College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 10/14/22

College football is entering Week 7, and FanDuel's college football DFS main slate on Friday 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 backs, three wide receivers (which also includes tight ends), and one "Super FLEX". In the Super FLEX spot, 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 DFS projections, game projections, and market share report to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. In this piece, we are breaking down Friday's main slate, which locks at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Let's look at which players are in great spots as well as identify some players with low salaries who will allow you to roster the high-salary players. All stats come from PFF unless otherwise noted.

Quarterbacks

Frank Harris, UTSA ($12,500) – Harris will be popular on Friday. The dual-threat signal caller is averaging 332.8 passing yards per game (fifth nationally). The senior has recorded 254 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns through six games. He is in a dream spot against the Florida International Golden Panthers. FIU has allowed 23 total touchdowns through five games.

Tanner Mordecai, SMU ($10,700) – Like Harris, Mordecai is one of the nation’s top passers. Mordecai is averaging 336.0 passing yards per game. The senior has 12 touchdown passes through five games. The best way to attack the Navy Midshipmen is through the air. The Midshipmen are allowing 262.2 passing yards per game, which ranks 104th nationally.

Grayson James, Florida International ($6,500) - FIU is a 33.5-point underdog, according to the FanDuel Sportsbook. However, I do think James can be rostered on Friday night. The sophomore has been inconsistent, but he does provide some upside. James has two games with at least three touchdown passes. Additionally, he is capable of making plays in the running game, tallying 93 rushing yards over his last four games. The matchup is also intriguing. UTSA's defense has struggled this season. The Roadrunners rank 115th nationally in total defense (447.5 total yards per game).

Running Backs

Brendan Brady, UTSA ($9,600) – Brady is the most expensive running back on the slate for good reason. He is receiving a ton of work (averaging 18.4 carries per game over the last five games) and leads the slate with five rushing touchdowns. He is also an effective pass catcher out of the backfield. Brady has recorded 14 receptions for 136 yards. He should find plenty of running room against FIU since they are allowing 5.08 yards per carry to enemy ball carriers (slate-high).

His backfield mate, Trelon Smith ($6,400), is also viable as a salary relief option. He has recorded 12 carries in each of the last two games.

Velton Gardner, SMU ($7,500) – It’ll be interesting to see whether Gardner or Tre Siggers ($8,700) starts at running back for Southern Methodist. Both players are listed as co-starters on this week’s depth chart. Factoring in salaries, I side with Gardner. Additionally, he has been the more effective ball carrier this season. Gardner is averaging 6.3 yards per carry, which is significantly more impressive than Siggers’ 3.8 mark.

Maquel Haywood, Navy ($5,100) – Haywood is the Midshipmen’s second-leading rusher with 203 yards. He is also Navy’s third-most-targeted pass catcher (11). The matchup with SMU’s defense is advantageous. The Mustangs rank 103rd nationally in total defense. They are allowing 416.8 total yards per game to opposing offenses.

Navy’s fullback Daba Fofana ($6,800) is also a good option at running back. Fofana ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns in Navy’s last game.

Wide Receivers

Rashee Rice, SMU ($10,000) – Rice has an absurd floor and ceiling. The senior has 76 targets through five games. He is averaging 137.0 receiving yards per game, which ranks 2nd nationally. He could post a monster box score against Navy’s struggling pass defense.

Joshua Cephus, UTSA ($8,500) - Cephus along with Zakhari Franklin ($9,600) and De'Corian Clark ($8,700) form an impressive trio of wide receivers for the Roadrunners. I’ll go with Cephus because his salary is lower than the other two, and the discount may be necessary on this slate. Cephus leads UTSA in receptions (43). He is tied with Clark with 57 targets this season, and Franklin leads the team with 66. The matchup with FIU is phenomenal as well. They have been torched for 12 touchdown passes through five games (slate-high).

Dylan Goffney, SMU ($4,600) - We need to find salary relief somewhere, and Goffney provides plenty. Goffney and Calvin Wiggins ($4,000) are listed as co-starters in the third wide receiver spot for SMU. I believe Goffney will be the preferred wide receiver. He ran 42 pass routes in last week’s game. Meanwhile, Wiggins has only logged a total of 22 snaps this season.

I will say that Goffney’s appeal will be somewhat muted if Jordan Kerley ($6,000) is able to play. Kerley is also a solid option if he suits up. He has missed three straight games, and his availability for Friday night’s game is unknown.

General Notes

SMU’s Beau Corrales ($5,800) has drawn 13 targets in the two games that he has played this season. His presence will be needed with Jake Bailey out and Jordan Kerley potentially sidelined for the fourth straight game.

FIU’s leading receiver Tyrese Chambers ($6,500) is questionable. He has 27 receptions, 262 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns on 42 targets through five games.

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.