College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Saturday 10/29/22

With daily fantasy football so popular, it was only a matter of time before it translated to the college level.

FanDuel offers college football daily fantasy contests now in most states, and there's a twist on the NFL ruleset. You select a quarterback, two running backs, three wideouts (which can include tight ends), and a "SuperFLEX" that can be any of those positions.

Finding target data for pass-catchers in college can be difficult, so finding out which players are on the field and getting work can make all the difference. Naturally, there are also more lopsided outcomes in college, so balance game scripts appropriately as well! Your running back's monstrous first half could lead to a bagel in the second.

This slate is odd. We have a ton of home underdogs and some lines that just make zero sense. Ohio State will get its toughest test of the year, and Tennessee might be in a trap game. Let's get cooking.

Note: All stats are from PFF.com. All tables are sortable by any category.

The Slate

There's not a "slam dunk" spot on this slate, at least for me.

TCU and West Virginia have the highest total, but this is a Mountaineers offense that scored just 10 points against a much worse Texas Tech defense last week. It's not a lock.

The closest thing appears to be Pitt and North Carolina, who will battle in Chapel Hill. UNC's games are averaging a total of 74.1 points this season, so it checks out.

I also love the projected shootout in Louisville. The Cardinals are a curiously low 3.5-point underdog to ranked Wake Forest in a showdown of those high-octane offenses.

Even the 47.5-point total between Notre Dame and Syracuse has some individual fantasy gems, so we can't write off any of these 14 games.

Defensive Matchups and Rankings

Note: Higher numbers are easier matchups for the opposing team. Lower numbers are better rankings and tougher matchups.

We've got three defenses on this slate outside the top-100 spots in FBS against the rush and pass on a per-play basis: Arkansas, Florida, and North Carolina.

There are also four defenses that are top-20 schools against both the rush and pass: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, and Cincinnati.

On the ground, Auburn, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M can rival those three poor defenses. They all can't stop a nosebleed when their opponents run the ball. On the contrary, you'd rather pass on Georgia and Tennessee, who are top-10 schools in rush yards per attempt allowed but outside the top 20 against the pass.

Through the air, West Virginia. Michigan State, and Louisville join our three terrible defenses outside the top-90 spots in yards per play.

This slate's overall scoring could be particularly suppressed considering 10 total schools are top-20 units in the FBS in passing yards per attempt allowed. Penn State, Pitt, Georgia, Syracuse, Kentucky, and Texas A&M are the others outside of those four elite, well-rounded defenses mentioned earlier.

Quarterbacks

Given Pitt held Hendon Hooker ($11,000) to just 23.1 FanDuel points, I don't see UNC freshman Drake Maye ($11,700) as a must-play option.

Rather, my favorite quarterbacks are squaring off in Lousiville. Dual-threat Malik Cunningham ($10,600) is the Cardinals' leading rusher with 503 yards, and Sam Hartman ($10,500), posting 9.1 yards per attempt, is a wizard who can attack Lousiville's pass defense.

Max Duggan ($11,000) is a great process play if you believe West Virginia can stick within the 7.5-point spread. He's in an elite passing matchup and has added 50-plus rushing yards in three of his past four. I'm concerned about a blowout, though, given the Mountaineers put up just 10 points last week on Texas Tech's awful defense.

Even with the poor total, Garrett Shrader ($9,700) has a great salary for someone who has been over 80 rushing yards in three of his past four games.

However, Robby Ashford ($8,500) is another dual-threat guy in a much more forgiving matchup with the Hogs' awful defense. KJ Jefferson ($10,700), coming off a five-touchdown game in Provo, is always viable on the other side.

I imagine Will Levis ($9,100) will carry popularity in a projected negative script in Rocky Top, but he's posted fewer than 16 FanDuel points in all three conference games. It feels like a trap.

Running Backs

You may not have heard of him if you only play Saturday main slates, but Chase Brown ($10,700) is worth every penny.

The Illini's workhorse has received 31.3 carries a game in his past three, and he's squaring off with Nebraska's awful rushing defense. Illinois is a 7.5-point favorite, so Brown's multi-touchdown upside is insane.

This slate is not short on absolute workhorses in phenomenal matchups. Sparty's midpack rush defense shouldn't be an issue for Heisman hopeful Blake Corum ($10,600), and he's gotten 27.3 carries in his past three despite UM blowing out the opposition.

Israel Abanikanda ($9,900) and Kendre Miller ($9,500) have also gotten at least 20 carries per game in their past three. I'm leaving Chris Rodriguez Jr. ($8,800) and Anthony Grant ($7,800) out despite them fitting that description. They're in brutal matchups and projected negative scripts.

Devon Achane ($8,900) is somewhere in between. Ole Miss isn't an easy or particularly rough matchup, but Achane also leads all backs on this slate with 73.3% of A&M's carries in the past three weeks.

Sean Tucker ($7,800) is in a phenomenal buy-low spot after getting just five carries last week in Clemson. He's caught at least four balls in the past three games, too. He's an insane value. The same can be said for Tank Bigsby ($7,400), who got all of Auburn's tailback carries inside the 10-yard line against Ole Miss. He scored twice.

Beware of Charles McClelland ($8,700), who lost work to Corey Kiner ($5,900) last week. That's probably an ugly timeshare moving forward despite the more-than-acceptable matchup with Central Florida.

Wide Receivers

Just like NFL daily fantasy, don't chase points.

Jalin Hyatt ($10,000) is 16th on this slate in target share the past three weeks (26.3%). He doesn't deserve that salary but has it after a five-touchdown game against Alabama.

The best wideout on the slate is Xavier Hutchinson ($9,600), who has a monster 38.1% target share this year for Iowa State. He and Marvin Mims ($7,600) are a sick mini-stack; Mims got 15 targets in their last game against Kansas.

Josh Downs ($9,200) still doesn't have the same role with Maye that he had last year, but it was encouraging to see 126 yards against Duke. He's earned more than one touchdown in three games with a 29.3% target share, and Saturday could have plenty of opportunities if Pitt and UNC indeed shoot out.

The leader in target share the past three weeks on this slate is Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer ($8,100). Shrader, Tucker, and Mayer are a quality value stack despite the low total, and that total should make them contrarian. If that game passes its total, all three could go nuclear. You could throw in 'Cuse wideout Orondre Gadsden II ($7,900), too.

I'm a bit concerned with Quentin Johnston ($8,700) for the same reason as Duggan (read: blowout), but he's an unguardable NFL prospect (with a 35.0% target share the past three) against a bottom-10 defense. It could be a huge day for him.

Trey Palmer ($8,300) is a solid bring-back for Chase Brown. He's clearly the Huskers' top guy with a 30.9% share this year.

Regardless of matchup, there are some incredibly under-salaried guys in the bargain bin. Lousiville's Tyler Hudson ($6,700), Michigan State's Jayden Reed ($6,500), and Texas A&M's Evan Stewart ($6,200) all have at least 9.0 targets (and a 30.0% share) in the past three games. Those are feature roles for tiny salaries, and even losing teams have to throw to someone.