Week 6 of college football is here! FanDuel's Saturday night college football DFS late slate includes 10 games.
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. This week, we are only breaking down Saturday's late slate, which locks at 7:00 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
Justin Fields, Ohio State (10,400) – The Ohio State Buckeyes’ quarterback has already accounted for 23 of the team’s 35 offensive touchdowns this season. Through five games, Fields is averaging 218.4 passing yards, 44.4 rushing yards, and 4.6 total touchdowns per game. On paper, this week’s matchup with Michigan State Spartans should be difficult as the Spartans rank 7th in the country in total defense (allowing 253.8 total yards per game). However, the Spartans defense looked vulnerable as they allowed Indiana Hoosiers' dual-threat quarterback (Michael Penix) to throw for 286 yards and three touchdowns last week. Roster Fields with confidence this week as Ohio State is projected to score around 37 points, according to our model.
Shane Buechele, SMU (9,400) – Buechele is a huge reason why the Southern Methodist Mustangs are ranked in the top 25 for the first time in 33 years. He leads the American Conference with an average of 277 yards passing per game. The former Texas Longhorns’ quarterback has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of the Mustangs’ previous four games. With an implied team total near 39, expect Buechele to extend his multi-touchdown passing game streak to five games.
Austin Burton, UCLA (7,100) – This play comes with an asterisk. UCLA Bruins' starting quarterback, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, was injured in last week’s loss to Arizona Wildcats. DTR returned to practice on Wednesday but did not partake in throwing drills (missed practice Monday and Tuesday). As a result, Burton appears on track to start this week against Oregon State Beavers. Head Coach Chip Kelly does not expect the offense to take a step back if Burton starts. Reportedly, Burton is an athletic guy that can run up to 20 miles per hour. This week’s matchup with Oregon State would be a great spot for the young quarterback to make his first career start. Last week against Oregon State, Stanford Cardinal quarterback Davis Mills threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns in his second career start. Oregon State ranks 99th in total defense (allowing nearly 430 yards per game). If Thompson-Robinson plays, consider Oregon State quarterback Jake Luton as a cheap play. UCLA’s defense ranks 129th in passing yards allowed (out of 130 FBS teams).
Others to consider: Jake Fromm, Zach Smith, Quentin Harris, Justin Herbert, Jake Luton, Ryan Agnew, Hank Bachmeier, and Jacob Eason
Running Backs
Xavier Jones, SMU (9,700) – Jones is tied for 1st nationally with 10 rushing touchdowns this season. He's scored at least one touchdown in every game; he has multiple touchdowns in four games of the Mustangs' five games. Additionally, the senior running back is averaging 105 yards rushing per game. And to top it off, Jones has a date with Tulsa Golden Hurricane's 96th ranked rushing defense (allowing 175.8 rushing yards per game).
Joshua Kelley, UCLA (9,100) – Kelley made a name for himself last season as he ran for 1,253 yards and 10 touchdowns. The workhorse back missed the team's first game of the 2019 season with an injury. Kelley seems to be over his early season injury as he's averaged 22.5 carries for 108.5 yards rushing in the Bruins' last two games. Look for UCLA to ride Kelley with Austin Burton, potentially, making his first career start at quarterback for the Bruins.
Robert Mahone, Boise State (8,900) - Mahone was a vital part of the Boise State Broncos offense as he scored two fourth quarter touchdowns in the team's win over Air Force Falcons two weeks ago. The junior running back leads the Broncos with 288 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns this season. This week's matchup with Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels is phenomenal. UNLV is allowing 227.5 yards rushing per game and they've surrendered 10 rushing touchdowns to opposing backfields.
Others to consider: D'Andre Swift, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Scottie Phillips, JK Dobbins, Todd Sibley Jr. (if both AJ Davis and Vincent Davis are out), Deon Jackson, CJ Verdell, Artavis Pierce, Juwan Washington (if he plays), George Holani, and Salvon Ahmed
Wide Receivers
Kalija Lipscomb, Vanderbilt (8,900) – Vanderbilt Commodores' top receiver has caught at least five passes in each of the team’s last three games. Lipscomb has also scored a touchdown in back-to-back games. This week’s matchup with Mississippi Rebels should be a good one for the senior receiver. Mississippi ranks 123rd in the country in passing yards allowed with 314.4 passing yards allowed per game. Additionally, the Mississippi pass defense should be reeling after last week’s shocking performance in which they were torched by Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver DeVonta Smith (11 receptions for 274 yards and SIX touchdowns).
Reggie Roberson Jr., SMU (8,400) – The SMU receiver received plenty of pre-season accolades. Through five games, Roberson Jr. ranks 11th in the country with 102 yards receiving per game. The junior has at least four receptions in every game this season. Expect Roberson Jr. and (teammate) James Proche to fill the box score as SMU carries an implied team total of near 39 this week. The two prolific pass-catching teammates account for 56.6% of SMU's receptions this season.
Jaylen Erwin, UCLA (6,300) - Pegged as a pre-season breakout candidate, Jaylen Erwin is second on the Bruins' team with 18 receptions for 195 yards this season. The speedy receiver has caught at least three passes in four of the Bruins' first five games this season. As noted above, this is great spot for the junior receiver. Oregon State's defense has surrendered an average of three touchdowns per game via the passing game this season.
Others to consider: George Pickens, Demetrius Robertson, Elijah Moore, Jared Pinkney, KJ Hill, Darrell Stewart Jr., James Proche, Keylon Stokes, Sam Crawford Jr., Maurice Ffrench, Taysir Mack, Johnny Johnson III, Jacob Breeland, Demetric Felton, Kobe Smith, CT Thomas, Khalil Shakir, John Hightower, Aaron Fuller, Hunter Bryant, and Colby Parkinson
Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. 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.