NCAAF

College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Saturday 9/12/15

What playmakers should you be paying up for this week in college football DFS? And where can you save salary?

If you haven't played daily fantasy college football yet, you're missing out. It's a lot of fun and can be very exciting for college football fans of all teams.

Whether you're one of those pigskin fanatics or just can't get enough of the daily fantasy life, head over to FanDuel.com and enter a few contests for Saturday's slate of games.

Now I know, college football isn't the most popular daily fantasy sport. So maybe you haven't heard a lot about it? No biggie -- I'm here to give you some suggestions for each position.

To help, I'll be using our in-house college football projections, which produce team-based statistics based on our algorithms. This type of approach is logical, as the basic principles of any daily fantasy sport are to target high point projections and teams that are supposed to perform well offensively.

Who do the numbers say we should roster in Week 2? 

Top Quarterbacks

Early Slate - Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech  ($7,700)

The Yellow Jackets are not only favored by 30.5 points going into Saturday's matchup with Tulane, but also we project them to score over 45 points in a route of the Blue Wave. Normally that big of a blowout doesn't bode well for starting quarterbacks. But two things are in favor of the Jackets' signal caller: he's cheap (compared to the other top quarterbacks) and he's a huge part of their option offense. He may not have shown it a week ago, with just 56 total yards, but he still managed two touchdowns. This week, expect big things from Thomas, as we project the Jackets to tally nearly 500 yards of total offense, including upwards of 280 on the ground.

Late Slate - Josh Rosen, UCLA  ($8,000)

Rosen is another mid-priced quarterback to target on Saturday. He was outstanding in his college football debut last week as he dropped 351 yards and 3 touchdowns on Virginia. He might just repeat that performance this week against an overmatched UNLV team. The Bruins are favored by over 30 points, and we project them to flirt with 50 points and do a lot of damage through their freshman quarterback. Our projections expect over upwards of 250 yards of passing and plenty of first downs for UCLA. Rosen could be a big steal.

Top Running Backs

Early - Patrick Skov, Georgia Tech ($5,900)

Why stop at Thomas? As I previously stated, the Georgia Tech offense is gonna roll in this game. Tulane allows 4.2 adjusted yards per rush while Georgia Tech averages 9.2 adjusted yards per rush. It's a recipe for success for the Yellow Jackets' rushing attack. And just last week Skov took 12 carries and turned them into 72 yards and 3 scores. Take advantage of his low price tag and capitalize on the opportunity.

Late - Tre Madden, USC ($7,700)

Tre Madden took over the USC backfield last week with fellow back Justin Davis sidelined. Davis is due to return this week, but the starting job is Madden's. After taking 12 rushes for 106 yards and a touchdown on the ground -- to go with a touchdown reception -- it's easy to see why Madden is the main man in the Trojans' rushing offense. As the number one rusher, he should feast on a weak Idaho defense this week. Suspect a blowout in favor of the Trojans, a 43.5-point favorite. It follows then that they will be running a lot with a big lead. We see them tallying over 219 rushing yards as a team and nearly 26 first downs.

Top Wide Receivers

Early - Nelson Spruce, Colorado ($8,100)

If you take my advice and make use of the discount the Georgia Tech offense provides you this week, you may want to pay up for a stud wide receiver. Look no further than Spruce. Colorado takes on Massachusetts in should be a matchup filled with offensive firepower. Based on the 12.5-point spread and the 62.5-point over/under, the Buffaloes are projected to score upwards of 35 points. We see them accumulating over 260 yards through the air. Spruce will surely be a part of that after catching over 100 balls and scoring 12 touchdowns in 2014.

Late - Jordan Westerkamp, Nebraska ($7,000)

Westerkamp was a great buy last week at his price point. This week, the money has caught up with the production. That shouldn't matter to you though -- not this week at least. Nebraska will face off against South Alabama on Saturday, and I can't see any scenario where Nebraska struggles to produce both on the scoreboard and in your lineup. As 27-points favorites in a game with a 54-point over/under, Nebraska is expected to score more than 40 points. Our algorithms expect them to tally over 225 yards via the pass. Westerkamp had seven receptions last week -- expect that and maybe more against this caliber of opponent. 

Top Tight Ends

Early - Evan Engram, Ole Miss ($3,400)

Usually, you don't want to pay up for tight ends in daily fantasy college football. You often want to punt the position and hope for an unlikely touchdown to come your way in order to maximize the studs you can fit in your lineup. For me, on this early slate, Engram is a stud to pay up for. Last year, Engram finished the season with 38 catches for 662 yards and 2 touchdowns. He didn't get off to a good start last week with a mere one catch for five yards, but don't let that fool you. We project the Rebels to pass for more than 260 yards, and Vegas projects them to score more than 40 points. Engram's primed to bounce back.

Late - Deon Watson, Idaho ($2,500)

Sure, everyone expects the Vandals to get crushed by the mighty Trojans. That doesn't mean they don't carry any fantasy value though. Idaho threw for nearly 300 yards last week, and while they may not do that this week, they'll have to throw a lot if they hope even to cover the 43.5-point spread they're up against. Watson accounted for 5 catches, 48 yards and a touchdown a week ago. He should get a lot of opportunities to rack up more receptions this week.