College Football DFS: Week 2 Friday Slate for DraftKings and FanDuel

We have three games of DFS action available on DraftKings for Friday's slate. FanDuel only matches two of these contests, so we will cover the outlier game separately after tackling BYU/SMU and Duke/Northwestern.

Slate Overview

SMU (-11.5) vs. BYU O/U: 56.5

Northwestern (-1.5) vs. Duke O/U: 37.5

Indiana (-42.5) vs. Western Illinois O/U: 52.5 (DRAFTKINGS ONLY) 

Weather

DUKE/NW - slight chance of rain, 22 mph winds

Although the Duke/Northwestern game has the narrowest spread, the projected total isn't promising. The wind will also be a factor in both teams' passing offenses. Although the Mustangs have a bigger edge, the game has the potential for more firepower. Most are not giving the Cougars credit for a solid Week 1 win, and BYU has weapons we can consider.

CFB DFS Tools

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CFB DFS Friday Night Plays on DraftKings and FanDuel for Week 2

Quarterback

Since SMU will likely split snaps between Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings, our quarterback options are slightly limited. I assume Stone will get more time in a more competitive game, but the play carries more risk.

Jake Retzlaff, BYU (DK $6,000), FD $11,600) @ SMU

Retzlaff is a no-brainer pick after an excellent first game. Although Southern Illinois is a much weaker opponent, the Mustangs' secondary showed some significant holes in a narrow win over Nevada two weeks ago. The Cougars will do their best to exploit this and I expect them to take some shots early. Retzlaff also has one of the best receivers in the slate available to him, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Maalik Murphy, Duke (DK $7,300, FD $9,600) @ Northwestern

I don't have much enthusiasm for either offense, but Duke's defense compels me to fade Northwestern's Mike Wright. That leaves Murphy, an adept passer with excellent dual-threat capability. The Blue Devils are still figuring out how best to utilize him,  but they'll need him at his best against a slightly tougher opponent. Northwestern only scored 13 points against a MAC opponent, so Duke's time of possession should be significant, offsetting the low total.

Running Back

Brashard Smith, SMU (DK $6,400, FD $10,600) vs. BYU

Smith makes perfect sense as the top RB off the board despite the high price on FanDuel. He's logged 175 yards and three touchdowns over the first two games. BYU has a sufficient defense to keep this game close, but they will look to establish the run game early before airing it out.

Hinckley Ropati, BYU (DK $4,500, FD $8,300) @ SMU

Both sites offer a good discount on Ropati, which helps out tremendously after spending up early. BYU will focus on the pass but there will be plenty of work for the backfield. He was a key element in BYU'ss offense in Week 1 with 57 yards and a touchdown. Although LJ Martin (DK (DK $5,200, FD $6,800) matched Ropati's total, he saw more action due to the blowout. All reports suggest that it's Ropati's job to lose right now. Martin was slated as the top back out of camp, so he's a decent contrarian play in GPP formats.

Wide Receiver

I'm only featuring two wideouts and will recommend a stack to accompany each receiver.

Chase Roberts, BYU (DK $5,300, FD $9,000)@ SMU

Roberts was Retzlaff's favorite target in Week 1 and posted one of the best receiving results in the Big 12 last week. If we're feeling lucky, we can run Darius Lassiter (DK $4,300 FD $7,600) as a second stack for Retzlaff. Lassiter sat out in Week 1 but is expected to be a focus of the passing game after a promising first year with the Cougars.

Jordan Hudson, SMU (DK $6,400, FD $7,300) vs. BYU

Although Romello Brinson (DK $3,900, FD $7,000) is technically the top wideout, Hudson has been open more often. The former TCU transfer had a solid first campaign with the Cougars last season and showed a nose for the end zone with seven touchdowns. The Mustangs will continue to spread the ball around, but I'll pick Hudson out of this deep room. Brinson will be the second wideout for an SMU stack.

Draftkings-Only Picks

Indiana is the only team to consider here, so we'll identify a few favorite targets.

Indiana's Kurtis Rourke ($8,300) will probably occupy the S-FLEX in several of my lineups. He should play at least three quarters against a weak opponent, and the Ohio transfer was efficient in his first start with the Hoosiers. He has the advantage of facing two consecutive subpar opponents, giving him experience in the offense before entering conference play. 

Rather than hammering Justice Ellison, let's work with a blowout assumption and target Ty Son Lawton ($5,100). He had 16 rush attempts for 74 yards and two touchdowns in the first game, and it's safe to assume a similar script against another weak team. I'll also look for backups at wideout with Myles Price ($5,500).