College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 10/8/21

Week 6 of college football is here! FanDuel's college football DFS main slate on Friday includes three games.

In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring on FanDuel, where you can hit the lobby each week to see the full array of slates and contests being offered.

As for the basics, your roster consists of a quarterback slot, two running back slots, three wide receiver slots (tight ends are included in this group), and one "Super FLEX" slot. In the "Super FLEX", you can insert one player from any position, including quarterbacks.

Here, our goal is to help you field a roster full of fantasy goodness, and in true numberFire fashion, we'll use our in-house projections as well as betting totals and advanced statistics to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. This week, we are only breaking down Friday's main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Let's break down which star players are in great spots, as well as identify some players with lower salaries who will provide value to get to them.

Quarterbacks

Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati ($11,000) - Ridder is posting per-game averages of 261.3 passing yards, 24.5 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns. We haven't seen his ceiling in 2021. However, the senior is capable of some massive games thanks to his dual-threat ability. Ridder recorded multiple rushing touchdowns in four games last season. We could see a monster performance as the matchup against Temple is incredible. The Owls' defense has allowed 20 touchdowns through five games this season.

Chris Reynolds, Charlotte ($10,500) - Reynolds is another dual-threat quarterback with a sky-high ceiling. Unlike Ridder, Reynolds does not carry blowout concerns on Friday night. The Charlotte 49ers' signal-caller has 11 touchdown passes through five games. He also has tallied 178 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 43 carries this season. On tap is a potential shootout with the Florida International Golden Panthers. The Golden Panthers are allowing a mind-boggling 314.4 passing yards per game (124th nationally). They have been torched for a slate-high 13 touchdown passes this season (five games).

Max Bortenschlager, Florida International ($6,900) - The Golden Panthers have allowed an average of 41.4 points per game over the last four games. Consequently, Bortenschlager has had to take to the air early and often. The senior is averaging 31.8 pass attempts over FIU's four-game losing streak. Additionally, Bortenschlager has thrown two touchdown passes in all five games this season. He's in an advantageous spot this week as Charlotte has struggled defensively, surrendering nine touchdown passes through five games.

Running Backs

Rachaad White, Arizona State ($10,400) - White has a solid floor and sky-high ceiling thanks to his involvement in Arizona State's running game and passing game. The senior has eclipsed 100 all-purpose yards (rushing/receiving) in four straight games. He also has four multi-touchdown games this season (five games). On top of that, the matchup with the Stanford Cardinal is a juicy one. Stanford is allowing 212.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 119th nationally. They've surrendered 12 rushing touchdowns through five games.

Jerome Ford, Cincinnati ($9,200) - A workhorse running back squaring off with a porous run defense -- that's the spot that Ford finds himself in this week. The Cincinnati Bearcats' running back has received 17-plus carries in three straight games. He's found pay dirt six times through four games. A ceiling outing is very much in play this week. The Bearcats' opponent, Temple, is allowing 169.6 rushing yards per game (92nd nationally). They've been throttled for 12 rushing touchdowns through five games.

D'Vonte Price, Florida International ($8,100) - Like Ford, Price is in a pristine spot on Friday night. The Golden Panthers' running back squares off with Charlotte's atrocious run defense. The 49ers are allowing an eye-opening 254.6 rushing yards per game (128th nationally). Additionally, they've coughed up seven rushing touchdowns through five games. Meanwhile, Price has at least one rushing touchdown in all but one game. He has 411 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 76 carries this season.

Austin Jones, Stanford ($6,100) - Jones is the contrarian running back play on this slate. The Stanford back returned from an injury absence last week and was immediately thrust back into his primary running back role. Jones led all Stanford running backs with 44 snaps. Jones has been bottled up so far this season (148 rushing yards on 35 carries). However, he has plenty of talent. The junior led the Cardinal with nine rushing touchdowns a season ago. I have a feeling he'll fly under the radar since this slate is loaded at running back.

Others to Consider: DeaMontae Trayanum ($8,400) and Shadrick Byrd ($7,300).

Wide Receivers

Alec Pierce, CIncinnati ($7,800) - Pierce is the Bearcats' deep threat (17.3 aDOT). He leads Cincinnati in all major pass-catching statistics. The senior has racked up 11 receptions, 224 receiving yards, and one touchdown on 16 targets over the last two games. He provides access to Cincinnati's sky-high implied team total (42.00) at an affordable salary.

Victor Tucker, Charlotte ($7,300) - Tucker leads teammate Grant Dubose ($9,100) 36-to-33 in targets. Both wide receivers have 23 receptions through five games. Tucker trails Dubose receiving yards (340 to 390) and touchdown receptions (four to one). Consequently, DuBose carries a significantly higher salary than Tucker does. However, I'll take the discount with Tucker as touchdown regression should kick in soon. The senior led the 49ers with seven touchdown receptions back in 2019.

John Humphreys, Stanford ($5,700) - Humphreys has seen his role grow over the last two games, logging 47 snaps and 70 snaps over the past two. That is up significantly from the 26.7 snaps he averaged during the first three games. His ascent figures to continue with touchdown reception leader Brycen Tremayne sidelined. Humphreys' salary hasn't accounted for his new role in the Stanford offense. Humphreys set season highs in targets (8), receptions (4), and receiving yards (53) in last week's game. He also scored his lone touchdown of the season in that one.

Shemar Thornton, Florida International ($4,400) - Thornton was the Golden Panthers' leading pass-catching back in 2019 (six touchdown receptions). He missed the first three games of this year. Over the last two games, Thornton has logged the second-most snaps among FIU pass-catchers (98). He has five receptions and 27 receiving yards on 13 targets since his return to the lineup. Most importantly, he provides major salary relief on this slate. He is under-salaried for his increased role.

Others to Consider: Grant DuBose ($9,100), Tyrese Chambers ($8,500), Ricky Pearsall ($8,000), Elijah Higgins ($7,200), Jadan Blue ($6,600), Michael Young Jr. (5,800), Johnny Wilson ($5,500), and Bryan Thompson ($4,700).

Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.