DraftKings College Football: Week 2

Week 2 Main Slate

This week's main slate is a 15-gamer with an eclectic mix of matchups and teams. The Houston-Arizona showdown has the highest over-under at 71, which means picking the right targets in that game will be crucial. Other games, like Colorado-Nebraska, Alabama-Arkansas State, and Oklahoma-UCLA all figure to be high scoring affairs with varying game scripts to consider. In all, this is a juicy slate with a lot of value to be had in each tier of each position. My picks this week are a mix of value guys and building blocks to consider when constructing your lineups. You can also check out lineup optimizer as well as our brand new targets and team trends pages. If you have any questions, feel free to sound off in the comments.

Quarterback

D'Eriq King, QB, Houston ($9,700) vs. Arizona

In building around King, you're getting the potential top scorer this week despite being priced as the seventh-most expensive quarterback. Houston-Arizona in and of itself has the highest implied total of any game on this slate at 71 -- even higher than the 70 attached to the Hawaii-Rice game (although that's probably mostly Rice's fault). King is efficient as a passer (70 percent completion rate last week, 64.7 percent last season with a 9.1 YPA) with three receivers (Courtney Lark, Marquez Stevenson, and Keith Corbin) that can challenge and stress the Arizona secondary. He can also run a bit and, contextually, this game figures to be more competitive than the ones that the other elite tier quarterbacks will be playing in, so it'll be a max-playing time outing for King as opposed to the Kyler Murray's and Dwayne Haskins' of the world.

TaQuon Marshall, Georgia Tech ($7,800) at South Florida

There's tournament logic here because, generally speaking, option quarterbacks aren't highly sought after for DFS purposes. Georgia Tech's version of the option, however, isn't the glacially paced one that, say, Army employs. There's some athleticism there, too, and Marshall has plenty of it. Against FBS teams last year, Marshall averaged 23.4 rush attempts per game, which he converted to 112.0 yards and 1.6 rushing touchdowns on average. He can certainly hit those benchmarks tomorrow and possibly give you multiple rushing touchdowns. Furthermore, his price point gives you the flexibility to get a premium running back -- which is something that's awfully difficult to do on this slate if you use a top-tier quarterback.

Tournament Dart: Justice Hansen, Arkansas State ($5,900) at Alabama

Looking through Alabama's past game logs, the Tide hasn't given up three touchdowns through the air since 2016. Also, having watched the Tide last week, they are straight up terrifying. And, to be clear, Hansen isn't going to lead an upset nor is he going to light up Alabama. My logic here lies mostly in the volume. Hansen should push for 40 pass attempts, and while the efficiency won't be great, it should add up in the end. He also brings a bit of mobility, having rushed for 423 yards and seven scores a year ago. I won't be using him in any of pricier contests, but as a Superflex in a cheap tournament, I like his odds of somehow getting to a respectable number more than some other options in that price range.

Running Back

CJ Verdell, Oregon ($5,500) vs. Portland State

I'll be up front here: Oregon is going to win this game and it is going to win this game by a lot of points. Oregon also won in a blowout last week and used a lot of running backs in the process. But the team still found a way to get Verdell a team-high 13 carries -- five more than any other Duck running back.He only churned out 3.9 yards per carry, but it's not too far-fetched to think he'll have more success against an FCS team in Portland State this weekend. The mid-tier running back crop is brutal this week, so finding volume and a soft matchup in that range is crucial and makes Verdell a viable roster addition.

Jamauri Wakefield, Vanderbilt ($4,400) vs. Nevada

Vanderbilt spreads its carries fairly evenly between three talented backs, but Wakefield is the cheapest at $4,400 and he saw the highest percentage of the carries (27 percent) of any Vandy runner last week. I expect a similar game script this week against Nevada, with the 'Dores going with a slow and methodical approach on offense to keep Nevada's warp speed offense on the sidelines. Wakefield is also talented in his own right and has the size at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds to be a goal line consideration (though Khari Blasingame is a tank and will see short yardage work, too). In all there will be enough carries -- and specifically red zone carries -- for Wakefield to outperform the $4,400 price tag.

Trey Sermon, Oklahoma ($5,700) vs. UCLA

Let me begin by reminding you, the reader, that UCLA gave up 142 yards and three touchdowns to Cincinnati's backup last week. Let me follow by saying that Oklahoma is going to beat the daylights out of UCLA. Last time Oklahoma beat the daylights out of someone (last week), it didn't bother giving Rodney Anderson much in the way of carries. Instead, Sermon saw 23 percent of Oklahoma's carries (nine total) and converted that into 69 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma will empty its bench again this week, so don't expect more than mid-teens carries from Sermon, but he's good enough to make his touches count against a UCLA team that's shaping up to be one of the worst in the Power 5.

Wide Receiver

Lavishka Shenault ($5,900) at Nebraska

It'll be a little chalky, but how can you see the sheer terror Shenault rained down own Colorado State last weekend and not want him in your lineup? And at $5,900? Shenault not only saw an absurd 48 percent target share, he turned those 12 targets into 11 grabs for 211 yards and a touchdown. Now, he won't be able to do that against Nebraska, but a similarly large target share in what should be a back-and-forth tilt bodes well for Shenault's bottom line. Again, the ownership percentage will be high here, but Shenault won't burn you.

Anthony Ratliff-Williams, North Carolina ($7,600) vs. East Carolina

He's a little pricey relative to the rest of the field, but $7,600 for a top tier receiver against one of college football's worst teams, he's someone I'll be getting in most of my lineups. Ratliff-Williams has a distinct talent advantage over everyone in East Carolina's secondary, but also his own receiving corps. Ratliff-Williams had 31 percent of North Carolina's target share while only one other receiver, Javonte Williams, saw more than 15 percent of the pie. Sure, Ratliff-Williams caught just three of those nine targets. That was against California on the road. This is against East Carolina. Look for Ratliff-Williams to challenge for one of the highest receiver totals of the week.

Tournament Darts: Wide Receiver

Blake Proehl, East Carolina ($3,600) vs. North Carolina and Jaylen Waddle, Alabama ($3,300) vs. Arkansas State

These are two receivers with two very different things working in their favor. In Proehl's case, he's a featured part of a pass-happy offense that will be playing from behind. Proehl also saw 16 targets in Week 1. You simply don't see that type of volume projection near minimum price. And when it's a PPR format, that volume is a game-changer. In Waddle's case, he's a supremely talented part of a deep and supremely talented Alabama receiving corps. I can already tell you that volume won't be his calling card. However, 4-5 targets is in the realm of possibility, and a player of Waddle's talent can make a lot out of the limited opportunities, especially against Arkansas State.