DraftKings College Football: Week 1 Plays

Welcome back for another college football season. It didn't always look too promising that we'd have a season, but here we are with a six-game slate to usher in our first fall Saturday. Even if we're lacking blue blood programs and the like, we have an interesting slate for DFS purposes. Below are our new DFS tools to help you build your best lineup, along with my breakdown of each position on the board. If you have any lineup questions, feel free to sound off in the comments or interact with us over on our RotoWire Discord Channel.

DFS Tools

• DraftKings Lineup Optimizer
• NEW Matchups Page (Vegas odds, opponent averages, etc.)
• Advanced Lineups Page
• Stats
• Team Trends
• Targets
• Defense vs. Position
• Team Rankings

Matchup Info

Position by Position Breakdown

Quarterback

General Thoughts

• North Texas is a frustrating team on this slate. As you can see above, it's set up for the Mean Green to roll, but the quarterback situation is unsettled. Austin Aune and Jason Bean are $7,900 and $8,100 respectively, which is not ideal when there's a chance they split snaps. North Texas is still an offense to target, but the quarterback situation is one I'll avoid.
• Asher O'Hara is shockingly far down the list, checking in at $6,200. That's behind the Arkansas State pairing of Layne Hatcher and Logan Bonner that is expected to rotate throughout Saturday's game. When a player like O'Hara, who ranked 11th in points per game among quarterbacks last season, is this far down the quarterback board, it's natural to steer into what seems like a screaming value. But if O'Hara is that good of a fantasy option, there has to be a reason why he's listed down at $6,200. In fact, there are a few possible reasons. For one, Army's offense will likely have the ball for more than half the game because of their possession-based attack. And then O'Hara will be tasked with moving the ball on a fairly stingy defense that held opponents to 23.0 PPG last season. O'Hara might still end up reaching value, but I wouldn't have him in more than just a couple of my tournament lineups.
• Grant Wells ($7,300) is the wildcard of the slate. He's completely inexperienced with zero pass attempts to his credit at this level. Fortunately this isn't a baptism by fire as he'll be going up against Eastern Kentucky from the FCS ranks. Coach Doc Holliday said of Wells that "we knew when we recruited him that he had the skill set to make all the throws and be extremely athletic," per Grant Traylor of The Herald-Dispatch. Yes it's coach speak, but if Wells has some rushing ability to add to what should be a low-stress day as a passer, this first-year starter becomes an X-factor on this slate. The unknown with Wells keeps him in the GPP-only bin for me but his skill set and this matchup will steer me towards having him in a handful of lineups.

Shane Buechele, SMU ($9,000) at Texas State

Buechele is the top quarterback on the board for a reason. The senior quarterback is in his second season at the helm of an explosive offense that ranked seventh in points per game and Buechele himself ranked sixth in passing yards per game (302.2). Ace receiver James Proche is gone, but Reggie Roberson is back after catching 43 of 64 targets for 803 yards and six scores through eight games. Danny Gray and Rashee Rice are also promising receivers, and Kylen Granson is a mismatch at tight end. 

To put it bluntly, Texas State is going to have a tough time slowing the Buechele-led SMU offense. 

Rostering Buechele is a strong start to cash game lineups but it's a lot of cap to tie up into a quarterback spot that has a lot of value options. I'm not advising fading Buechele in tournaments per se, but it may not separate you from the pack and his lack of rushing upside could leave his output just shy of what you need it to be relative to his $9k salary. 

Christian Anderson, Army ($7,400) vs. Middle Tennessee

Anderson was named Army's starter earlier in the week and a soft matchup against Middle Tennessee makes him someone to consider despite the downside of targeting an option offense on a big slate. He won't give you much as a passer -- the team averaged less than 10 attempts per game last year -- but Anderson showed promising signs as a rusher last season. Anderson took 67 carries for 429 yards (6.4 YPC) and four touchdowns in seven appearances and now gets the full share of the quarterback rushes in this offense. 

Middle Tennessee might not be equipped to slow Army's ground game, either. It allowed 4.9 YPC last season and lost 49 percent of its defensive production. A bad unit short on experience trying to stop an option offense in the season opener? I don't see it happening. Anderson isn't a screaming value at $7,400 but there's reason to believe he can deliver in this spot. And if you want a different part of the Army offense, the backfield has some values that we'll discuss below.

Brady White, Memphis ($7,200) vs. Arkansas State

We know what White is at this point. This is his third season at the helm of Memphis' offense and he already has 59 passing touchdowns to his credit through 28 starts. Memphis is playing in what Vegas projects to be the highest scoring game of the slate (74.0) and the Tigers are rocking an implied total of 46.5. White has the likes of Damonte Coxie and Sean Dykes at his disposal in the passing game and will be going to the air plenty if this offensive philosophy remains intact without Mike Norvell, which is believed to be the case. 

Running Back

Brenden Knox, Marshall ($8,000) vs. Eastern Kentucky

In my opinion, Knox is the top running back play on the board. He commanded over 50 percent of the Marshall rushing share last year and that should be the case again this season. Knox isn't just a workhorse, he's effective with those carries, averaging 5.14 YPC over 270 rushes in 2019. The only limiting factor here is Marshall not wanting to run Knox into the ground if it builds a comfortable lead. With that, Knox might end up with one of his lower carry counts of the season. But even if that's the case, his efficiency on a per-carry basis should be high enough to offset the lack of carry volume and result in Knox returning value at $8k. If you're looking to pivot off Knox but still have exposure to the Marshall backfield, Sheldon Evans (5.43 YPC, $4,200) is an interesting option.

Rodrigues Clark, Memphis ($5,200) vs. Arkansas State

The Kenny Gainwell opt-out carries massive implications for the entire fantasy landscape, let alone the Memphis backfield. Now that the dust has started to settle, it's Clark who is set to start at running back for the Tigers. His sample from last season -- 26 carries for 85 yards and a score -- doesn't tell us much, but this is an explosive offense that gets production from its running backs like clockwork. Getting the top billing will help Clark produce both as a rusher and in the passing game. 

The problem here is that Clark is he is going to carry one of the highest rostered percentages on the slate. His salary is just $5,200, which is $1,100 less than teammate Kylan Watkins. While Clark should lead all Memphis backs in scoring, but he's not guaranteed to lock down a Gainwell-esque share of the backfield work. Watkins and even Auburn transfer Asa Martin ($4,000) could cut into Clark's workload. Again, Clark is a solid option, but there is some risk in heavy exposure.

Sandon McCoy ($4,800) and Cade Barnard ($3,100), Army   vs. Midde Tennessee

As we established in the Christian Anderson breakdown, Army's run game is set up to take over Saturday's matchup against Middle Tennessee. And while the quarterback(s) will take on some of the rushing workload, McCoy and Barnard are the top two options in the backfield. McCoy is more established, having rushed for 576 yards and 10 scores on 134 carries in 2019 while Barnard had just 95 yards on 18 rushes. The fact that Army will be giving carries to several players has kept a lid on both McCoy and especially Barnard's salary on this slate to the point where both are still appealing. Barnard is a legitimate play at close to minimum price and McCoy could be a Top 10 running back on the slate when it's all said and done Saturday night.

Da'Leon Ward,  Stephen F. Austin ($5,900) at UTEP

That name may sound familiar as Ward played in two seasons at Texas Tech before transferring to SFA in 2019. He racked up 471 yards on 125 carries for the Lumberjacks last season and also caught 21 passes for 225 yards and a score in seven games. FCS plays are inherently risky, but Ward has a legitimate Power 5 background and is going up against the worst run defense on the slate (5.6 YPC Allowed in 2019). There's a chance the Lumberjacks have to lean on the passing game if they fall behind, which is expected, but Ward can be an asset in that sense, which bolsters his floor on DraftKings. Ward might end up carrying a higher roster percentage than some would expect for an FCS player, but if I'm dipping into that part of the player pool, he is arguably my favorite option. 

Other Options

• Alonzo Booth, Eastern Kentucky ($5,100): Tough matchup and EKU might fall behind early, but Booth is a true bellcow who racked up 14 touchdowns on140 carries last season.
• Quadraiz Wadley, UTEP ($6,500): Hasn't played in over a year and news has been light on him of late but he's reportedly healthy and is the most talented running back on the roster. A matchup with an FCS team can only help his cause.

Wide Receiver

Jonathan Adams, Arkansas State ($6,200) vs. Memphis

The Red Wolves had one of the most efficient passing attacks in the country last season while also being extremely high volume, averaging 8.7 YPA over 36.1 attempts per game. The quarterback situation is murky with Hatcher and Bonner both capable of leading the offense, but whoever is behind center will be looking in Adams' direction early and often. Omar Bayless and Kirk Merritt accounted for 53 percent of the targets in 2019 and both are gone now, so Adams is due to get a much bigger slice of the pie. Adams already had 62 catches and five touchdowns on 104 targets last year, and the volume should be much higher this season on a per-game basis. 

Adams' role is locked in and Arkansas State is projected to be playing from behind, so look for a high-volume outing for the new WR1 in Jonesboro. 

Willie Johnson ($6,900) and Broc Thompson ($5,700), Marshall vs. Eastern Kentucky

Marshall doesn't have a high volume passing attack, ranking 98th in passing plays per game last season. However, it has its moments and players like Johnson and Thompson are both highly efficient with their targets. Johnson averaged an impressive 12.0 YPT over 29 targets last season and four of his 13 receptions went for touchdowns. Again, it's about deciding where the volume-efficiency tradeoff makes sense for your lineup. 29 targets in 13 games is obviously a low number, so there's risk. But if Johnson even sees 5-6 targets with that type of efficiency against an overmatched defense, there's a path to him hitting value. 

Thompson is a similar case. His salary isn't as high and he doesn't get peppered with targets (33 in nine games last season). But Thompson is efficient, racking up 10.1 YPT over that sample. This is a soft matchup and Thompson is one of the few Thundering Herd players that are locked in for targets. As a tournament play, you could do worse than him at $5,700

Danny Gray, SMU ($3,500) vs. Texas State

This might end up being the Bingo Free Space of the week as Gray has been generating a ton of hype out of SMU camp and the Mustangs can only feed Reggie Roberson so much. Gray is further down the board than teammates like Rashee Rice and Calvin Wiggins but could be in line for the second-most targets behind Roberson, making him a strong option for saving some cap space and expecting some upside in return.

Xavier Gipson, Stephen F. Austin at UTEP

There might be some sticker shock with an FCS player listed above the WR1 for some FBS teams, but when you take a closer look it makes sense. Gipson had more than twice as many catches as any SFA receiver last season (52 compared to 25 by Calvin Clater) and turned that into 934 yards and seven touchdowns. Pretty impressive for a freshman. 

It's clear that he's option 1, 2, and 3 in a Stephen F. Austin offense that will be throwing it upwards of 40 times Saturday. Of all the FCS schools, Vegas thinks SFA has the best chance of pulling the upset this weekend as the Lumberjacks are just 8.5-point dogs. And if SFA does pull it off, or at least keep it competitive, Gipson will be a big reason why.