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Week 1 finally begins in earnest this week. Labor Day weekend is a college football extravaganza! We have at least one college football game each night from Thursday until Monday! If you want access to all of our premium college football content for 2023, the folks at RotoBaller are offering it FREE to the winner of our ESPN College Pick Em group! Sign up here! One entry per person, please. I will be posting my picks for ESPN College Pick Em all season long and updating you on the standings. The winner at the end of the season wins the free RotoBaller premium college football package for next year giving you exclusive access to our DFS lineup optimizer, DFS picks, and our Discord to give you real-time answers to your college fantasy questions!
After nice Thursday and Friday warmups, we have a giant 14-game slate for our early Saturday tournaments. Georgia begins their title defense. Oklahoma tries to shake off Lincoln Riley's flight to Southern California. The Jaxson Dart era begins in Oxford. The Tarheels head to Boone for a very intriguing in-state game. Texas A&M and Michigan get going here. So does Cincinnati post-Desmond Ridder. Can you handle all these storylines?
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/3/22 locking at noon eastern. I’ll provide multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma ($9,200)
There are a lot of old faces in new places, but not all of them get to hook up with an old flame. In Gabriel's case, it's his former offensive coordinator at UCF. Gabriel's knowledge of Jeff Lebby's system should allow Oklahoma to come out strong, especially against a UTEP team that got rolled by North Texas at home last week. Gabriel was off to a fast start last year before an injury took away his 2021. I expect him to announce his presence emphatically in this one.
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland ($8,700)
If you prefer a guy who has been in a system for a while, Taulia is your man. Tagovailoa threw for 3,860 yards and 26 touchdowns last season, even without star wideout Dontay Demus for two-thirds of the season. Demus is back and Taulia will continue his assault on the Maryland record books. He's the best Terps quarterback since Boomer Esiason. Expect a truckload of points here against Buffalo.
Jaren Hall, BYU ($7,200)
Hall threw for over 300 yards in a game four times last season despite having a strong rushing attack led by Tyler Allgeier. BYU lost some skill players from last season which is why I expect Hall to be front-and-center early this season. The Bulls allowed 34.7 points per game last season, so expect some fireworks here. Another plus is that Hall won't hurt you. He only threw five interceptions all last season!
Braxton Burmeister, San Diego State ($6,300)
The Aztecs are opening up their shiny new stadium against a power-five opponent with a fresh transfer to shore up their weakest spot from 2021 – quarterback. The allegations against three former players, including punter Matt Araiza, cast a poor shadow over this game. I do have questions about how that will affect the San Diego State players that were around the situation. However, Arizona is so bad that Burmeister, now at his third school, can put up monster numbers against a still-suspect Arizona team.
Also consider: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA ($9,000); Devin Leary, North Carolina State ($7,500); Phil Jurkovec, Boston College ($6,300); Gavin Hardison, UTEP ($4,600)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs
Zach Charbonnet, UCLA ($7,900)
Charbonnet's huge games last year were at the beginning and the end of the season. He announced his presence at UCLA with 106 rushing yards on just six carries against Hawaii, with three of them finding paydirt. Don't be shocked if he has a similar line against a still-suspect Bowling Green defense.
Kenny McIntosh, Georgia ($6,600)
With both Zamir White and James Cook now in the NFL, McIntosh will finally get his turn to get a large number of carries out of the backfield. Even if Kendall Milton does work his way into more of a timeshare, McIntosh is already a proven commodity in the passing game. The Vanderbilt game was the only 2021 game in which McIntosh didn't catch a pass. I like the upside here in what should be a somewhat competitive game against Duck U.
Chance Bell, San Diego State ($5,400)
Arizona's run defense was atrocious last year, allowing 182.4 rushing yards per game. The Aztecs love to run and I'm not delusional enough to think that Burmeister and redshirt freshman Cam Davis won't poach some carries. There's always some kind of timeshare in the SDSU backfield. However, Bell should get a majority of the carries. At this price against this defense, that's good enough for me.
Omarion Hampton, North Carolina ($3,000)
I was on D.J. Jones last week with just about everyone else. Mack Brown pulled a fast one and gave the true freshman 14 carries which he turned into 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Yes, the competition likely had something to do with that total, but are we just supposed to ignore that Hampton looked like the best back for either team? I'll gamble in a GPP. I think Mack liked what he saw and Hampton will get enough carries to be of value here.
Also consider: Zach Evans, Mississippi ($7,800); Blake Corum, Michigan ($7,300); Raheim Sanders, Arkansas ($6,300); Ta'Zhawn Henry, Houston ($5,800); Trelon Smith, UTSA ($5,400); Camerun Peoples, Appalachian State ($4,900)
DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers
Josh Downs, North Carolina ($8,200)
Downs hauled in nine passes for 78 yards and two scored against Florida A&M in a game that was close for longer than it should have been. If North Carolina is going to go into Boone and win, Downs is going to be a huge part of that. He's the target hog of all target hogs on this slate and worth the extra money.
Zakhari Franklin, UTSA ($7,500)
The Roadrunners are a live dog against Houston, especially with Alton McCaskill out for the Cougars. Franklin will be the guy that helps spring the upset if they can get it. UTSA beat Illinois in Champaign before injuries ravaged that team and won arguably the most entertaining game of the year last year against Western Kentucky. This is a high-powered offense that can and will hang with Houston. I'll be shocked if Franklin doesn't get ten catches in this one.
Dontay Demus, Maryland ($6,800)
Demus was third in the Big Ten(14) in receptions last year when he suffered an ACL tear in week 5. The Terps expect to have him on the field in Week 1, so I'm going to hold them at their word. That's tough to do in college, but if Demus is indeed out there, expect him and Taulia to fire this back up as if the injury never happened. Reports out of Terp Town have been positive about Demus this summer. He should be ready to go!
Tyrin Smith, UTEP ($4,600)
Rome wasn't built in a day. The Oklahoma secondary won't be either. Smith racked up 127 receiving yards and a score despite getting whacked by North Texas. I expect Oklahoma to win this game going away, but that doesn't mean Smith won't have another successful day. The Oklahoma defense still has holes. While I may not run Hardison, Smith feels like a great bargain against that secondary.
Also consider: Marvin Mims, Oklahoma ($7,700); Brock Bowers, Georgia ($7,600); Zay Flowers, Boston College ($6,300); Quian Williams, Buffalo ($5,200); Jeshaun Jones, Maryland ($4,700); Jalil Farooq, Oklahoma ($4,100)
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