Five weeks are in the books, and now we head into Week 6 of college football DFS. This week's main Saturday slate requires a lot of attention with 15 games on tap throughout the day.
In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring on FanDuel, where you can hit the lobby each week to see the full array of slates and contests being offered.
As for the basics, your roster consists of a quarterback slot, two running back slots, three wide receiver slots (which also includes tight ends) and one super flex slot. In the flex, you can insert one player from any position, including quarterbacks.
Here, our goal is to help you field a roster full of fantasy goodness, and in true numberFire fashion, we'll use our in-house projections as well as betting totals and advanced statistics to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. Today, we are looking at Saturday's main slate which locks at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Let's breakdown which players are in great spots as well as identify some players with cheap price tags that will allow you to roster the high dollar players.
Quarterbacks
Joe Burrow, LSU ($10,800) - Burrow enters Week 6 with FanDuel Sportsbook's third-best odds to take home this year's Heisman trophy, having passed for 1,520 yards and 17 touchdowns through four games. The senior signal caller ranks third in the nation with 14.3 adjusted yards per pass attempts and leads the way with an 80.6% completion percentage. This week, the LSU Tigers host the Utah State Aggies, against whom they are 27.5-point favorites with a slate-high 50.5 implied total. This is even a pace-up game for the Tigers. By our metrics, the visiting Aggies are third in the nation in pace, averaging 12 more plays per game than the Tigers. In a week that we could see Jalen Hurts play only three quarters, Burrow is the premier high-floor, high-ceiling play at quarterback.
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State ($9,700) - In case you want to spend more elsewhere, you can feel confident with Sanders at his mid-range salary. The Oklahoma State quarterback is averaging 23.3 FanDuel points while throwing for 200-plus yards in three games and running for at least 50 more in every single one of his starts. Expect him to flirt with 250 through the air and 50 to 100 on the ground this week in a potential shootout in Lubbock. On the road against Texas Tech, Mike Gundy's Cowboys are 10-point favorites with a nice 36.75 total to their name. This one could be closer than that, too, and if that's the case we might just see the over (63.5 total) hit. Sanders would be one of the primary beneficiaries and push for the top point-per-dollar play at the position.
Jett Duffey, Texas Tech ($8,000) - Opposite Sanders, it will be junior Jett Duffey getting the start in place of the injured Alan Bowman. In last week's start, Duffey had just 136 total yards against Oklahoma, but last year the dual-threat quarterback had four games with 80-plus rushing yards, and he tallied a total of 12 touchdowns across the run and pass games. For all the love Oklahoma State's offense gets their defense has its fair share of issues. They allow 24.0 points per game on 380.8 yards, and the oddsmakers have them giving up 26.75. That's enough to justify a low-cost guy like Duffey, especially with the upside his legs represent in a likely high-scoring affair.
Running Backs
J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State ($9,500) - At the top of the running back pool, we have a few options in less than favorable matchups as well as those who aren't getting the type of workhorse volume you'd like at this price. Dobbins is one those backs facing a less-than-desirable defense, in Michigan State, but he has quite the workload. The experienced junior has toted the rock at least 17 times in all but one game, having ran it 20-plus times in three of those. He averages 21.2 FanDuel points per game behind a Buckeyes line that ranks third in adjusted line yards (3.24), according to Football Outsiders. It also helps that Ohio State should be operating from in front, as they are favored by 20 points in the Horseshoe.
Trey Sermon, Oklahoma ($8,900) - As much as fading Hurts -- at his price -- could work out for upside, we definitely want some type of exposure to this Sooners offense. Sermon represents a decent value at under $9,000 in a very favorable matchup versus Kansas. Not only are the Jayhawks 66th in defensive SP+, but OU sports a 49.75 total as massive 32-point favorites. They should get up really early and look to coast. Even if Sermon splits carries with others, he does get the red zone looks (two scores last week), and if he rips one or two off he could be in for a big day.
DeeJay Dallas, Miami ($8,100) - Dallas might be the single best running back play when you consider price point. For starters, he is a 14-home favorite against Virginia Tech. But even better, these Hokies have under-performed against the run, ranking third-worst on the slate in adjusted yards allowed per attempt. The Hokies just gave up 234 and 3 touchdowns in the run game a week ago, while Dallas has averaged 6.6 yards per carry and 18.2 FanDuel points per game. Expect him to bounce back from last week's dud at low ownership and return the high-ceiling output you need to take down a tournament.
Wide Receivers
Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State ($9,400) - Per usual, when you're rolling with Snaders you want to get exposure to his clear-cut top target. Wallace leads the Cowboys with 28 catches on the year, and the next-closest player has just 19. He is, however, without a touchdown in two straight games, tying his longest drought of last season. But he still managed 8 catches, 145 yards and 18.5 FanDuel points last time out. And these Red Raiders won't offer as much resistance, after giving up 443 passing yards and 3 touchdowns to Hurts a week ago. Wallace and Sanders are the perfect cash game pairing to build around.
Denzel Mims, Baylor ($9,200) - Mims gets the same Kansas State defense that Wallace and company tore up in the air last week. And to help his cause, the dude's been on a tear of his own, hauling in six or more balls for 100-plus yards in three straight. The 6'3" wideout has found the end zone five times in that same span, now giving him 21 receiving touchdowns in 31 career games. Last year, Mims had 8 catches for 90 and a score against these Wildcats. He has a great opportunity with his team expected to tally 23.5 points in the friendly confines of Waco.
Jake Smith, Texas ($6,800) - Texas wide receiver Collin Johnson is in line to practice but still uncertain for Saturday's game, which could lead to more looks for others for one more week. Smith has benefited as much as anyone in his stead, having grabbed 8 passes for 99 yards and 3 touchdowns in a pair of games. Devin Duvernay is the cash game guy opposite Sam Ehlinger, but Smith provides a combination of much needed salary relief and high-value potential. The Longhorns are implied at 36 points on the road versus West Virginia -- a team that has surrendered 500 passing yards and 5 touchdowns in the last two games.
Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BrettOswalt. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.