College Football Single-Game Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 12/4/20 (Louisiana-Lafayette at Appalachian State)
Week 14 of the college football season continues Thursday night as the Appalachian State Mountaineers play host to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns.
For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.
MVP Consideration
Levi Lewis, Louisiana-Lafayette ($16,000) - The senior quarterback enters Friday night’s game having accounted for eight touchdowns in the last two games. Like his counterpart Zac Thomas, Lewis is a dual-threat quarterback which certainly furthers his appeal. Lewis had one of his best games of the season in a 45-38 loss to Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Conference championship game a season ago. He threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns in that game.
Zac Thomas, Appalachian State ($15,000) - Thomas has enormous upside as a dual-threat quarterback. He’s recorded at least three touchdown passes in three out of the last six games. He also has a 100-yard plus rushing game in the mix. The Thomas led-offense lit up the scoreboard for 45 points in last season's matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette.
Elijah Mitchell, Louisiana-Lafayette ($14,500) - Mitchell will need to be heavily involved on Friday night. Louisiana-Lafayette will likely be forced to move the ball on the ground as Appalachian State has been great defending opposing passing games this season (allowing 180.2 passing yards per game). The Mountaineers are more susceptible to the run as they’re allowing nearly 140 rushing yards per game including 4.2 yards per carry. Moreover, Mitchell is the Ragin’ Cajuns leading rusher (656 yards and 7 touchdowns) this season. He has found the end zone in three straight games.
Camerun Peoples, Appalachian State ($13,000) - Peoples enters Friday night with a touchdown in five straight games. The starting running back should be the focal point on the Mountaineers offense on Friday. While Louisiana-Lafayette has been great against opposing passing games, they have been flattened by opposing ball carriers. The Ragin Cajuns are allowing nearly 180 rushing yards per game and they’ve surrendered 16 rushing touchdowns in nine games. Additionally, Peoples is averaging 18.3 carries in his last three games.
Others to consider: Thomas Henigan.
Value Plays
Malik Williams, Appalachian State ($11,500) - Williams has emerged as Zac Thomas’ go-to-guy in the passing game. Per Pro Football Focus, Williams has drawn 21 targets, caught 13 passes, recorded 252 receiving yards, and scored 1 touchdown over the last three games.
Trey Ragas, Louisiana-Lafayette ($9,500) - Ragas and backfield mate, Elijah Mitchell, form the top running back duo in the Sun Belt. As noted in the Mitchell section, the way to attack Appalachian State is on the ground. Ragas has played well on his own this season, especially as of late. The senior has at least 10 carries and eclipsed 75 rushing yards in four straight games.
Nate Noel, Appalachian State ($7,500) - Noel has become more involved in the Mountaineers offense as the regular season draws to a close. He’s run for 126 yards on 23 carries over the last two games. The freshman entered last week’s game second behind Peoples but ahead of Marcus Williams Jr. As noted above this a great spot for Appalachian State’s running game.
Neal Johnson, Louisiana-Lafayette ($7,000) - If there’s a weakness in Appalachian State’s pass defense, it’s over the middle of the field. In last week’s game, Troy slot wide receiver Kaylon Geiger had 3 receptions, 41 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown. The game prior, Coastal Carolina tight end Isaiah Likely had 3 receptions, 112 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown. Both players led their respective teams in receiving. Back to Johnson, he has 10 receptions, 118 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown over the last three games on 11 targets per Pro Football Focus. Louisiana-Lafayette slot receiver Jalen Williams ($6,500) is also worth a look.
Others to consider: Marcus Williams Jr., Peter Leblanc, Kyren Lacy, Chris Smith, Jalen Virgil, Dontae Fleming, Errol Rogers Jr., Henry Pearson, Deshaun Davis, and Christian Wells.
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.
