This article is part of our FanDuel College Football series.
CASH-GAME TARGETS
QUARTERBACK
Greg Ward, Houston (at Tulsa) - $9,200
Ward has been unreal in his first three games, throwing for 785 yards (9.7 YPA), eight touchdowns and one interception while running for 290 yards (6.4 YPC) and four touchdowns. Ward is too small for his average of 15 carries per game to safely hold up, but Houston will need to give Ward all the work he can handle this week as the Cougars attempt to keep up with the same max-tempo Tulsa offense that put up 603 yards against Oklahoma two weeks ago.
Honorable mention:Seth Russell, Baylor (vs. Texas Tech) - $10,100; Trevone Boykin, TCU (vs. Texas) - $10,000; Cardale Jones, Ohio State (at Indiana) - $7,900; Tommy Armstrong, Nebraska (at Illinois) - $6,800
RUNNING BACK
Justin Jackson, Northwestern (vs. Minnesota) - $6,300
Jackson is as steady as almost any runner you can name, averaging 24.5 carries for 115 yards and 0.643 rushing touchdowns per game going back to Week 3 last year. He also caught 26 passes in that 14-game span. The Minnesota defense is competent, but the Northwestern defense is much better. When you combine Jackson's big workload with the probability of favorable field position, I think it gives him a very high floor this week.
Matt Dayes, North Carolina State (vs. Louisville) - $5,100
This is too cheap, though the mid-week dismissal of running back Shadrach Thornton definitely boosted Dayes' value after the slate was posted. Anyway, Dayes has a stranglehold on the North Carolina State running game with Thornton gone, and he's one of the best pass-catching backs in the nation. The tough matchup is offset by the extremely favorable price and workload.
Honorable mention:Dalvin Cook, Florida State (at Wake Forest) - $7,700; Elijah Hood, North Carolina (at Georgia Tech) - $5,800
WIDE RECEIVER
Aaron Burbridge, Michigan State (vs. Purdue) - $6,100
This is too low. Burbridge receives more than a third of Michigan State's target volume, and quarterback Connor Cook is averaging a touchdown pass every 12 pass attempts. The math is obvious. Burbridge might not have an enormous ceiling, but his floor is top 10 on this slate despite his price ranking 25th.
Jay Lee, Baylor (vs. Texas Tech) - $6,200
Lee isn't as talented as Corey Coleman or KD Cannon, but he's also easily the cheapest of the three, and at 6-foot-3, 220, Lee is the Baylor receiver best-suited to earn red-zone targets in a game with an over/under of 90.5.
Honorable mention:Keevan Lucas, Tulsa (vs. Houston) - $7,400; Kenny Lawler, California (vs. Washington State) - $6,800; Demarcus Ayers, Houston (at Tulsa) - $6,200; Dennis Parks, Rice (vs. WKU) - $5,900
TIGHT END
Jaylen Samuels, North Carolina State (vs. Louisville) - $4,000
All of the top three tight ends on this slate -- Samuels, Tyler Higbee and Stephen Anderson -- are great plays this week and well worth their respective prices. Samuels definitely has the toughest matchup of the three, but both his floor and ceiling remain high because of his unprecedented role as a regular contributor both through the air as well as on the ground. Indeed, five of Samuels' eight(!) touchdowns in four games come from the ground game, where he has 12 carries for 103 yards in addition to the five scores. His receiving production alone (20 catches for 225 yards and three scores) would make Samuels an elite fantasy tight end, so the rushing stats give him a uniquely valuable edge.
Honorable mention:Stephen Anderson, California (vs. Washington State) - $3,600; Tyler Higbee, Western Kentucky (vs. Rice) - $4,100
TOURNAMENT-SPECIFIC TARGETS
QUARTERBACK
Wes Lunt, Illinois (vs. Nebraska) - $6,800
It's been a rough couple of weeks for Lunt, who threw for a combined 378 yards (4.7 YPA), one touchdown and one interception against North Carolina and Middle Tennessee State the last two weeks, but he should bounce back with low ownership numbers this week. North Carolina and Middle Tennessee have both quietly put forth good defenses so far, whereas Nebraska allowS 379.5 passing yards per game, Which is most in the nation.
Honorable mention:Seth Russell, Baylor (vs. Texas Tech) - $10,100; Trevone Boykin, TCU (vs. Texas) - $10,000; Dane Evans, Tulsa (vs. Houston) - $8,200; Cardale Jones, Ohio State at Indiana) - $7,900
RUNNING BACK
Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State (at Indiana) - $9,100
Elliott is due for a monster game. After torching Virginia Tech for 122 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries, he's since gone 66 carries for 333 yards (5.05 YPC) against the comparatively weak defenses of Hawaii, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. Indiana's defense might be even worse than those of the three previously mentioned teams, yet the Hoosiers offense might be just good enough to keep Elliott on the field for at least three quarters.
Honorable mention: Shock Linwood, Baylor (vs. Texas Tech) - $8,100; Dalvin Cook, Florida State (at Wake Forest) - $7,700; Sony Michel, Georgia (vs. Alabama) - $5,400
WIDE RECEIVER
Geronimo Allison, Illinois (vs. Nebraska) - $6,200
Even as Lunt struggled the last two weeks, Allison found a way to produce, catching 14 passes for 181 yards. We can reason, then, that an improvement from Lunt against Nebraska's defense would also set the stage for a breakout game on Allison's part.
Honorable mention: Dom Williams, Washington State (at California) - $6,200; Braxton Miller, Ohio State (at Indiana) - $5,900; Darius Powe, California (vs. Washington State) - $5,300)
TIGHT END
Ryan Malleck, Virginia Tech (vs. Pittsburgh) - $2,000
Malleck doesn't have a high-ceiling like top TE plays such as Tyler Higbee, Jaylen Samuels and Stephen Anderson, but with a salary between $1,600 and $2,100 less than those players, Malleck can provide cap relief so you can shoot for the moon at other positions. Malleck plays in a Virginia Tech offense with basically no receiver rotations -- Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips truly play almost every snap, and the guys behind them rarely play -- so the Hokies turn to a deep TE rotation to pick up the slack. Even behind Bucky Hodges, Malleck is featured regularly enough in the Hokies offense that he's something of a co-No. 3 receiving target alongside Hodges. Through four weeks, Malleck is averaging 2.25 catches, 30 yards and 0.5 touchdowns per game, and he faces a Pittsburgh defense this week that allowed the Iowa tight end duo of Henry Krieger-Coble and George Kittle to catch seven of Iowa's 27 completions two weeks ago.
FADES
QUARTERBACK
Luke Falk, Washington State (at California) - $8,800
Due to sack yardage, Falk likely carries an automatic two-point penalty against a California defense that has shown a strong pass rush through four games, totaling 11 sacks. The Bears have also allowed just two passing touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. It's exceedingly difficult to imagine Falk providing the value necessary to justify a placement in either cash or tournament settings.
RUNNING BACK
Taiwan Deal, Dare Ogunbowale, Wisconsin (vs. Iowa) - $6,100
Corey Clement is still out, but there isn't as much by-default value in his backups as many have assumed to this point. Deal and Ogunbowale simply aren't very talented, as Ogunbowale is a walk-on who lacks leg drive, and both players are slow. The Iowa Hawkeyes, I think, can shut down the entire Wisconsin offense, but especially the running game.
WIDE RECEIVER
Josh Doctson, TCU (vs. Texas) - $8,700 Context is important here: Doctson is an awesome, awesome play this week against Texas, but his status as the most expensive WR on the slate harms his value on FanDuel. Corey Coleman has to be the consensus top receiver play this week, both in terms of floor and ceiling in a game with an over/under of 90.5, yet Doctson costs $100 more than Coleman. Some might perceive that to be GPP opportunity, but is the ownership really going to be that low on Doctson, a player coming off an 18-catch, 267-yard, three-touchdown performance? If I'm looking for a GPP angle, I'd rather go with Keevan Lucas, who will likely be undervalued after taking a backseat to Keyarris Garrett in Tulsa's shootout with Oklahoma.
