Our Saturday prime time slate is a little smaller than last week, but there is a lot of star power on here. Tennessee heads down to Gainesville and Kentucky heads to South Carolina to start this off. Navy heads down to Houston. Then we have a couple of Big 12(10) tilts with K-State heading down to Stillwater and West Virginia heading to Norman. Oklahoma is going to be a happening place on Saturday night!
Nebraska heads to East Lansing after a spirited performance in Norman. We top it off with North Carolina heading to Atlanta to take on a Georgia Tech team that has no idea which direction they're going. Things get crazy when you have all of these power five teams on one slate. Let's get to it!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/25/21. 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.
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DraftKings CFB DFS Quarterbacks
Sam Howell, North Carolina ($9,000)
Howell may be shedding that "game manager" tag. He has eight touchdown passes over the last two games and has double digit rushing attempts in each game this season, topping the century mark in the last two. The Georgia Tech defense has been a strength so far this year, but with Howell putting up 101.92 DraftKings points in the last two games, it hard to fade him. It's almost impossible to fade him in cash games.
Payton Thorne, Michigan State ($7,300)
Thorne wasn't particularly efficient against Miami, but he still threw four touchdowns for the second straight game. Nebraska's run defense has been strong, but they can be had by deep balls. Thorne is accurate enough on those, he just needs to learn a little more touch. Michigan State has some talented receivers and that could be a problem for the Cornhuskers here. Thorne isn't going to break the slate, but he should have a solid game for the price point.
Will Levis, Kentucky ($6,400)
Every game isn't going to be like it was against Monroe, but with the caliber of receivers that Kentucky has, Levis's floor is rather high. Both Ali and Robinson are good route runners with elite speed. South Carolina's defense is good, but all Levis really needs to do it hit each of them in stride a couple of times and he's paid this price off. We just have to hope that he makes better decisions than he did against Chattanooga and doesn't lose too much in sack yardage.
Also consider: Emory Jones, Florida ($8,300); Jarret Doege, West Virginia ($6,700); Luke Doty, South Carolina ($5,900)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Running Backs
Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State ($7,200)
Walker was a horse against Miami, rushing 27 times for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Opponents have been running on Nebraska – an average of 36 times per game to be exact – and had moderate success with 156 yards per game. Those attempts count sacks as well. It seems safe to assume that Walker will see upwards of 25 carries again in this one. We'll get triple digits out of him and likely a touchdown. I don't think he has quite the upside that he had against Miami, but I wouldn't rule it out either. Nebraska's run defense has been solid, but solid wont stop Walker.
Ty Chandler, North Carolina ($6,200)
We have some stingy rush defenses on this slate. Georgia Tech is another good one, but Chandler finally showed that promise that North Carolina fans were waiting to see. He put up nearly two Benjamins on Virginia and the game script should lend Chandler another big workload in Atlanta. I wouldn't expect flirting with 200 again, but triple digits and a touchdown seems likely. Sam Howell is stealing some of his thunder, but the Tarheels supported two backs last year. It can be done again, even if one happens to be a quarterback.
Jaylen Warren, Oklahoma State ($5,600)
Warren became the first player to run for 200 yards or more on the Smurf Turf against Boise since Teriyon Gibson in 2014 last weekend. This Oklahoma State offense is better when they have a back that can carry the load. Warren's 32 carries proved that. The Wildcats have a solid run defense, but they'll wear down if the Cowboys are willing to run Warren at them 30+ times.
Alton McCaskill, Houston ($3,500)
Mulbah Car has been injured and/or ineffective so far this season. McCaskill had a nice game against Grambling. That doesn't count for much, but he did run for two rushing scores against Rice and looked more explosive than Car. At the very least the freshman should be in line for more carries even if Car is healthy. There's a chance that Car could miss this game as well. If he does, McCaskill is a nice, cheap option, even against Navy's defense.
Also consider: Chris Rodriguez, Kentucky ($7,500); Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State ($6,600); Kevin Harris, South Carolina ($5,300); Eric Gray, Oklahoma ($5,100)
DraftKings CFB DFS Wide Receivers
Josh Downs, North Carolina ($8,300)
Even in the blowout win over Georgia State, Downs put up 21.3 DraftKings points. That's his low mark so far on the season. He has soaked up almost all of the targets that went to Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome. The Tarheels wont need to throw much in this one, but Downs still has a floor of about 20. That's what I want when paying this much for a receiver. His ceiling isn't as high as usual, but with a floor of 20, I'm not complaining.
Wan'Dale Robinson, Kentucky ($6,000)
Robinson has at least five receptions and at least 100 yards in all three games since his transfer to Kentucky. His low mark was 22.1 DraftKings points against Chattanooga last week. His floor is about as high as Downs, and I would argue that the ceiling might be higher against a South Carolina team that should be able to keep this game close. Josh Ali has seen more touchdowns, but with as explosive as Robinson is, his will come too.
Jalen Nailor, Michigan State ($5,800)
Reed sees more touchdowns, but the targets and yardage are about the same and Nailor is $1200 cheaper. Nebraska's first instinct is going to be to try to stop Walker. If they succeed in some capacity, it should mean more work for the Spartans receivers against a Nebraska secondary that has had their issues. They've cleaned up a lot since the opener against Illinois, but I still have my doubts that they can contain a team like this.
Jadon Haselwood, Oklahoma ($5,000)
Haselwood's target share is right up there with Marvin Mims early on in the season. Haselwood has 14 receptions and a pair of touchdowns in the first three games of the season. Haselwood is more the possession guy than the guy who's going to catch a slant and house it, but those receptions can add up in a hurry, especially if West Virginia succeeds in taking away the deep passes. He's the first Oklahoma receiver I would look to in this game.
Also consider: Jayden Reed, Michigan State ($7,000); Josh Ali, Kentucky ($6,300); Sam James, West Virginia ($4,700); Josh Vann, South Carolina ($3,800)