By Robert Sanchez
Well, well, well, if it isn’t another week in college football. Last week saw plenty of upsets in the top-25, including Washington State over No. 19 Wisconsin, No. 20 Kentucky over No. 12 Florida, No. 24 Tennessee over No. 17 Pittsburgh and the two biggest upsets in Marshall over No. 8 Notre Dame and Appalachian State over No. 6 Texas A&M. No. 1 Alabama also had a big scare against Texas, narrowly escaping Austin with a 20-19 win against the Longhorns and falling to No. 2 in the current AP top-25 rankings.
But with all the craziness behind us, it’s time for another installment of DFS lineup options. By now you guys know how DFS works so I won’t bore you with the details and just get right to the picks. This week, I’m choosing players from Saturday’s afternoon slate (13 games) and, as always, will be using a $50,000 budget. Here you go:
Quarterbacks
Stetson Bennett, Georgia ($7,300) — Coming off of his National Championship from a year ago, Bennett has elevated his game even more this season. Georgia is 2-0 this season and recently overtook the Crimson Tide for No. 1 overall in the rankings. In those two games, Bennett has gone 49/65 for 668 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in two blowouts where he ceded playing time to backup QB Carson Beck. Against South Carolina, the Bulldogs are once again big favorites, coming in at -25. I don’t know if Georgia will necessarily cover the big number with Kirby Smart donning an 11-18 ATS record when his team is favored by 20 or more points. But whether they do or don’t doesn’t matter in my opinion. If they do cover, it will likely mean Bennett has played well enough to warrant starting in DFS, even if he is taken out like the past two games. If they don’t cover and it’s a close game, Bennett will have all the more opportunity to have himself a big game.
Garrett Shrader, Syracuse ($6,400) — Might Syracuse football be back? They very well could be after taking care of Louisville handily in their season opener at home and then routing UConn on the road last week, all with the help of Shrader. But both Shrader’s and the Orange’s toughest test to date comes this weekend when they welcome Purdue to the Carrier Dome. However, in the early season Shrader has looked like the real deal, completing 38/48 of his passes for 524 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also shown a propensity to run the ball, rushing for 119 yards and adding three more touchdowns on the ground. A quarterback who can throw and run the ball effectively? Sign me up. This should be a wildly entertaining game as the spread is set at 1.5 in favor of the Orange while the total is set at 60. What helps Shrader’s stock, and probably why the total is so high, is that the game will be played in a dome which usually means points will be scored in abundance. Even though Syracuse hasn’t played a team as good as the Boilermakers this season, Vegas clearly feels like they have the edge and if a lot of points will be scored, chances are Shrader will have a big hand in that, whether it’s in the air or on the ground.
Running backs
Eric Gray, Oklahoma ($7,500) — My strategy for picking running backs so far has been take a player whose team is playing an opponent with a bad run defense and is favored by a lot. Both of those apply here as Oklahoma travels to Lincoln to take on Nebraska as 11-point favorites. With a run defense that ranks 250th, Gray should have no problem running all over them. So far this season, the senior has ran for 173 yards on 26 carries and has added three receptions for 39 yards. Although he hasn’t found the end zone once this season, as he’s seen fellow running back Marcus Major ($5,100) steal some of his redzone carries, I suspect that drought will finally come to an end this weekend against a Nebraska team who has already given up eight rushing touchdowns this season. I also like this play because I think the Sooners will be up big and therefore will be running the ball for a lot of the game. The Cornhuskers recently fired their head coach Scott Frost and I suspect the team is in a bit of turmoil as they try and navigate the rest of their season.
Trey Potts, Minnesota ($6,400) — Perhaps an even better value play than Gray is Potts who has impressed by doing the most out of his chances as the second-string back for the Golden Gophers. Playing second fiddle to Mohamed Ibrahim ($9,400), the junior has still found ways to be productive. On 27 carries, Potts has garnered 168 rushing yards and has found the end zone three times. Granted, Minnesota hasn’t played a single opponent who has recorded a win this season, but you have to take them where you can get them and Potts has done exactly that. The Gophers will now face Colorado, who is also winless to start their season, and are favored by four touchdowns against the Buffaloes. Don’t get me wrong, Ibrahim is sure to get his, but at $9,400 and the most expensive running back on the board, I’d much rather go with Potts who has already shown he can find the end zone and will definitely get touches in what is sure to be a blowout.
Wide receivers
Daewood Davis, Western Kentucky ($5,200) — I’m honestly surprised Davis is priced this low. Even though the Hilltoppers have a plethora of receivers that quarterback Austin Reed can throw to, Davis has shined during his two seasons at Western Kentucky. A transfer from Oregon, the senior has corralled 11 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown this season and has led the team in both receptions and receiving yards in both games so far. Last season, Davis was a touchdown machine, grabbing eight touchdown on 43 catches for 763 yards. Clearly whenever he’s in the game, he’s a threat to score. The Hilltoppers now travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana in an interesting matchup between two unbeaten teams. But despite their 2-0 record, the Hoosiers have not been good against the passing attack this season, already surrendering five touchdowns through the air to a couple of stale offenses in Illinois and Idaho. That plays right into the hands of Western Kentucky who likes to throw the ball around and they’ll likely have to throw the ball a lot considering they’re 6.5-point underdogs. If the Hilltoppers find themselves trailing at any point during this game, the receivers will surely need to be involved.
D.J. Matthews Jr., Indiana ($5,900) — Staying in Bloomington, Matthews offers some nice value as well. This season, the senior has 10 catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns, scoring once in each of Indiana’s first two games. Much like Indiana, Western Kentucky’s pass defense isn’t much to write home about as they’re ranked 128th so I could see the former Florida State Seminole having himself a nice day. With the total set at 61 points, I don’t see either team struggling to score in a potential shootout. Although the Hilltoppers have held opponents to just two receiving touchdowns this year, the level of competition rises immensely when playing Indiana.
