Since many of the 2018 law changes that marked the return of college football daily fantasy, it has been quickly growing. After all, more individuals watched the 2020 National Championship Game than any other non-NFL sporting event.
With so many eyeballs on the games, and some monster statistics put up by the elite players in the sport, it is natural for many to gravitate to playing daily fantasy instead of traditional betting. FanDuel offers college football contests each weekend, which can include Thursday, Friday, and Saturday main slates -- depending on game volume.
College football is a unique challenge for DFS, as a lot of necessary information is not easily found. Often, injury news is reported through the schools themselves and newspaper beat reporters. It can also be particularly difficult to find accurate information on which players are on the field, who has the best usage, and where inefficiencies in the salary cap model may reside.
The latter point is the premise for this piece, which in addition to numberFire's betting guides and daily fantasy helpers, is designed to help you find out which college football players are on the field and seeing work.
With that in mind, let's examine the market shares for players on Saturday's main slate on FanDuel.
Note: Players with fewer than 10 pass attempts, 10 rushing attempts, and 5 targets in the previous week will not be featured but may still be viable in daily fantasy formats. For players returning from off weeks, previous reports will contain their most recent sample. All stats are from PFF.com.
Quarterbacks
| Player | Team Name | Week 11 ATT | 2021 ATT/G | 2021 YPA | Rush ATT/G | Rush YDS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanner Mordecai | SMU | 53 | 38.1 | 8.55 | 3.4 | 26.0 |
| Tyler Van Dyke | MIA | 48 | 30.6 | 8.91 | 2.3 | 19.1 |
| Sam Hartman | WAKE | 47 | 34.8 | 9.10 | 2.2 | 40.6 |
| D.J. Uiagalelei | CLEM | 45 | 30.8 | 5.69 | 6.0 | 34.1 |
| Kenny Pickett | PITT | 44 | 38.7 | 9.11 | 2.2 | 35.8 |
| Bo Nix | AUB | 42 | 32.9 | 7.15 | 3.5 | 27.1 |
| Brock Purdy | ISU | 42 | 29.7 | 8.30 | 2.8 | 33.0 |
| Desmond Ridder | CIN | 39 | 28.6 | 8.44 | 6.1 | 40.0 |
| C.J. Stroud | OSU | 38 | 34.7 | 9.73 | 1.6 | 6.6 |
| Donovan Smith | TTU | 33 | 19.7 | 9.90 | 8.7 | 53.3 |
| Jay Woolfolk | UVA | 33 | 13.0 | 5.92 | 4.3 | 30.0 |
| Payton Thorne | MSU | 31 | 27.6 | 8.86 | 4.1 | 23.4 |
| Jason Brown | SCAR | 31 | 14.6 | 6.81 | 0.4 | 1.4 |
| Cameron Rising | UTAH | 30 | 26.0 | 7.49 | 3.7 | 36.6 |
| Jordan Yates | GT | 28 | 22.2 | 6.66 | 2.0 | 43.6 |
| D. Thompson-Robinson | UCLA | 27 | 26.0 | 8.20 | 5.6 | 61.8 |
| KJ Jefferson | ARK | 25 | 22.5 | 8.75 | 7.3 | 57.3 |
| Spencer Sanders | OKST | 25 | 25.0 | 7.76 | 8.2 | 39.4 |
| Jordan Travis | FSU | 25 | 16.3 | 8.22 | 6.8 | 63.4 |
| Bryce Young | ALA | 23 | 33.0 | 9.16 | 0.5 | 17.7 |
| Graham Mertz | WIS | 23 | 21.5 | 7.00 | 1.9 | 5.7 |
| Anthony Brown | ORE | 22 | 26.6 | 7.54 | 7.9 | 59.5 |
| Phil Jurkovec | BC | 20 | 15.3 | 12.26 | 4.5 | 48.5 |
| Jack Coan | ND | 20 | 26.2 | 7.68 | 1.5 | 8.0 |
| Caleb Williams | OU | 18 | 18.3 | 10.40 | 3.6 | 51.6 |
| Braxton Burmeister | VT | 14 | 22.4 | 7.52 | 4.1 | 47.5 |
One of college football's best quarterbacks all season has been Tanner Mordecai ($9,000), and he should be solid value playing catchup against the Bearcats this weekend. Southern Methodist is an 11.5-point road underdog, and Cincy has been solid against the pass (164.9 yards per game; fourth-best in FBS), but Mordecai's 38.1 pass attempts per game are tops on the slate. He's posted 39 total touchdowns, and SMU plays fast; their 76.2 plays per game are 17th in the country. The Bearcats have been playing teams close as the nerves of the playoffs rise, so I like the SMU passing attack in a game with a 64.5-point total.
Both UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson ($10,700) and Florida State's Jordan Travis ($8,600) are solid options as the dual-threat targets of the slate. They average 61.8 and 63.4 rushing yards per game, respectively. That's not always viable, but Thompson-Robinson faces a Southern California defense that is ranked just 79th against the rush this season, and Travis draws a Boston College defense that is even worse (97th).
The struggles of Caleb Williams ($11,000) have him essentially off the board this week. Not only did he only attempt 18 passes in a negative script last weekend against Baylor, but Oklahoma draws the stingy Iowa State Cyclones defense this weekend. ISU is 14th in the country against the pass (191.8 yards per game), and Oklahoma's defense may struggle to contain Breece Hall ($11,000) if last weekend was any indication. They may turn to Spencer Rattler ($6,500) for a desperate spark to save their season if Williams is inept once again.
Running Backs
| Player | Team Name | WEEK 11 RUSH ATT | 2021 RUSH/G | 2021 RUSH SHARE | WEEK 11 TGT | 2021 TGT SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Walker III | MSU | 30 | 22.6 | 65.5% | 2 | 5.0% |
| T.J. Pledger | UTAH | 25 | 6.9 | 20.9% | 1 | 4.8% |
| Braelon Allen | WIS | 25 | 14.5 | 26.0% | 1 | 1.9% |
| Pat Garwo III | BC | 24 | 17.1 | 48.4% | 1 | 1.2% |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | GT | 19 | 12.9 | 41.3% | 6 | 15.8% |
| Travis Dye | ORE | 18 | 15.1 | 40.9% | 6 | 15.0% |
| Breece Hall | ISU | 18 | 21.5 | 74.9% | 4 | 11.6% |
| Phil Mafah | CLEM | 17 | 8.8 | 16.6% | 2 | 2.2% |
| Zach Charbonnet | UCLA | 17 | 15.4 | 43.9% | 1 | 7.2% |
| Jaylen Warren | OKST | 17 | 20.8 | 50.5% | 1 | 7.5% |
| Justice Ellison | WAKE | 17 | 10.4 | 27.4% | 1 | 1.8% |
| Jaylan Knighton | MIA | 16 | 19.7 | 42.1% | 3 | 5.3% |
| Tank Bigsby | AUB | 16 | 15.7 | 51.1% | 1 | 5.9% |
| Ulysses Bentley IV | SMU | 15 | 10.4 | 22.7% | 2 | 4.0% |
| Dezmon Jackson | OKST | 15 | 7.0 | 5.1% | 0 | 0.4% |
| Jashaun Corbin | FSU | 14 | 12.3 | 39.9% | 3 | 11.2% |
| Darien Rencher | CLEM | 14 | 9.0 | 5.6% | 2 | 0.6% |
| Dominique Johnson | ARK | 14 | 6.7 | 16.8% | 2 | 3.0% |
| Kyren Williams | ND | 14 | 17.4 | 55.4% | 2 | 12.8% |
| Miyan Williams | OSU | 14 | 8.3 | 18.8% | 1 | 1.7% |
| Kennedy Brooks | OU | 14 | 14.3 | 51.4% | 2 | 2.0% |
| Kevin Harris | SCAR | 14 | 11.1 | 32.6% | 0 | 7.4% |
| Dominic Richardson | OKST | 13 | 5.7 | 12.4% | 0 | 1.2% |
| T. Henderson | OSU | 13 | 14.0 | 45.5% | 1 | 4.9% |
| Trey Sanders | ALA | 12 | 6.5 | 12.1% | 0 | 0.3% |
| Israel Abanikanda | PITT | 12 | 10.6 | 33.9% | 5 | 7.0% |
| Raheem Blackshear | VT | 12 | 10.1 | 30.8% | 3 | 11.4% |
| Treshaun Ward | FSU | 11 | 7.5 | 24.4% | 1 | 7.0% |
| Tre Siggers | SMU | 11 | 13.7 | 42.7% | 1 | 3.8% |
| Christian Turner | WAKE | 11 | 8.4 | 24.5% | 0 | 2.1% |
| Ethan Wright | CIN | 10 | 4.6 | 7.7% | 0 | 0.7% |
| ZaQuandre White | SCAR | 10 | 9.4 | 21.5% | 4 | 5.6% |
| Micah Bernard | UTAH | 10 | 8.1 | 22.1% | 3 | 7.5% |
Kenneth Walker III ($9,200) saw a massive salary discount, but it's totally justified despite another 30-carry week against Maryland. His matchup against Ohio State is a brutal one; the Buckeyes are 13th in the country (107.9 yards per game) against the rush. Ohio State is a gigantic, 19.5-point favorite (take the points!), and that could leave Walker short on both volume and the soft matchups he's feasted on in recent weeks. I'll sooner turn to Payton Thorne ($8,200) and the rest of the Spartans' passing attack against the inconsistent OSU secondary.
Even with that spread, it's not exactly a lock to use TreVeyon Henderson ($10,000), either. Henderson saw just 13 carries, but he scored on two of them to salvage his day. He also only saw one target. Ohio State had an exclusively positive script and still turned to the air primarily against Purdue, and that's a logical theme to expect as they search for style points for the CFP committee. I'd sooner roster all three wideouts Garrett Wilson ($9,400), Chris Olave ($9,200), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($8,500) in this shootout than Henderson's salary above all of them.
Israel Abanikanda ($6,200) has my attention this week. Virginia's rushing defense is awful; the Cavs are ranked 123rd in the country allowing 236.3 rushing yards per game. Pitt (hail to, for our editor-in-chief JJ Zachariason) leans on their passing attack and Kenny Pickett ($10,800) more than anyone, but they'd be wise to exploit this weakness. Abanikanda had 33.9% of Pitt's carries last week, and he's got the most double-digit carry games (5) and rushing touchdowns (4) of the backs on the team. I need value for the Ohio State guys, and I'm at least interested here.
Wide Recievers
| Player | TEAM NAME | WEEK 11 TGT | WEEK 11 TGT SHARE | TGT/G | 2021 TGT SHARE | 2021 REC YDS SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.T. Perry | WAKE | 19 | 46.3% | 8.5 | 25.8% | 28.9% |
| Chris Olave | OSU | 13 | 34.2% | 8.1 | 23.5% | 20.0% |
| Keytaon Thompson | UVA | 12 | 37.5% | 8.8 | 20.2% | 20.4% |
| Dacari Collins | CLEM | 12 | 23.5% | 3.8 | 6.0% | 5.9% |
| Dylan Goffney | SMU | 12 | 23.1% | 4.0 | 4.3% | 3.8% |
| Jayden Reed | MSU | 12 | 38.7% | 7.4 | 28.2% | 33.1% |
| Kobe Hudson | AUB | 11 | 26.8% | 5.8 | 17.2% | 18.8% |
| Garrett Wilson | OSU | 11 | 28.9% | 8.7 | 22.7% | 23.0% |
| Charlie Kolar | ISU | 11 | 26.2% | 7.6 | 21.9% | 19.5% |
| Jordan Addison | PITT | 11 | 26.2% | 9.0 | 23.5% | 29.0% |
| Reggie Roberson Jr. | SMU | 10 | 19.2% | 5.8 | 15.6% | 15.8% |
| Beaux Collins | CLEM | 10 | 19.6% | 5.3 | 13.3% | 12.3% |
| Key'Shawn Smith | MIA | 10 | 22.7% | 6.4 | 16.2% | 13.0% |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | OSU | 10 | 26.3% | 7.4 | 21.5% | 29.0% |
| Charleston Rambo | MIA | 10 | 22.7% | 9.4 | 26.3% | 30.9% |
| Myles Price | TTU | 10 | 32.3% | 4.3 | 14.0% | 16.3% |
| Kyle Philips | UCLA | 9 | 34.6% | 8.7 | 29.7% | 28.2% |
| Mike Harley | MIA | 8 | 18.2% | 5.9 | 16.5% | 12.4% |
| Grant Calcaterra | SMU | 8 | 15.4% | 6.0 | 16.2% | 13.7% |
| Xavier Hutchinson | ISU | 8 | 19.0% | 8.0 | 25.7% | 29.7% |
| Jaylin Noel | ISU | 8 | 19.0% | 3.9 | 11.3% | 6.9% |
| Jared Wayne | PITT | 8 | 19.0% | 5.4 | 12.8% | 15.2% |
| Michael Mayer | ND | 7 | 33.3% | 7.8 | 23.5% | 22.9% |
| Tre Mosley | MSU | 7 | 22.6% | 4.1 | 14.1% | 16.7% |
| Brennan Presley | OKST | 7 | 31.8% | 5.5 | 21.7% | 18.8% |
| Solomon Enis | UTAH | 7 | 24.1% | 4.1 | 9.9% | 9.4% |
| Roderick Daniels Jr. | SMU | 7 | 13.5% | 2.6 | 4.9% | 3.3% |
| Will Mallory | MIA | 7 | 15.9% | 4.0 | 10.1% | 9.4% |
| Ja'Varrius Johnson | AUB | 6 | 14.6% | 3.3 | 6.8% | 10.6% |
| Demetris Robertson | AUB | 6 | 14.6% | 5.7 | 15.1% | 15.9% |
| Treylon Burks | ARK | 6 | 24.0% | 7.3 | 31.6% | 39.2% |
| Michael Woods II | OU | 6 | 25.0% | 5.0 | 13.2% | 12.4% |
| Taylor Morin | WAKE | 6 | 14.6% | 4.0 | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| Tay Martin | OKST | 6 | 27.3% | 7.7 | 27.2% | 29.6% |
| Greg Dulcich | UCLA | 6 | 23.1% | 5.5 | 20.9% | 25.4% |
| Tayvion Robinson | VT | 6 | 33.3% | 6.2 | 27.1% | 25.0% |
| Dontayvion Wicks | UVA | 6 | 18.8% | 7.3 | 16.8% | 26.5% |
| Brant Kuithe | UTAH | 6 | 20.7% | 5.3 | 18.0% | 16.6% |
| Tre Tucker | CIN | 6 | 16.7% | 2.9 | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| John Metchie III | ALA | 6 | 17.1% | 8.5 | 26.0% | 22.4% |
| Rashee Rice | SMU | 6 | 11.5% | 6.5 | 17.5% | 19.6% |
| Jameson Williams | ALA | 6 | 17.1% | 7.4 | 22.6% | 31.8% |
| Alec Pierce | CIN | 6 | 16.7% | 5.9 | 21.3% | 25.3% |
| Josh Vann | SCAR | 6 | 25.0% | 5.6 | 20.8% | 29.1% |
| Jake Ferguson | WIS | 6 | 25.0% | 4.3 | 20.7% | 18.3% |
| Lucas Krull | PITT | 5 | 11.9% | 4.2 | 11.0% | 9.1% |
| Ja'Khi Douglas | FSU | 5 | 21.7% | 3.0 | 3.7% | 8.8% |
| Chase Cota | UCLA | 5 | 19.2% | 3.1 | 11.8% | 12.7% |
| Kaylon Geiger | TTU | 5 | 16.1% | 4.9 | 17.6% | 16.8% |
| Devon Williams | ORE | 5 | 22.7% | 4.1 | 12.4% | 16.6% |
| Josh Whyle | CIN | 5 | 13.9% | 3.4 | 12.3% | 11.5% |
| Darren Wilson Jr. | ISU | 5 | 11.9% | 1.8 | 4.5% | 3.4% |
| Jelani Woods | UVA | 5 | 15.6% | 5.7 | 11.7% | 12.1% |
| Jaden Williams | BC | 5 | 25.0% | 3.4 | 13.7% | 8.9% |
| Erik Ezukanma | TTU | 5 | 16.1% | 6.9 | 22.2% | 25.1% |
I never would have guessed that A.T. Perry ($8,100) would be a realistic option this week, but he still is against a tough Clemson defense. Clemson is just 32nd against the pass this season (205.1 yards per game), so the prolific Wake Forest wideout is definitely an option. His 19 targets last week against North Carolina State was a season-high, but he's seen at least 7 targets in each of his past five games. The 57.5-point total here is respectable, and the Deacs are actually 4.5-point underdogs in Death Valley.
Iowa State is a tremendous team to stack in college football DFS. Beyond their workhorse back Breece Hall, they keep their targets well-concentrated between Charlie Kolar ($6,900) and Xavier Hutchinson ($8,900). The duo has a 21.9% and 25.7% target share this season, respectively. Kolar's yardage upside -- for a tight end -- still is worthy of justifying his salary. He's posted at least 65 yards in six games this season. Both get a juicy matchup with the Sooners' 112th-ranked pass defense.
Don't let the six targets last week by Tay Martin ($8,000) fool you, either. Martin's Oklahoma State Cowboys were smashing Texas Christian last week, and he was able to not play the final quarter. He still had the 11th-highest target share last week of anyone on the slate (27.3%), and his 27.2% target share is the 4th-best mark on the slate at the 13th-highest salary. The matchup isn't an issue either; the Red Raiders give up 261.2 passing yards per game (97th in FBS).