Week 7 is the start of an elite stretch of the college football season. Buckle up because the next two weeks have a plethora of games that should greatly impact this year’s College Football Playoff. This week, most of the headliners are at night. So, the main slate is highlighted by a game that is near and dear to my heart as a Texas fan, the Red River Rivalry, a game that I was fortunate enough to attend in 2018. But you won’t see any players from that game here, as it just doesn’t project as an elite contest from a DFS perspective. So, the tertiary games will take center stage here in this article, as some of the under-the-radar games have some of the best options for us on DraftKings!
Much has been made of Leonard’s lack of passing success for the Irish this season, but that is something that we, as DFS players, should not be concerned about. Leonard has gone over 25 DraftKings points in each of his last 3 games, thanks in large part to averaging 23 DraftKings points via rushing in those 3 games. Stanford has been a defense this season that has shut down the run from running backs but has been susceptible to quarterbacks both on the ground and in the air, surrendering 27 DraftKings points or more to Josh Hoover, Kyle McCord, and Cade Klubnik. The projections at DFS Hero agree with me, as Leonard is their #1 value play at the QB position.
Haynes King and the rest of the Yellow Jackets draw the best matchup on the slate for passing offenses in North Carolina this week. The Tar Heels give up over 400 total yards per game and yield an average of 8.9 yards per pass attempt, both of which rank outside the top 100 in the nation. They have given up two performances of 40 DraftKings points to QBs this season, and King could very well make it three.
Cade Klubnik, Clemson, $9000
Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati, $7400
If North Carolina is the best matchup on the slate for a quarterback, then Wake Forest might be the best matchup on the slate for a running back. The Demon Deacons surrender an average of 4.9 yards per carry, ranking 98th in the nation and 3rd-worst among teams on this slate (for what it’s worth, USC and Rutgers rank lower). But what makes the Deacs such a great matchup is that they play with great tempo, leading to more possessions and opportunities for opposing offenses. Vegas agrees, with Clemson having the highest implied team total on the slate at 40.5. With very minimal competition in the RB room, look for Mafah to hit 100 yards and score multiple TDs.
Brown now seems to have the stranglehold on RB1 duties in Louisville. Simply put, $4300 is way too cheap for an RB1 that had a tendency to break off long runs (4 of 20 yards or more this season) and has solid usage in the passing game (9 combined catches in the last two weeks). Explosive plays and passing game usage are two of the “cheat codes” for running backs in DFS. I think that Brown is the easiest click at the RB position this week and will surely be popular. DFS Hero ranks Brown as their #1 value play at the RB position this week.
Tawee Walker, Wisconsin, $5300
Desmond Reid, Pitt, $9400
You already know that I love Georgia Tech’s quarterback Haynes King, and I love the idea of stacking him with Rutherford this week. I like stacking when it is easy to identify who will be the top target earners in an offense, and with Georgia Tech, Rutherford and Eric Singleton accounted for over 50% of the targets last game. So which one do we choose? On the season, each has finished as the WR1 three times, but when you total everything, Rutherford has the advantage in targets, receptions, yards, and fantasy points on the year. It wouldn’t shock me if Singleton goes off, but Rutherford clearly has the edge when you look at the statistics.
The Clemson offense is no stranger to big plays, and Williams is the one most likely to produce them. Williams has two performances of 18 DraftKings points or more this season, and in each, he only needed 3 catches to get there. It feels like he’s going to break a DraftKings slate at some point, and a matchup against Wake Forest feels like one where he could do it.
Darius Lassiter, BYU, $4200
Xzavier Henderson, Cincinnati, $7100
The tight end for the Bearcats has earned the second-most targets on the team to this point in the season, only behind Xzavier Henderson. $3400 is just too cheap for a guy who has scored 13 DraftKings points in 3 out of 5 games this season, and the matchup against UCF is a positive one as the Golden Knights play with a fast tempo, and the game total sits at an appetizing 58.5.
Tawee Walker HIGHER 0.5 Rush + Rec TD
Anthony Colandrea HIGHER 19.75 Fantasy Points
Nicholas Singleton HIGHER 12.35 Fantasy Points
