College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 10/13/22

College football is entering Week 7, and FanDuel's college football DFS main slate on Thursday includes two 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 backs, three wide receivers (which also includes tight ends), and one "Super FLEX". In the Super FLEX spot, 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 DFS projections, game projections, and market share report to tackle as many slates as possible in the lead-up to the College Football Playoff. In this piece, we are breaking down Friday's main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Let's look at which players are in great spots as well as identify some players with low salaries who will allow you to roster the high-salary players. All stats come from PFF unless otherwise noted.

Quarterbacks

John Rhys Plumlee, Central Florida ($12,500) – Plumlee's salary is at an all-time high. However, he is worth the investment, and there is enough salary on this slate to comfortably roster him. As a passer, Rhys Plumlee is averaging 228.6 yards per game. His production as a runner is even more impressive. The dual-threat signal caller leads the Central Florida Knights in rushing with 431 rushing yards. Additionally, he has recorded seven touchdown passes and four rushing touchdowns through five games.

Blake Shapen, Baylor ($10,200) – The sophomore provides dual-threat upside. Through five games, Shapen has accounted for 11 total touchdowns. We could see a ceiling game for the Baylor Bears quarterback. Baylor's opponent, the West Virginia Mountaineers, has struggled on the defensive side of the ball. West Virginia has surrendered 17 touchdowns through five games (slate-high by six).

JT Daniels, West Virginia ($9,500) - Daniels has at least one touchdown pass in every game this season. He is also attempting 36.2 passes per game. The best way to attack the Baylor defense is through the air. The Bears rank 61st nationally in passing yards per game (223.2). They have ceded seven touchdown passes, which is the second most of the four teams on this slate.

Running Backs

Richard Reese, Baylor ($9,200) – The freshman has emerged as the lead running back in the Bears' offense. Reese is averaging 105.3 rushing yards and one touchdown on 15.7 carries over the last three games. The matchup with West Virginia's run defense is advantageous. The Mountaineers have allowed eight rushing touchdowns through five games (most on the slate by three).

Tony Mathis Jr., West Virginia ($7,100) – CJ Donaldson is out for Thursday night's game. That will open up more opportunities for Tony Mathis Jr. and Justin Johnson Jr. ($7,500). Mathis Jr. has 296 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns on 70 carries (team-high) this season.

Johnny Richardson, Central Florida ($5,400) – Richardson will be a popular salary-saving option at running back. The versatile running back can make plays in both the passing and running games. He ranks third amongst the Knights in rushing yards (230) and receptions (11).

Baylor's Qualan Jones ($5,600) also makes sense if you need salary relief at the running back position. Like Richardson, Jones can make plays via the air and ground. Jones has three rushing touchdowns through five games. He has run 44 pass routes over the last two games.

Wide Receivers

Bryce Ford-Wheaton, West Virginia ($9,800) – Ford-Wheaton has been targeted 57 times through five games. He has drawn 14 more targets than any other pass catcher on this slate. He is averaging an eye-opening 7.0 receptions per game. The matchup with Baylor is difficult, but he should be able to pay off his salary on volume alone.

Baylor's Monaray Baldwin ($9,000) will likely be a contrarian option if spending up at wide receiver. He torched Oklahoma State Cowboys for 7 receptions, 174 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns in the Bears' last game.

Ryan O'Keefe, Central Florida ($7,800) - The senior finally posted a monster box score against the Southern Methodist Mustangs. In that game, O'Keefe hauled in 6 passes for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns. He is running nearly the same amount of pass routes as Central Florida's leading wide receiver Javon Baker ($8,500). Baker is also a fine option on Thursday night.

Sam James, West Virginia ($6,500) - James has run the second most pass routes on this slate (170). He is coming off a season-high 12 targets in the Mountaineers' loss to the Texas Longhorns. He has eclipsed 50-plus receiving yards in four out of five games. Kaden Prather ($6,700) is the third full-time wide receiver in West Virginia's offense. He is averaging 8.0 targets per game.

General Notes

The best way to get contrarian on this slate is at the wide receiver spots. There are several viable low-salaried pass catchers worth considering.

Adonicas Sanders ($6,200) and Jose Barbon ($5,700) of the Temple Owls are worth a look. They will not be popular on this slate due to Temple's paltry 12.5 points implied team total, per the FanDuel Sportsbook. Both players have 21 receptions and an aDOT over 10.0.

Central Florida's Kobe Hudson ($5,500) has run 40 pass routes over the last two games. He also has an aDOT of 16.8. One big play easily pays off his salary.

Finally, Hal Presley ($5,400) is another player that could differentiate your lineups. Presley has run 63 pass routes over the last two games, which led the Baylor Bears in those two games. He also has a high aDOT (15.9).

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.