College Football DFS Picks: Murray State at Louisville Showdown Plays

We kick off Week  2 DFS action with a Thursday single-game slate featuring Louisville and Murray State. Although DraftKings and FanDuel share similar approaches with this format, there are some subtle differences.

• DraftKings - 1 CPTN slot (1.5x), 5 UTIL slots, 50k salary
• FanDuel - 1 MVP slot (1.5x), 4 FLEX slots, 60k salary

As you can see, both structures feature a 1.5x multiplier position, but DraftKings provides an additional utility slot. While a cursory examination might imply that Fanduel's format would make for an easier task, DraftKings requires that you make some sacrifices to get six quality players in the contest. DraftKings also adds an interesting wrinkle - salaries for the CPTN slot are slo multiplied by 1.5x, so you will have to pay up. For both formats, selecting the correct multiplier is paramount. I will first focus on finding the right fit for that position, and then provide a list of potential utility performers.

College Football DFS Tools

• FanDuel Lineup Optimizer
• Matchups Page (Vegas odds, opponent averages, etc.)
• Advanced Lineups Page
• Stats
• Team Trends
• Targets
• Defense vs. Position
• Team Rankings

Slate Overview

Louisville (-40.5) vs. Murray State O/U: 54

The forecast for this contest is a blowout, and our biggest challenge will be fielding a build that features both teams (a requirement for both sites). Louisville escaped with a hard-fought win over Georgia Tech last week. Murray State enters the game with a 1-0 record as well, but they played Presbyterian, who's a bottom-feeder in the FCS. The Racers aren't very good themselves and don't represent the best that the FCS has to offer.

Another complication is determining how long Louisville's starters will stay on the field. The offense was sluggish to begin the Game in Week 1, but I seriously doubt it will face the same issues in this matchup. Should we depend on big first halves from the starters to carry the slate?

Multiplier Selections

QB Jack Plummer, Louisville (DK CPTN $17,100, UTIL $11,400, FD $16,500)

Plummer will be exceedingly popular for the multiplier, but I don't see another option that makes sense. He'll see three quarters of action, and teams typically remove their other starters long before the starting signal-caller. Plummer also could use a warm-up game to solidify rapport with his targets. I would love to be unique here, but Plummer is easily the most solid option.

UTIL/FLEX Selections

WR Jamari Thrash, Louisville (DK $9,200, FD $16,000)

QB DJ Williams, Murray State (DK $9,600, FD $13,500)

RB Jawhar Jordan, Louisville (DK $10,000, FD $14,500)

RB Maurice Turner, Louisville (DK $7,600, FD $8,000)

WR  Chris Bell, Louisville (DK $2,600, FD $9,000)

RB Isaac Guerendo, Louisville (DK $4,000, FD $12,000)

FanDuel's salary designations are a little silly, although I understand their desire to jack up Lousivlle backups to make things tricky. I am fine with Thrash, who will still be Plummer's most dependable target despite failing to see a catch early last week.  If I were to take a flier on another multiplier, it would likely be Thrash. Chris Bell is a guy who showed some flash with a couple of catches last week, and I am pretty sure they'd like the sophomore to get some more reps. Jawhar Jordan is on the list, but I doubt we can afford him despite the first-half potential. Turner and Guerendo will probably take over in the backfield as the game wears on, and they both have salaries we can handle.

DJ Williams seems to be the best recourse for the Racers. Barring some unforeseen event, he'll play a full game due to a total lack of usable options on the roster. Anyone else for Murray's state is purely a dart throw.