College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 10/7/21

Week 6 of college football is here! FanDuel's college football main slate on Thursday includes two games.

In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring here. You can check the lobby link above 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 (tight ends are included in this group), and one "Super FLEX" slot. In the "Super 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 Thursday's main slate, which locks at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Let's break down which star players are in great spots, as well as identify some players with lower salaries who will provide value to get to them.

Quarterbacks

Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina ($11,000) - McCall is expected to play on Thursday night despite leaving last week's game early due to an injured ankle. The Coastal Carolina star quarterback has been incredibly efficient this season. McCall has completed 69 out of 86 pass attempts (80.2%) for 1,113 yards, 10 touchdowns, and one interception through five games. The sophomore also provides dual-threat upside. McCall has recorded 69 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries. The matchup with the Arkansas State Red Wolves is pristine. The Red Wolves rank dead last amongst 130 teams in the FBS in total defense. They're allowing 563.8 yards per game this season. Additionally, the Arkansas State defense has surrendered an insane 29 touchdowns through five games.

Michael Pratt, Tulane ($10,800) - The dual-threat quarterback has put up impressive numbers despite facing off with superior competition such as the Oklahoma Sooners and the Mississippi Rebels. Pratt is averaging 230.0 passing yards per game. He leads the Tulane Green Wave in rushing touchdowns (four). The sophomore ranks second on the Green Wave in rushing yards (117). In total, Pratt has accounted for 15 touchdowns through five games. He is worth watching closely as Tulane gets a more reasonable matchup with Houston.

James Blackman, Arkansas State ($8,400) - This play comes with an asterisk, as I'm assuming Blackman will start at quarterback despite getting benched for Layne Hatcher ($8,400) in last week's game. The matchup with Coastal Carolina is tough, but Blackman is worth his salary on volume alone. The former Florida State quarterback has attempted at least 38 passes in three straight games. He has tossed eight touchdowns this season and is averaging 252.8 passing yards per game. If Blackman is not starting, Hatcher carries the same salary and makes for a clean pivot. Whichever quarterback is starting should have to pile up yards to make up for the Red Wolves' horrific defense.

Running Backs

Reese White, Coastal Carolina ($9,700) - Coastal Carolina will likely get Shermari Jones ($8,800) back for Thursday's game. Jones and Reese White were nearly splitting snaps at running back prior to Jones' injury. However, White has had two of his best games this season with Jones active. White pounded The Citadel (FCS) for 62 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 carries in the Chanticleers' opener. Then he proceeded to dismantle Kansas for 102 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries in Game 2. White and Jones are both in an advantageous spot on Thursday night against Arkansas State. The Red Wolves are allowing 263.2 rushing yards per game. Additionally, they've been hammered for 15 rushing touchdowns through five games.

Alton McCaskill, Houston ($9,300) - The freshman is thriving in the Cougars offense. McCaskill has received 16 or more carries in three consecutive games. He has recorded multiple touchdowns in three out of five games. Tulane's porous run defense is on deck. The Green Wave are allowing an eye-popping 207 rushing yards per game, which ranks 116th nationally. Additionally, Tulane has been slammed for 14 rushing touchdowns through five games.

Ygenio Booker, Tulane ($6,000) - We need to save salary somewhere, and that's where Booker comes into play. The matchup with Houston isn't ideal (ranked 30th nationally in rushing yards allowed per game), but Booker has emerged as the Green Wave's primary running back. The Tulane running back has out-snapped backfield mate, Cameron Carroll ($8,200), in each of the last two games. Over the last two games, the sophomore has recorded 24 total touches. He has also eclipsed 50 all-purpose yards in both of those games. At a steep salary discount, punting to Booker is practical in lineups stacking Houston.

Others to Consider: Shermari Jones ($8,800), Lincoln Pare ($6,700), Johnnie Lang Jr. ($5,500)

Wide Receivers

Jaivon Heiligh, Coastal Carolina ($10,000) - The senior ranks 15th nationally in receiving yards per game (99.8). He leads the Chanticleers with a 26.4% target share. Heiligh is averaging an impressive 20.8 yards per reception. He has recorded four touchdown receptions through five games. His ceiling could be realized against Arkansas State. The Red Wolves are allowing a mind-boggling 300.6 passing yards per game, and that is not just on volume. Arkansas State is giving up 9.57 yards per pass attempt as well. They've been torched for 14 touchdown passes through five games, and Heiligh is Coastal Carolina's top option to score them.

Corey Rucker, Arkansas State ($8,600) - Rucker is the top wide receiver in the Red Wolves pass-heavy offense. The freshman has eclipsed 80 receiving yards in four out of five games this season. Additionally, he has racked up 29 receptions on 46 targets. Currently, Rucker ranks sixth nationally with six touchdown receptions. He makes for an excellent bring-back option when stacking the Chanticleers.

Marcus Jones, Houston ($5,000) - This is, admittedly, a boom-or-bust play. Jones is primarily known as one of the nation's top defensive backs. However, Houston will occasionally utilize their star defender on the offensive side of the ball, but he's only averaging 17 snaps per game over the last three games. Despite the limited playing time on offense, Jones is still the Cougars' third-leading pass catcher. He has 10 receptions, 109 receiving yards, and one touchdown on 15 targets this season. If his utilization on offense expands, he's significantly under-salaried. We have to get contrarian somewhere on a two-game slate, and Jones's talent allows less of a need for volume to pay off in a score.

Others to Consider: Isaiah Likely ($7,700), Jeff Foreman ($7,400), Tyrick James ($6,900), Te'Vailance Hunt ($6,600), Kameron Brown ($6,500), Christian Trahan ($5,700), KeSean Carter ($5,600)

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.