College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Saturday 11/5/22

With daily fantasy football so popular, it was only a matter of time before it translated to the college level.

FanDuel offers college football daily fantasy contests now in most states, and there's a twist on the NFL ruleset. You select a quarterback, two running backs, three wideouts (which can include tight ends), and a "SuperFLEX" that can be any of those positions.

Finding target data for pass-catchers in college can be difficult, so finding out which players are on the field and getting work can make all the difference. Naturally, there are also more lopsided outcomes in college, so balance game scripts appropriately as well! Your running back's monstrous first half could lead to a bagel in the second.

Only 4 of the 14 games on this slate feature a total north of 60 points, and many of the teams in those who meet that criteria have excellent defenses. It's a tougher week in daily fantasy that we've had in a while, so we'll really emphasize workloads this week.

Note: All stats are from PFF.com. All tables are sortable by any category.

The Slate

The 69.5-point total between Texas Tech and Texas Christian leaps right off the page, and I'm pretty into the game in Fort Worth where the market shares make sense.

The other standout is in the same Big 12 conference. Oklahoma State and Kansas -- pending injuries to the quarterback(s) -- should light up the scoreboard as well.

I'm a bit more skeptical about Tennessee and Georgia shooting out. The Vols just held a good Kentucky offense to six points, and we know what the defending champions can bring on that side of the ball.

Plus, North Carolina and Virginia are an incredibly dicey game stack if you've seen the Cavs on offense this year. It's been ugly.

Defensive Matchups and Rankings

Note: Higher numbers are easier matchups for the opposing team. Lower numbers are better rankings and tougher matchups.

We have two tire-fire defenses back for more this week: North Carolina and Florida. Oklahoma State is also now outside the top 80 in terms of rushing and passing defense per play.

As usual, the main slate is littered with defenses to avoid, too. All of these schools are top 25 in both passing and rushing yards allowed per attempt: Alabama, Iowa, Georgia, Texas, and Clemson.

We can attack the passing defenses of Miami (FL), Kansas, Purdue, and Indiana. Those four schools are outside the top 80 in passing yards per attempt allowed, but their rush defenses are much better.

On the other hand, Auburn, Texas Tech, Mississippi State, and Central Florida are below-average rush defenses with much better passing defense. We'll want to target backs against them -- and we've got four good candidates to do so.

Quarterbacks

I just can't roster Drake Maye ($11,800) at his absurd salary.

The freshman had ripped through two horrendous pass defenses before doing the same to Pitt, who is a top-30 school in yards per attempt. If this game has any fantasy appeal, though, it'll be because Brennan Armstrong ($8,600) is also lighting it up in UVA's pass-happy offense on the other side. Why not take the discount?

I'll do the opposite with Bryce Young ($10,400). The reigning Heisman winner has faced three solid pass defenses in a row, but Louisiana State's 76th-ranked group is a reprieve. I would venture Jayden Daniels ($9,200) will be more popular on the other side, but we saw Daniels totally melt down against Tennessee, and Alabama's second-ranked pass defense is no joke.

Kansas appears in line to get Jalon Daniels ($10,000) back from injury, and the dual threat (56.0 rush yards per game) will be welcomed back with open arms. KU went 0-3 in his absence, ending their Cinderella season. He'll get the Pokes' weak pass defense in this one.

Miami has a bottom-10 pass defense in the country, so Jordan Travis ($9,800) has to be a core play. Really, the appeal to Young, Daniels, and Travis is that their schools have wide-open receiving target shares, so if you want to intelligently target their passing matchups, it's got to be through the quarterback.

In addition to Armstrong, Quinn Ewers ($8.200) and Anthony Richardson ($8,000) are value options. Richardson's salary is wildly low for a guy averaging 55.0 rushing yards a game this year, and Texas A&M's 17th-ranked pass defense isn't that special.

Running Backs

The workload of Bijan Robinson ($10,400) is starting to match his name value. He's posted 26.8 total touches in his past four games, so even in a tough matchup with Kansas State's 35th-ranked rush defense, he's on the menu.

Right with him is Israel Abanikanda ($10,000). The junior has received at least 26 carries in three straight games, and given the way Notre Dame chewed up Syracuse's rush defense last week, I'm not wildly concerned about his matchup.

Whether it was due to fatigue or injury, Kendre Miller ($9,700) got just 39.5% of TCU's carries last week. This isn't a huge game for the Frogs either, so I don't think I can turn to him sandwiched between Bijan, Izzy, and Jahmyr Gibbs ($9,500) with god-tier workloads in his neighborhood.

Dominic Richardson ($9,400) sat last week with a concussion. He's got a great matchup with Kansas if he plays, but the overall quality of his offense could hinge on whether Spencer Sanders ($11,000) returns from injury with him.

There really aren't as many workhorse backs as you'd expect on a slate this big. In addition to Robinson and Abanikanda, only six other backs got at least 20 carries and a 55.0% rush share in their last game: Devon Achane ($9,300), Deuce Vaughn ($9,100), Sean Tucker ($8,400), Jabari Small ($7,000), Devin Mockabee ($6,900), and Henry Parrish Jr. ($6,600). The latter three are in brutal matchups.

Tahj Brooks ($6,900) got 61.5% of Texas Tech's carries last week. He's the only place we can target the Red Raiders as they rotate quarterbacks. No wideout has a target share above 17.0%, either.

My core of backs will be tight to these 10 solid workloads this week. There's no reason to venture elsewhere.

Wide Receivers

Antoine Green ($9,200) might be the worst point-chasing salary I've ever seen. It's not just because Virginia's pass defense (30th in YPA) is better than advertised.

Green has just a 12.5% target share this season. He got a season-high 10 targets last week against Pitt, caught all of them, and brought down 2 more touchdowns. He's got 6 touchdowns on 23 receptions this year. I want to vomit. Play Josh Downs ($9,500), who at least has a 33.5% target share in the past three weeks, instead.

Not only is Jalin Hyatt ($8,800) oversalaried again for his 23.1% target share in the past three weeks, but he's also drawing UGA in this spot. It's a full fade for me.

We've got guys to target, though. NFL prospect Quentin Johnston ($9,000) has taken over for TCU, posting a 31.2% target share in the past three games. Orondre Gadsden III ($8,400) and Xavier Worthy ($8,300) also are big-play threats with target shares north of 30.0% in their past three.

Charlie Jones ($8,500), Keytaon Thompson ($7,900), Ryan O'Keefe ($7,500), Evan Stewart ($7,300), Parker Washington ($7,200), and Jared Wayne ($7,100) are also all wideouts -- not tight ends -- over a 26.0% share in their past three games, and some of them are very interesting as value plays.

Jones stacks well with Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta ($5,500), but the duo -- with Mockabee -- is the extent we should look at their abysmal 39.5-point total. Thompson is a big-body threat for UVA who pairs well with Downs. O'Keefe's target volume shot through the roof when scrambler John Rhys Plumlee ($10,700) was replaced by Mikey Keene ($6,500) last week due to injury.

However, Stewart and Washington are my favorite value plays in workable matchups with Florida and Indiana, respectively. Wayne's 6.9 targets per game overall this season don't provide a ton of confidence, to me, they won't go away from him again.

Of course, the giant elephant in the room down here is Michael Mayer ($7,200). The Irish passing game is barely functional, but when they are, it's through Mayer. He leads the slate in target share for the past three games (39.0%), but a difficult matchup with Clemson isn't likely to produce a monstrous evening.