NCAAF

College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 10/20/22

College football is entering Week 8, and FanDuel's college football DFS main slate on Thursday 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

Carter Bradley, South Alabama ($11,000) – Bradley has four games with three touchdown passes this season. He also provides some rushing upside. The South Alabama Jaguars' quarterback has recorded two rushing touchdowns through six games. The matchup with Troy is a decent spot for the senior. The Trojans have allowed 11 touchdown passes through six games (slate high).

Jeff Sims, Georgia Tech ($10,000) – Sims comes with an asterisk. He is questionable for Thursday's night game with the Virginia Cavaliers. When healthy, Sims can make plays via the air and ground. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' signal-caller has four touchdown passes over the last three games. Additionally, he is averaging 71.3 rushing yards per game over that time. If he's out, Zach Gibson ($4,500) will likely start at quarterback. Gibson is a transfer from Akron, and he is a pocket passer.

Brennan Armstrong, Virginia ($9,400) - The head coaching change at Virginia has had an impact on Armstrong and his box scores this season. The lefty has accounted for only eight total touchdowns this season, which is mind-boggling considering he accounted for 40 touchdowns last year. Anyway, this is a great spot for Armstrong and the Cavaliers' offense. Georgia Tech is allowing 389.5 total yards per game to opposing offenses (80th nationally). The Yellow Jackets have surrendered 18 total touchdowns through six games (slate high).

Running Backs

Hassan Hall, Georgia Tech ($7,800) – Hall has taken control of the Georgia Tech backfield. Over the last two games, Hall has racked up 227 rushing yards on 37 carries. He has also recorded six receptions during that span. His workload could spike with the uncertainty at quarterback this week. Hall should be able to take advantage of Virginia's struggling run defense. The Cavaliers are allowing 163.0 rushing yards per game to enemy ball carriers (89th nationally).

Kimani Vidal, Troy ($7,000) – Vidal will split carries with backfield mate DK Billingsley ($8,400). However, I prefer Vidal when factoring in salary. Both ball carriers have 77 rushing attempts this season. While Billingsley has out-rushed Vidal 388 to 309, it's Vidal who plays a role in the passing game, totaling 15 receptions on 20 targets through seven games.

Perris Jones, Virginia ($6,800)This is a matchup play as Jones' box scores have been ugly as of late. Jones leads the Virginia running backs by a comfortable margin in rush attempts. I'm expecting him to find success against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are surrendering 181.0 rushing yards per game (108th nationally). Additionally, they have yielded 10 rushing touchdowns this season (slate high).

Wide Receivers

Caullin Lacy, South Alabama ($9,500) – Lacy has been unstoppable as of late. The lanky wide receiver posted five receptions and 112 receiving yards on seven targets against Louisiana-Lafayette. He followed that up with a stat line of 12 receptions, 133 receiving yards, and one touchdown on 13 targets in last week's matchup with Louisiana-Monroe.

Jalen Wayne, South Alabama ($8,300) - Wayne leads South Alabama in targets (51) and touchdown receptions (5). He is the Jaguars' deep threat as evidenced by his 14.8 aDOT. That is appealing considering the playmaker has run a team-high 83 pass routes over the last two games.

Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia ($7,100) - Wicks is averaging 10.0 targets per game this season. He has an eye-opening aDOT of 14.5. The speedster has run at least 32 routes in three straight games. It is only a matter of time before we see Wicks post a slate-breaking outing.

General Notes

La'Damian Webb ($9,700) is the starting running back for South Alabama. He would be the most appealing running back option on the slate; however, he left the Jaguars' last game early due to an injury. If he's able to suit up, fire away. If Webb is out, then Omni Wells ($5,700) will likely start. Wells ran for 85 yards on 17 carries in relief of Webb last week.

Gunnar Watson ($8,000) will likely start at quarterback for Troy. He is viable in tournaments because he won't be very popular. Watson may lose some snaps to Jaret Doege ($8,000).

Lavel Davis Jr. ($5,900) is running nearly the same number of routes as Keytaon Thompson ($8,500) and Dontayvion Wicks. Davis leads the Cavaliers with an aDOT of 15.7. He will likely go overlooked because we may not need the salary relief. Despite that, Davis is a great tournament play. Meanwhile, Thompson is averaging an absurd 12.0 targets per game over the last four 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.