This article is part of our FanDuel College Football series.
We have hit Week 6 of the college football season and have some handy tools at your disposal for the upcoming FanDuel slates. Included among those is our always handy lineup optimizer, the weekly rankings by position and some tools to explore on your own like targets, team trends,odds and Defense vs. Position. With all of this information at your disposal, we aim to arm you as much as possible each week.
We enter the thick of conference play in Week 6, with a clear leader in the over/under category this week in the form of UCF-SMU. Alabama, as is often the case, is the heaviest favorite on the slate at -35 and trails only UCF (49.5) with 45.8 implied points. This week's slate offers some middle-tier and cheaper quarterbacks with good matchups, which could provide some value if you want to spend up at other positions and still want to include a quarterback in the superflex spot.
A full picture of some key statistical categories can be seen in the table below:
Note: Passing and rushing stats are opponent defensive stats.
YPA=Yards Per Attempt
Without further adieu, the following are some of the players I may target in the main slate this week.
Quarterback
Elite ($9,500+)
McKenzie Milton, UCF (vs. SMU) $10,300
In what's expected to be a barn-burner, it only makes sense to grab the quarterback coming off of a pair of outings topping 46 points a piece. As mentioned above, the Knights are listed as the leaders in terms of implied points on the slate, and he will take on an SMU squad surrendering 7.5 yards per attempt (eighth on slate) and two passing touchdowns per game this season. A game against triple-option Navy that took the air out of the sails skews SMU's pass defense stats, potentially scaring some people off the matchup who were unaware of previous competition.
Secondary Pick: Ian Book, Notre Dame (at Virginia Tech) $9,500
Mid-Tier ($8,600-$9,400)
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (at Wake Forest) $8,600
Suggesting Lawrence last week came back to bite me, after he exited the contest in the first half with what turned out to be a neck strain and was unable to return, but he's expected to play this week. While I would anticipate the team being more careful with his usage, especially as a runner with Kelly Bryant gone, Lawrence possesses an arm talent to take advantage of a Wake Forest defense that's letting up 2.8 passing touchdowns per game this season. The Demon Deacons' defense was lit up for more than 300 passing yards in each of its two games against power-five conference opponents. More of the same could be on the way for Lawrence on Saturday.
Secondary Pick: Sam Ehlinger, Texas ($9,400)
Bargain Bin (<$8,600)
William Brown, SMU (at UCF) $8,000
UCF's defense has shut down every quarterback its faced through the first four games, but the list of opposing quarterbacks isn't that impressive either. Brown joins the mix of unknowns to face the Knights defense, but his early sample size is impressive. Against Michigan, he entered for a benched Ben Hicks and went 11-for-17 passing for 82 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 48 yards. He followed that up with a 21-for-29 effort against Navy for 150 and another pair of scores in a tempo slowed by the triple-option offense. In order to keep up, the Mustangs will likely be forced to throw a lot Saturday, and Brown also brings an added element of mobility that provides bonus upside as a tournament dart.
Secondary Picks: N'Kosi Perry, Miami (vs. Florida State) $7,900
Tournament Play: Michael Scarnecchia, South Carolina (vs. Missouri) $6,000
Running Back
Elite ($9,000 and up)
Karan Higdon, Michigan (vs. Maryland) $9,700
Maryland has fared well against the run game so far this season, but the cast of running backs and offensive lines the Terps has faced isn't on the same level as the Wolverines. It's worth checking in on the status of Chris Evans on game day, but Higdon has topped 100 rushing yards in each of his last three games and has found pay dirt in all four of the games he's played in this season. He should be utilized heavily again Saturday regardless of Evans' status and will likely return value if looking atop the board at running back.
Secondary Picks: Travis Etienne, Clemson ($9,900), Dexter Williams, Notre Dame ($9,500)
Tournament pick: Pooka Williams, Kansas ($9,200)
Mid-Tier ($7,500-$8,900)
Keaontay Ingram, Texas (at Oklahoma) $8,000
Oklahoma's rushing yards per game allowed are ballooned by a matchup with Army earlier in the season, but the Sooners' defense hasn't proven to be elite early in the season and has allowed a pair of rushing touchdowns per game thus far. Ingram has proven to be the Longhorns' best back by a mile, averaging 6.1 yards per carry over four games and hauling in 10 passes over that span. He should lead the Texas backfield Saturday and may have a break out performance in store.
Secondary pick: Stevie Scott, Indiana ($7,600)
Bargain Bin (<$7,500)
Josh Jacobs, Alabama (at Arkansas) $7,200
Back to the well here with Josh Jacobs, who came in at $6,900 a week ago and put up two touchdowns to up his price against Arkansas. While the Razorbacks have fared well against the run this season overall, they are still yielding 1.6 rushing touchdowns per contest. That fits right into Jacobs' wheelhouse. He's frequently used in the red zone by the Crimson Tide, evidenced by his absurd touchdown rate 17.2 percent touchdown rate on 29 carries this season. His production may be touchdown-dependent, but the Tide are expected to reach the end zone often Saturday.
Secondary pick: Damarea Crockett, Missouri ($7,100)
Wide Receiver
Elite ($9,000 and up)
Gabriel Davis, UCF (vs. SMU) $9,500
After getting burned by David Sills V again last week, I have decided to avert my eyes this week against a decent Kansas defense. Davis' volume has remained stable throughout the season, averaging 9.8 per contest this season and reaching pay dirt in each of the team's first four games. He also serves as a great complementary pick to Milton as part of the slate's highest implied total.
Secondary pick:Marcus Simms, West Virginia ($9,000)
Mid-Tier ($7,500-$8,900)
Miles Boykin, Notre Dame (at Virginia Tech) $8,200
Boykin was only targeted twice in Ian Book's first game under center against Wake Forest, but that changed in a big way when Book settled into the job last week. Boykin was the target of 14 passes versus Stanford, hauling in 11 for 144 yards and a score. His $8,200 price tag likely partially reflects the poor efforts early in the season with Brandon Wimbush under center, but opposing top wideouts have had their way with the Hokies' secondary this season. If that's the case again Saturday, Boykin would be the man on whom to keep an eye.
Secondary Pick: Tee Higgins, Clemson ($7,900)
Bargain Bin (<$7,500)
Irv Smith Jr., Alabama (at Arkansas) $6,700
Although Smith saw little action last Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette, that was likely also a product of not getting involved early in a blowout game. Texas A&M tight end Jace Sternberger caught four passes for 51 yards last week against the Razorbacks. Smith plays a somewhat similar role to that and could find plenty of openings this week at a still discounted price.
Secondary Pick: J-Shun Harris II, Indiana ($6,400)
