Daily Blog • October 17, 2014

 

A 41-15-4 start to the 2014 season!

Week 8 Surprise College Fantasy Players

QB JT Barrett, Ohio St – JT Barrett has gone from the #3 QB at the start of fall camp to a 5-game starter so far in 2014 with a 17-5 ratio and averaging 271 passing ypg. Throw in the fact that he has rushed for 50+ yds in 4 of his 5 contests and you have an excellent dual-threat option going up against a Rutgers defense allowing 470 ypg on the road this year. 

QB Tyrone Swoopes, Texas – Swoopes has stepped into the starters role for the injured David Ash and quite possibly put together his best performance of his career a week ago against Oklahoma in which he threw for 334 yds, rushed for 50 yds and posted 3 total TD’s. This week the Longhorns face an Iowa St defense that’s allowing 446 ypg on the season.

QB Marquise Williams, North Carolina – Last week in their narrow loss to Notre Dame Marquise Williams put up video game-type numbers as he passed for 303 yds, rushed for 132 yds and had 3 total TD’s. In fact, over his past 2 games, Williams has rushed for 226 of his 375 yds on an amazing 37 carries (leads team in both passing and rushing this season).  

RB Justin Jackson, Northwestern – Justin Jackson has gone from averaging just 12 touches per game (rush att & rec) over the first 2 games of the season to 25 over the past 4 including back-to-back 100 yard efforts against Wisconsin and Minnesota. Next on the docket for the Wildcats is a date with Nebraska who allowed a season-worst 188 yards on the ground against Michigan St two weeks ago. Expect a heavy dose of Jackson early and often in this one for the Northwestern offense.

RB Thomas Rawls, Central Michigan – While we usually refrain from using big numbered players in this blog, a matchup against a Ball St defense that’s allowed 951 yds on the ground over their past 3 games is too much to pass up on. Rawls has been an animal since coming back from a 2-week absence with 2 games of 220+ yds (40 rush att’s in both games). Look for CMU to ride their workhorse again in this one.

RB Devon Johnson, Marshall – With Rakeem Cato as your starting QB it may come by surprise to see the season that Devon Johnson has added out of the backfield. Johnson wasn’t even in the RB picture heading into fall (listed as TE in our ’14 magazine) but has gone on to rush for 100+ yds in 5 of his 6 games this year while adding 11 TD’s in the process. FIU’s rush defense has meanwhile allowed 161 ypg on the ground in their past 3 contests. Johnson should continue his highly productive pace against the Golden Panthers here.

WR Stefon Diggs, Maryland – When you have a WR that records 5+ catches a game, chances are that his fantasy status will become pretty valuable. Diggs has posted two 100+ yd games in their past 4 contests while pulling in a TD in 3 of the last 4. Their opponent Iowa meanwhile has allowed more than 430 yards in 2 of the past 3 gms, a clear indication that the Maryland passing game may find some solid success.

WR Hunter Sharp, Utah St – Nobody has been more impressive than Hunter Sharp in the receiving game over the past month as he has posted 4 consecutive 130+ yard outings with 38 receptions and 4 TD’s in that span. All of this despite a switch at the QB position. A matchup against a 5-1 Rams squad doesn’t concern us too much as CSU is allowing 325 ypg in the air against MW opponents this season.

WR Tajae Sharpe, UMass – Bounce back week for Tajae Sharpe after pulling in just 2 receptions for 19 yds last weekend against Kent St. Prior to their game with the Golden Flashes, Sharpe had been extremely consistent averaging 113 ypg on nearly 7 catches a game. If UMass is going to win a 2nd consecutive game this week (Last time was in 2011), Sharpe will have to be a crucial part of their success.

UCF Defense – UCF has allowed just 258 ypg at home this season while allowing just 14 ppg over their past 3 games. We expect much of the same in this one against a sputtering Tulane offense that has a total of 31 pts in their last 3 games combined!

Texas Defense – Despite consecutive losses to Baylor and Oklahoma in their past 2 games, the UT defense has performed well holding the Bears to just 389 yds (250 ypg under their season avg) and the Sooners to 232 (214 ypg less). They now take on an Iowas St squad that is averaging just 327 ypg in conference play this season. The Longhorns defense will take control early in this one.

Louisiana Tech Defense – The Bulldog defense has been “lights out” against CUSA members this season allowing just 12 ppg and 252 ypg. UTSA meanwhile has yet to establish any consistency on the offensive side of the ball in 2014 averaging just 294 ypg on the road. We expect the La Tech defense to deliver in this matchup.

CollegeFootballGeek.com’s Daily Fantasy Value Plays of the Week: DraftKings, Week 8

By Todd DeVries & Kevin Mount, CollegeFootballGeek.com


DraftKings has released their Daily Fantasy college football salaries for the week, and the experts at CollegeFootballGeek.com have hunkered down and scoured all of the data to find the best Value Plays on the docket. 

These Value Plays are comprised of players poised to out-produce their DraftKings salaries this week.  These are the “diamonds in the rough” that your DFS competitors may overlook.  They are the difference-makers you need in your lineup to win one of the big DFS contests!

For your convenience, we have broken the picks down by DraftKings contest game set. Best of luck this week!

(For more detailed Daily Fantasy analysis, picks, player news, player rankings, and stat breakdowns, check out CollegeFootballGeek.com.  Learn how to SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE!)


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VALUE PLAYS: SATURDAY (EARLY ONLY) GAME SET

QUARTERBACKS

1)    QB Garrett Krstich, SMU vs. Cincinnati ($5100)
Krstich threw for 339 yards and two scores in his last game against ECU and now he gets to face an awful Cincinnati defense that ranks 118th against the pass. He appears to be an excellent punt option this week.

RUNNING BACKS

1)    RB Mark Weisman, Iowa vs. Maryland ($4100)
Weisman has rumbled for two touchdowns in each of the last three games and gets to face a Maryland defense that ranks 104th in the country. Look for this Hawkeye to find pay dirt again this week.

2)    RB Desmond Roland, Oklahoma State vs. TCU ($4200)
Roland has scored six rushing touchdowns over the past four games and still carries a very appealing price tag. Look for Roland to make another trip across the goal line and provide huge value this week.

3)    RB Nick Chubb, Georgia vs. Arkansas ($4600)
All Chubb did last week was carry the ball 38 times and accumulate 174 total yards against Missouri. Expect Chubb to see plenty of carries this week and post a solid stat line.

WIDE RECEIVERS

1)    WR Darius Joseph, SMU vs. Cincinnati ($4200)
Joseph is coming off his best game of the season and will be facing a Bearcats pass defense that ranks 118th in the country. He is a PPR machine and hold excellent value on Draft Kings.

2)    WR Kolby Listenbee, TCU vs. Oklahoma State ($4400)
Listenbee has gone over 100 yards receiving in the last two games and could make it three in a row against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys pass defense is ranked 101st in the country.

TIGHT ENDS

1)    Maxx Williams, Minnesota vs. Purdue ($3200)
Williams is healthy and has been posting consistent numbers at the TE position. Look for him to exploit a porous Purdue secondary.

VALUE PLAYS:  SATURDAY (LATE ONLY) GAME SET

QUARTERBACKS

1)    QB Tyrone Swoopes, Texas vs. Iowa State ($5300)
Swoopes exploded for 384 total yards and three total scores against Oklahoma last week. He could have another big performance against Iowa State and looks to be a nice punt option.

RUNNING BACKS

1)    RB Royce Freeman, Oregon vs. Washington ($4600)
Freeman has seized control of the Oregon backfield and is priced well this week. He could easily hit 80 yards and a score and hit value this week.

2)    RB Zach Laskey, Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina ($4700)
Laskey could find plenty of open holes to run through this week against North Carolina. The Tar Heels defense is atrocious and could struggle to stop the powerful Yellow Jackets running game.

WIDE RECEIVERS

1)    WR John Harris, Texas vs. Iowa State ($5200)
Harris has scored four touchdowns over his past three games and may find his way into the end zone against Iowa State. There does not appear to be a ton of value at WR in the late slate, so use Harris freely.

TIGHT ENDS

1) TE Pharaoh Brown, Oregon vs. Washington ($3200)
Brown had 84 yards and a score last week against UCLA and looks to have a decent upside this week. He can be very inconsistent, so be careful.


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