We have three games on Friday night, just enough for us to win some money playing DFS CFB on DraftKings and/or FanDuel.  Let’s first get a quick glimpse of the three-game slate in front of us and we’ll then breakdown some of the top plays and construct some lineups.

Georgia Tech at Louisville

Man, what a disappointment this Louisville offense has been thus far. Switching back-and-forth between presumed starter Jawon Pass and Malik Cunningham.  The results: 18.4 points per game and a measly 4.81 yards per play. For comparison’s sake, in 2017, the Cardinals put up 38.1 and 7.39 in those particular metrics.  Quite a fall from grace. They did manage to put up 24 points against a solid FSU defense last week and it appears they have settled back on Pass as the starter.

Georgia Tech runs a triple-option attack under head coach Paul Johnson and the offense has been slowed at times (19 against Pittsburgh, 21 vs. Clemson) but finally broke through last week throwing up a 63 spot against a poor Bowling Green defense.  Maybe TaQuon Marshall and company found something - or they just needed the Falcons to feast on. Either way, they get a Louisville defense that has been solid at times, which is as surprising as the struggles on offense.

Middle Tennessee at Marshall

There is some uncertainty at the quarterback position for Marshall, a really good offensive team. Isaiah Green won the job out of camp, in part due to an injury to JUCO transfer Alex Thomson.  However, now an injury has crept up on Green and we may get our first look at Thomson. Either way, they will be looking top receiver, Tyre Brady’s way in the passing attack.  He is our top offensive player in this short slate.  It’s been the Herd’s defense that has been the story though thus far.  Coming off of a 20-17 road conference win over WKU last week, they will try to continue to build on that.

MTSU is slightly down on offense despite returning some key players, including quarterback Brent Stockstill.  The running game has been inconsistent and they get a tougher draw against this Marshall defense. This should be a knock-down drag-out battle and offense might be at a minimum.  Marshall is the better team here and should pull away in the end.

Utah State at BYU

Both of these squads have made headlines early in the season.  The Aggies nearly upset Michigan State on the opening week on the road and BYU did beat Wisconsin in Madison a couple of weeks ago.  The Cougars couldn’t follow that up with another upset against Washington last week - that would have been slightly amazing had they pulled it off.  Regardless, these two have differing styles as the Aggies do it with a dynamic offensive attack and a fast, athletic defense. BYU controls the ball on offense and allows the defense to win them games. For Utah State it is quarterback Jordan Love and running backs Gerold Bright and Darwin Thompson that lead the way, though the Cougs present a bit of a tougher challenge for them as well.

When constructing a lineup for tonight’s slate, let’s find the “surest bets” for point production and build around them (easier said than done) on both DraftKings and FanDuel.  Both lineups should feature quarterbacks in the S-Flex spots. Our model says Marshall and Love are those two, though, we think we’ll pay up a little on MTSU QB Brent Stockstill on FanDuel. I don’t want to be caught without Brady either, so let’s build around those three and see what we can come up with.

DraftKings:

QB - Taquon Marshall, Georgia Tech - $8,400

RB - Trey Smith, Louisville - $5,500 - managed a respectable 70 yards on 14 carries last week against FSU. There are some injuries in the backfield for L’Ville so he could be emerging. Though, know, there are a few other options back there.

RB - Lopini Katoa, BYU- $3,800 - with Squally Canada questionable, Katoa could see a few more carries. Though, even if Canada plays, BYU will lean on the running game and this guy has found the end zone three times this year. A solid price point as well.

WR - Tyre Brady, Marshall - $8,800

WR - Marcell Williams, Marshall - $3,900 - need a cheap WR here and Williams has upside. If they key on Brady, like they should, he may free up and return on this price. Oh, and we don’t think they are stopping Brady either.

WR - Jaylen Smith, Louisville - $6,100 - after a slow start, he’s returned as the go-to guy in this passing attack and he’s developing a bit of a rapport

Flex - Patrick Smith, MTSU - $4,900 - Brad Anderson may lead in catches but Smith has four touchdown grabs this year.

FanDuel:

QB - Taquon Marshall, Georgia Tech - $10,000

RB - Lopini Katoa, BYU - $6,300

RB - Gerold Bright, Utah State - $9,400 - Bright gives way to Darwin Thompson from time-to-time as they form a nice duo in the Aggies backfield. Though he does have 12 more carries this year.  You can afford either in this lineup so if you are playing cash, go with Bright - throw Thompson in the tournaments.

WR - Tyre Brady, Marshall - $9,800

WR - Jaylen Smith, Louisville - $7,300 - Again, Smith is the cash play.  Dez Fitzpatrick in the tourney play with big upside but risk that comes with it.

WR -  Dax Raymond, Utah State - $6,800 - The Aggies TE is a cash play as he is often looked at by Jordan Love as a stopgap.  He’s second on the team in catches behind just Tarver.

S-Flex - Brent Stockstill, MTSU - $9,900