College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 12/10/20

Week 15 of college football is here! FanDuel's Thursday college football DFS main slate includes two 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 the Thursday slate, which locks at 6:30 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

Javion Posey, Florida Atlantic ($11,000) – This is a situation to monitor as Posey struggled in the Florida Atlantic Owls' last game and was pulled in favor of Nick Tronti ($5,900). While Posey’s passing game remains a work in progress, the freshman is a dynamic runner. Posey leads the Owls in rushing with 393 yards and 3 touchdowns on 54 carries. He’s thrown for 390 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions in three-plus games this season. He’s in a prime bounce-back spot as Florida Atlantic travels to Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles have been atrocious defensively this season. They’re allowing around 410 yards of total offense per game and they’ve also been slammed for 38 total touchdowns in only nine games. If Posey doesn’t receive the start, Tronti makes for an excellent source of salary relief.

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh ($9,800) – Pickett has accounted for 19 total touchdowns in his eight starts this season. He’s the one quarterback on this slate that we can safely project to drop back and throw a ton of passes. The senior has attempted 36-plus pass attempts in five out of six ACC games. The matchup with Georgia Tech is also a tremendous spot for the Pittsburgh quarterback as The Yellow Jackets have been eviscerated by opposing quarterbacks this season. They’re allowing 278.3 passing yards per game and they’ve been flamed for 21 touchdown passes in only nine games.

Jeff Sims, Georgia Tech ($9,600) – The freshman quarterback has a big ceiling due to his dual-threat ability. At this point in his young career, he’s a better runner than passer. Sims is averaging 100.5 rushing yards over the last two games. The matchup with Pittsburgh should allow him to succeed as a passer. The Panthers are allowing 245.6 passing yards per game and they’ve been throttled for 21 touchdown passes in 10 games.

Others to consider: Tate Whatley (if he's healthy, if he's out, then Trey Lowe II).

Running Backs

Frank Gore Jr., Southern Mississippi ($8,500) – Gore Jr. has emerged as the Golden Eagles' top option in the running game. The freshman has received 11-plus carries in six straight games and he leads Southern Mississippi with 597 rushing yards on 112 carries this season. Gore Jr. has also tallied 8 receptions, 91 receiving yards, and 2 total touchdowns through nine games. The matchup with the Owls is tough on paper (128.7 rushing yards allowed per game and have only surrendered three rushing touchdowns in seven games). However, they’ve been susceptible to the run as of late. Florida International’s D’Vonte Price racked up 182 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 18 carries against the Owls in Game 5 out of 7. Georgia Southern ball carriers tallied 269 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 59 carries in last week’s game (4.6 yards per carry).

Vincent Davis, Pittsburgh ($8,400) – Starting running back Vincent Davis usually takes a back seat to Pittsburgh’s aerial attack, however, he’s a solid play this week as Georgia Tech has been slammed by opposing ball carriers this season. They’ve coughed up 175.0 rushing yards per game which includes 19 rushing touchdowns in nine games. Davis is a good bet to find the end zone for the fourth consecutive game as the Panthers travel to Georgia Tech.

James Charles, Florida Atlantic ($7,300) – The Owls normally utilize a three-man running back by committee backfield but, Charles is the lone man left standing this week as backfield mates, BJ Emmons and Malcolm Davidson, are expected to miss Thursday’s game. Charles has run for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns on 60 carries this season. The senior is in a great spot on Thursday night as this week’s opponent, Southern Mississippi, has struggled to contain opposing ball carriers. The Golden Eagles are allowing 182.8 rushing yards per game including 4.5 yards per carry.

Others to consider: Jordan Mason (if Gibbs is out), AJ Davis, and Kevin Perkins.

Wide Receivers

Jaylon Addison, Pittsburgh ($9.700) – Addison is averaging an impressive 10.0 targets per game over the last five games and the Panthers slot receiver has cleared 40 receiving yards in eight consecutive games, per Pro Football Focus. As noted above, the matchup with Georgia Tech is favorable for the Panthers’ passing game.

DJ Turner, Pittsburgh ($7,900) – While Addison is the safer play, Turner is the Panthers’ deep threat. The senior has two games with at least 8 receptions and 184 receiving yards this season. Turner has been heavily utilized as of late as the Pittsburgh wide receiver has 18 receptions, 216 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown reception on 27 targets over the Panthers’ last two games, per Pro Football Focus.

Jalen Camp, Georgia Tech ($7,200) – Georgia Tech is unlikely to have any success running the ball on Thursday night. The Panthers are limiting opposing ball carriers to 93.1 rushing yards per game, as a result, they’ll likely have to make plays in the passing game and that’s where Camp enters this picture. Quarterback Jeff Sims is posting a 110.4 passer rating when targeting Camp this season, per Pro Football Focus. Additionally, Pittsburgh has struggled defending opposing big-bodied perimeter wide receivers. The 6’2”, 220 pound Camp certainly fits the bill. In three out of the last four games, Pittsburgh has allowed 2 receptions, 107 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown to Notre Dame’s 6’3” wide receiver Ben Skowronek. Along with 3 receptions, 74 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns to Virginia Tech’s 6’2” wide receiver Tre Turner, and finally, 6 receptions, 176 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown to Clemson’s 6’0” wide receiver Cornell Powell.

Others to consider: TJ Chase, Willie Wright, Jared Wayne, Shocky Jacques-Louis, Taysir Mack, Jason Brownlee, Tim Jones, and Malachi Carter.

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.