The biggest weekend in college football rolls on to Saturday. We had the giant one this afternoon. Now we get the marquee games in the eight-game night slate. This starts at 7pm Eastern and it's not even the nightcap! There is another four-game late night slate for all of you left coast people, insomniacs, and degenerate college football fans. I fall into the latter two categories.
We have the new-look Oklahoma State team trying to replace Chuba Hubbard. The Orange traveled to Athens, Ohio, and DraftKings was awesome enough to put it on the slate. Texas Tech and Houston has a high total and low spread. Oregon State and Purdue lost their two biggest playmakers. We get to gamble on who replaces them. We have the openers for Florida and A&M, followed by LSU heading out to L.A. Then we have one of the best college football tilts in recent memory in week 1 with Georgia and Clemson facing off in Charlotte. This is going to be a blast!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/4/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard and forward, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
DraftKings CFB DFS Quarterbacks
Jack Plummer, Purdue ($7,800)
There are a couple of big areas where Purdue has an advantage over Oregon State. The first is definitely quarterback. The second is that the Boilermakers spent half of last season without Rondale Moore anyway. This team can and does function without him. Plummer racked up 81.62 DraftKings points in his three starts last season. Oregon State's biggest bugaboo last year was pass defense. There is an avenue to a big game for Plummer here.
Tyler Shough, Texas Tech ($6,600)
Shough led Oregon to a Pac 12 crown last year. Now he's given the keys to that old sports car that doesn't run like it used to. That doesn't mean he can't restore it. This is a great situation for Shough here. He makes better decisions that last year's starter (Alan Bowman) and has a whole stable of good receivers. The Red Raiders may not have the athleticism that Oregon does, but they are all disciplined route runners. I think Shough is going to like things in Lubbock.
JT Daniels, Georgia ($5,700)
One of the most common mistakes I see among DFS players in college football is not using stars at depressed prices against strong defenses. The Clemson defense is good, but it's not like Georgia can't or wont move the ball. Daniels is way too cheap here. The best part is that it wont take a ceiling game for us to be happy with his production. If Daniels has an average game against this good defense, which doesn't seem too much to ask, I think we'll all be happy.
Also consider: Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State ($7,700); Max Johnson, LSU ($7,400); Kurtis Rourke, Ohio ($5,300); Javion Posey, Florida Atlantic ($4,500)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Running Backs
Zander Horvath, Purdue ($6,600)
Horvath is more bull than ballet dancer, but that doesn't mean he can't be a productive back. I could probably run him down in the open field, but I damn sure can't tackle him. Oregon State is going to have trouble doing the latter as well. Horvath topped the 100 yard mark three times last year, once against a stout Iowa run defense. He might have have the huge ceiling that some others have, but triple digits and a touchdown or two are likely. I'll take that in this price range.
LD Brown, Oklahoma State ($5,900)
Brown had a couple of big games with Hubbard out last year, so he should get first crack at carries this year. The Cowboys will use a workhorse back if they have it. If they do, it might not be Brown. I'm high on Utah State transfer Jaylen Warren and he's cheap. However, there is no guarantee how much time he will see. All four Cowboys backs should get work in this one, which promises to be a blowout. I still like Brown because he's starting and he has more explosiveness than the rest of them. He should break at least one long run in this one.
Zach Charbonnet, UCLA ($4,500)
Charbonnet distanced himself from the rest of the UCLA running back pack with his performance against Hawaii last week. It shouldn't be possible for the LSU defense to be worse than they were last year. Still, how improved will they be? They were one of the worst rush defenses in Division 1 last year. They are improved, but not nearly enough to shy away from Charbonnet at this price. He has the potential for another big game.
Kobe Pace, Clemson ($3,600)
This is the guy that was good enough to be "co-starter" with Lyn-J Dixon. We all know what Dixon brings to the table. Pace was solid in limited time as a freshman last year. This seems like a reasonable price to pay for a guy in a timeshare with a strong offensive line (and offensive unit in general). Dixon may end up with the better game, but this price tag opens up a lot in GPP formats.
Also consider: De'Montre Tuggle, Ohio ($6,400); Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M ($6,100); James Cook, Georgia ($5,200); Sean Tucker, Syracuse ($4,900)
DraftKings CFB DFS Wide Receivers
David Bell, Purdue ($7,600)
Bell topped 100 yards receiving in four of the six games last year. Two of those came with Moore on the field with him. He had at least 16.8 DraftKings points in every game. That's the kind of consistent production I want to see when spending top dollar on a receiver. At a position where consistency is not in long supply, it's a comfort to have a guy like Bell in your lineup, with a quarterback that he has a rapport with throwing him the ball.
Erik Ezukanma, Texas Tech ($7,000)
Tech is going to throw a lot in this game, especially if Sa'Rodorick Thompson is out. Ezunkamna is the top returning receiver for the Red Raiders. A broken arm in the spring means he had less time with the new starting quarterback than the rest of the receivers, but a full fall camp showed Ezunkanma not missing a beat. The volume will definitely be there. That's a must in cash games.
Justyn Ross, Clemson ($6,300)
Ross suffered a neck injury in practice last year that threatened his career. He will make his return to the field in this huge game. Ross led the Tigers with 66 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns back in 2019. That put Ross firmly on NFL radars. He's looking to get back on there. A big game here will help him do just that. The reports out of camp are good so far. Don't be surprised if Ross is the leading receiver for the Tigers this year again.
Kearis Jackson, Georgia ($4,900)
LSU transfer Arik Gilbert is away from the team tending to a personal matter, so Jackson is going to be the guy that Daniels really leans on. Jermaine Burton is more the possession guy, but if Georgia is going to win this game, they are going to need Jackson to bust a big play or two. His potential is intoxicating. This price will make DFS players falling-down drunk over him.
Also consider: Kayshon Boutte, LSU ($8,300); Ainias Smith, Texas A&M ($7,300); Justyn Ross, Clemson ($6,300); Kearis Jackson, Georgia ($4,900); KeSean Carter, Houston ($3,800)