NCAAF
College Football Market Share Report: Conference Championship Week
Kent State has leaned heavily on Marquez Cooper, and he gets a superb matchup in the MAC Championship Game. Who else's workload stands out entering college football's championship week?

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.

This week's Saturday main slate falls predictably short of the usual 14-game schedule. There are only conference title games this weekend, and the MAC, Sun Belt, Mountain West, AAC, Big XII, SEC, ACC, and Big Ten title games are the eight on Saturday. Hence, an eight-game slate! Even I can do that math.

Volume will be critical; these games have some of the best defenses in the country. A third-string wideout in a great matchup isn't a viable strategy this weekend. We need the top options in each offense with points at a premium.

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
12
ATT
2021
ATT/G
2021
YPA
Rush
ATT/G
Rush
YDS/G
Bryce Young ALA 51.0 35.1 9.25 0.8 17.7
Kenny Pickett PITT 38.0 38.8 8.75 2.1 31.8
Blake Shapen BAY 34.0 14.5 7.17 2.5 17.0
Sam Hartman WAKE 32.0 35.3 8.78 2.5 38.8
Dustin Crum KENT 32.0 27.7 8.42 6.5 62.1
Spencer Sanders OKST 30.0 26.5 7.53 8.1 44.2
Clayton Tune HOU 30.0 30.0 8.37 2.3 23.0
Desmond Ridder CIN 28.0 27.9 8.87 5.8 40.1
Chase Brice APST 24.0 28.2 8.59 2.1 14.5
Logan Bonner UTST 22.0 31.4 8.67 2.8 15.0
Levi Lewis ULL 22.0 27.6 7.37 4.0 27.9
Stetson Bennett UGA 20.0 16.6 10.84 2.0 24.5
Lucas Johnson SDSU 20.0 17.5 5.65 3.0 22.2
Cade McNamara MICH 19.0 23.8 8.03 2.0 5.4
Jordon Brookshire SDSU 16.0 20.4 7.02 4.4 38.8
Alex Padilla IOWA 14.0 14.0 6.10 1.7 1.0
Spencer Petras IOWA 13.0 23.4 6.52 2.5 4.9
Ethan Hampton NILL 10.0 10.0 2.30 2.0 12.0


When balancing salary, matchup, and volume, Spencer Sanders ($8,400) appears to have the best spot. Baylor is just 77th against the pass (238.4 yards per game allowed) this season, and Sanders was trusted to eclipse 30 pass attempts on Saturday for the fifth time this season. The Bears are strong against the run (11th), and a banged-up Jaylen Warren ($8,200) probably doesn't help Oklahoma State's ground attack.

The top, though, is the top for a reason. Sam Hartman ($11,500) and Kenny Pickett ($11,000) square off in a battle with a 71.5-point total that shatters all but one total on the slate. Pitt's 54.1% pass rate is tops on the slate, and Wake Forest's is fourth, but Alabama and Houston ahead of them have difficult outlier matchups. Hartman's posted a rushing score in six of his last seven games, so his higher salary is definitely worth the trade-off in pass rate compared to Pickett.

The one top-shelf quarterback I'm out on is Desmond Ridder ($10,000). The big name at a lower salary may draw popularity, but both Cincinnati and Houston are top-10 in yards per play in all of FBS. numberFire's model loves the under in this game as a result, and that's not great news considering Ridder also has been held under 30 passing attempts by his coaching staff in 6 of his 12 games this year. The higher-salary quarterbacks are worth prioritizing.

Running Backs

Player Team
Name
WEEK
12
RUSH
ATT
2021
RUSH/G
2021
RUSH
SHARE
WEEK
12
TGT
2021
TGT
SHARE
Abram Smith BAY 30.0 17.9 45.4% 2 5.4%
Hassan Haskins MICH 28.0 20.3 49.3% 3 4.8%
Marquez Cooper KENT 24.0 17.7 42.7% 2 4.2%
Tyler Goodson IOWA 23.0 19.8 58.8% 1 10.8%
Jerome Ford CIN 19.0 16.4 48.8% 0 5.1%
Christian Turner WAKE 18.0 9.0 26.3% 0 1.7%
Jaylen Warren OKST 18.0 19.8 48.9% 4 7.3%
Brian Robinson Jr. ALA 16.0 18.7 54.2% 4 7.8%
Greg Bell SDSU 15.0 17.5 46.7% 1 2.1%
Rodney Hammond Jr. PITT 15.0 10.1 24.1% 2 1.8%
Quinton Cooley WAKE 14.0 7.4 9.0% 0 0.0%
Vincent Davis PITT 13.0 9.9 31.6% 2 5.5%
Xavier Williams KENT 13.0 9.8 23.5% 1 1.8%
Jevyon Ducker NILL 13.0 16.5 32.5% 0 1.0%
Emani Bailey ULL 13.0 7.9 16.8% 2 2.9%
Trestan Ebner BAY 12.0 11.5 29.1% 4 9.9%
Chris Smith ULL 11.0 12.1 34.3% 1 5.4%
Calvin Tyler Jr. UTST 10.0 15.2 34.3% 1 3.9%
Trey Sanders ALA 10.0 6.3 13.2% 2 1.0%


The matchup is abysmal, but Tyler Goodson ($6,200) is a staple in just about every lineup to get back to the Pitt/Wake Forest points bonanza. Michigan is 20th against the run in all of FBS (122.5 yards per game), but you know who is 19th? Ohio State. The Buckeyes gave up 297 yards and 5 touchdowns to UM's strong rushing offense last week. It's possible, and Goodson has the largest rush share on the slate. He sees passing work if Iowa trails (10.8% target share; 4th on the Hawkeyes), as well.

I don't feel that same comfort with Christian Turner ($5,800). Yes, he got 18 carries last week against Boston College, but that was in a hyper-positive game script, and Christian Beal-Smith ($6,000) is listed higher on the depth chart. Their top-salaried back Justice Ellison ($6,500) may return from injury this week, as well. The three have split work fairly evenly when active, so I don't feel the need to chase potential touchdowns with Goodson's monstrous role lurking in this area.

At the top of the salary pool, I will prioritize Marquez Cooper ($8,800). Cooper has seen 20-plus carries in four straight games, and Northern Illinois is giving up an abysmal 225.9 rushing yards per game (120th in FBS). That's a matchup to target on a normal, full slate. Many will look to Hasaan Haskins ($9,500) after his five-tuddie game, but Michigan carries just a 28.3 implied team total. Kent State's implied total is 39.0 points. Cooper could be the one with three-plus touchdowns this week.

Wide Receivers

Player TEAM
NAME
WEEK
12
TGT
WEEK
12
TGT
SHARE
TGT/G 2021
TGT
SHARE
2021
REC
YDS
SHARE
John Metchie III ALA 22.0 48.9% 10.0 29.2% 25.5%
Jordan Addison PITT 13.0 37.1% 10.0 26.5% 31.9%
Jesse Matthews SDSU 12.0 35.3% 4.8 20.3% 21.6%
Tay Martin OKST 12.0 41.4% 8.5 29.7% 32.9%
Dante Cephas KENT 11.0 33.3% 8.5 30.6% 35.4%
Alec Pierce CIN 10.0 35.7% 6.2 22.2% 26.1%
Nathaniel Dell HOU 9.0 27.3% 9.2 28.8% 31.5%
Keshunn Abram KENT 9.0 27.3% 5.4 19.5% 21.7%
Deven Thompkins UTST 8.0 33.3% 11.6 34.1% 42.5%
Tyquan Thornton BAY 8.0 26.7% 7.5 30.6% 32.5%
Lucas Krull PITT 7.0 20.0% 4.3 11.5% 9.5%
Corey Sutton APST 7.0 31.8% 7.6 27.3% 29.1%
A.T. Perry WAKE 7.0 22.6% 8.3 24.8% 29.4%
Jeremy Singleton HOU 7.0 21.2% 4.1 11.8% 14.4%
Trayvon Rudolph NILL 7.0 77.8% 6.1 24.3% 35.3%
Drew Estrada BAY 7.0 23.3% 4.1 11.2% 12.1%
Keagan Johnson IOWA 7.0 29.2% 4.8 14.6% 16.0%
Jaquarii Roberson WAKE 7.0 22.6% 8.0 23.8% 27.0%
Elijah Kothe SDSU 6.0 17.6% 4.2 16.1% 19.1%
Sam LaPorta IOWA 6.0 25.0% 5.3 21.4% 22.7%
Donald Stewart WAKE 6.0 19.4% 4.2 12.4% 9.1%
Tyrell Shavers SDSU 6.0 17.6% 4.0 15.4% 9.9%
Jake Herslow HOU 6.0 18.2% 3.3 10.5% 11.0%
Blaine Green OKST 6.0 20.7% 2.4 6.9% 11.4%
Adonai Mitchell UGA 5.0 26.3% 3.9 15.7% 11.7%
Derek Wright UTST 5.0 20.8% 5.7 16.7% 19.1%
Thomas Hennigan APST 5.0 22.7% 5.5 19.8% 23.5%
Ja'Corey Brooks ALA 5.0 11.1% 3.0 2.2% 1.7%
Brennan Presley OKST 5.0 17.2% 5.5 18.9% 17.1%
Tyler Scott CIN 5.0 17.9% 3.1 11.1% 14.9%
Jameson Williams ALA 5.0 11.1% 7.7 22.4% 30.7%
Gavin Bartholomew PITT 5.0 14.3% 2.5 6.0% 7.2%
Errol Rogers Jr. ULL 5.0 23.8% 3.0 8.6% 6.8%


I am more likely to allocate top dollar at receiver to Jordan Addison ($10,000) than A.T. Perry ($9,500). Addison is in a league of his own currently on the Pitt Panthers' offense. He has seen 53 targets (26.8% share) in the past four weeks, and the next highest option has seen 26. Whereas with Perry, he's seen 48 targets in their past four games, but Jacquarii Roberson ($8,300) has still seen 32. Their season-long target shares are nearly identical, as well. Perry is the better option, but we can't spend salary at every position.

It's worth noting that John Metchie III ($7,800) saw 22 targets because Jameson Williams ($8,400) was ejected in the first half for targeting. It's safe to assume the split will be far more even against Georgia's vaunted defense. Alabama still has a 28.5-point implied team total in this game, and that means these two clear standouts could be lower in popularity than they should be on Georgia's name value. Trey Sanders ($6,000) will also likely be the bellcow with Brian Robinson Jr. ($8,000) dealing with a pulled muscle. All are viable value options -- which is a crazy thing to say for Alabama skill players.

With Sanders a standout option at signal-caller, it helps that he has two crystal clear stacking options, too. Tay Martin ($8,200) has a way better role than his salary. He's seen 10.25 targets per game in his last four games, and that includes two games that were total stompings by the Cowboys. Brennan Presley ($6,200) is at 6.75 per game in that span, which is good for a 25.6% share. Martin is a value with a comparable role to the top wideouts, and Presley is a fantastic punt when needed.

Related News

An Introduction to FanDuel Research

Jim Sannes  --  Dec 2nd, 2021

College Football Betting Guide: National Championship (TCU vs. Georgia)

Michael Rondello  --  Dec 2nd, 2021

Covering the Spread: College Football National Championship Betting Preview

Jim Sannes  --  Dec 2nd, 2021