touchdown this season. UNLV provides a similar flatline excitement on offense with a similarly putrid quarterback situation. However, if there is one buying opportunity, it could be wide receiver Devonte Boyd, and we stress the word ‘could’.  You see, he’s been targeted a team-high 47 times this season, but has only turned that into 19 catches - a paltry 40 percent catch rate. He has scored four times and his price is reasonable. Hopefully we’re not relying on anybody in this final game of the tilt.
 

Okay, now that you know a bit about these games on the slate, let’s get to the meat & potatoes. Who are we going to play?  Please make a note that our general strategy revolves around starting the best quarterbacks (no matter the price) and filling in around them with cheaper plays. This is best deployed in cash games (50-50's, Double-Ups, H2H).  
 

Thursday Only (FanDuel)
 

QB - Brandon Doughty (WKU)

RB - Anthony Wales (WKU)

RB - Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams (Kentucky)

WR - Jared Dangerfield (WKU)

WR - Carlos Harris (North Texas)

WR - Nicholas Norris (WKU)

TE - Austin Hooper (Stanford)
 

Thoughts: Going with an obvious WKU stack with Doughty-Wales-Dangerfield-Norris. We’ll supplement with Boom Williams making a triumphant return to the Wildcats backfield and Carlos Harris as the lone play for a bad North Texas team that will be airing it out to keep pace.
 

Friday Only (FanDuel)

QB - Greg Ward Jr. (Houston)

RB - Kenneth Farrow (Houston)

RB - Marteze Waller (Fresno St)
WR - Mitch Mathews (BYU)

WR - Devonte Boyd (UNLV)

WR - Demarcus Ayers (Houston)

TE - Holden Huff (Boise St)
 

Thoughts: We’ll go with the Houston stack here with Ward-Farrow-Ayers and a top option in Mathews and a good value in Boyd. I know we just basically ripped Waller a new one above, but we need a cheap source of potential points. We can’t afford Terren Houk so we’ll go with the next best thing in Holden Huff for Boise.
 

Thursday-Friday (DraftKings)

QB - Brandon Doughty (WKU)

QB - Greg Ward Jr. (Houston)

RB - Algernon Brown (BYU)

RB - D’Andre Ferby (WKU) Anthony Wales (WKU)

WR - Dorian Baker (Kentucky)

WR - Nicholas Norris (WKU)

WR - Melvin Ray (Auburn)

Flex - Terren Houk (BYU)

Flex - Ryan Timmons (Kentucky) Tyler McCloskey (Houston)
 

Thoughts: Going with the top two quarterbacks forces us to be smarter with our money later on. We’ll add Ferby and Brown at RB and then get a cheaper, high-upside option in Norris. Baker is the go-to for Towles in the Kentucky passing game.  Houk should get involved in a potential shootout and Ray is a fill-in with a bit of upside.

Update: Since the Ferby news (Doubtful), we're changing him to Anthony Wales and then changing out Timmons for Houston TE Tyler McCloskey. We just like having players in this game...so, like Timmons before him (and Ray) he's a flier with a touchdown upside.