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.
Week 7 features just three teams expected to total at least 42 points, and it comes as no shock that Alabama, Ohio State and UCF are the ones sitting atop the board. With the highest over/under on the main slate by a wide margin at 81 points, the UCF-Memphis game is also expected to be a close one. Memphis ranks fourth on the slate in combined points, so Vegas is anticipating a major scoring output despite both defenses faring well against the pass this season. Ohio State is the biggest favorite on the slate at -29.5 and Alabama doesn't trail far behind at -28.0.
A full picture of some key statistical categories can be seen in the table below:
Note: All stats are opposing defense or team.
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+)
Trace McSorley, Penn State (vs. Michigan State) $10,000
McSorley hasn't garnered a ton of Heisman hype this season, but he's carried the Nittany Lions this season, racking up a career-high 175 rushing yards against Ohio State. For FanDuel purposes, McSorley has scored no fewer than 23.4 points in a contest and that came in sloppy conditions against Pitt. The senior has had a bye week to prepare for a Michigan State defense that allows a slate-worst 305.2 passing yards per game. The Spartans defense also ranks best in the country against the run, yielding just 1.3 rushing yards per attempt and 33.8 yards per game. While that could slow down McSorley's efforts on the ground, he should have a field day through the air at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
Secondary Pick: Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama (vs. Missouri) $10,300
Mid-Tier ($8,600-$9,400)
Jake Browning, Washington (at Oregon) $9,300
Browning's output has steadily increased each of the last four weeks to a season-high 24.5 FanDuel points last week against UCLA. Oregon has allowed 7.8 yards per attempt and two passing touchdowns per game to opposing quarterbacks this season while also faring well against the run, suggesting Washington may lean a bit more on the passing game in this contest. The Ducks don't play as fast-paced as they have in the past, but they do rank 30th in college football with 75 plays per game on average.
Secondary Pick: Feleipe Franks, Florida ($8,600)
Tournament Play: Brock Purdy, Iowa State ($8,700)
Bargain Bin (<$8,600)
Jake Bentley, South Carolina (vs. Texas A&M) $8,300
Bentley sat out last week's contest against Missouri due to a knee issue, but the initial reports suggest he will likely return under center Saturday against Texas A&M. It's difficult to judge the the Texas A&M defense at this point. The Aggies allowed 300-plus passing yards to both Clemson and Alabama, but no more than 225 yards passing to the other three FBS opponents they have faced. That list of quarterbacks isn't very impressive, however, and Bentley has a pair of talented wideouts to throw to in Bryan Edwards and Deebo Samuel. Bentley likely fits into a tournament-only play this week as a potential boom or bust play.
Tournament Play: Shea Patterson, Michigan ($7,900)
Running Back
Elite ($9,000 and up)
Darrell Henderson, Memphis (vs. UCF) $10,100
The Memphis offense is among the slower teams on the slate in terms of plays per game (63.8), but that will likely be sped up Saturday against a UCF team that averages the second-most per game on the slate at 80.2. Henderson should benefit directly from that as one of the nation's most efficient runners on a per carry basis. The UCF defense performs much better against the pass as well, so, if Memphis can keep it within shouting distance as the 4.5-point spread suggests, he should pay dividends even as the highest-priced back on the board.
Secondary Picks: Dexter Williams, Notre Dame ($9,800), Trayveon Williams, Texas A&M ($9,200)
Tournament Play: Karan Higdon, Michigan ($9,400)
Mid-Tier ($7,500-$8,900)
Keaontay Ingram, Texas (vs. Baylor) $7,800
Ingram checks in at $200 cheaper than he was a week ago on the road at Oklahoma, and Texas enters this game as 14-point favorites. On top of that, Baylor's defense surrenders 193.2 rushing yards per game and a slate-worst 6.1 yards per carry. While Ingram continues to split some of the workload with Tre Watson, he has clearly asserted himself as the top rusher with 13 carries last week. That should play well this week against Baylor.
Tournament play: Lamical Perine, Florida ($7,700)
Bargain Bin (<$7,500)
Mike Weber, Ohio State (vs. Minnesota) $7,000
Game script will hopefully play a big role in Weber's production Saturday. After an impressive start to the season with 186 yards and three touchdowns against Oregon State, he has gone silent since then. Overshadowed by J.K. Dobbins, a big lead Saturday could be a good time to get Weber more involved, and he's overdue to reach the end zone for the first time since Week 1.
Tournament play: LJ Scott, Michigan State (at Penn State) $6,900
(He hasn't played in three weeks with a knee injury, watch for status update on game day and have contingency plan ready.)
Wide Receiver
Elite ($9,000 and up)
Jerry Jeudy, Alabama (vs. Missouri) $9,500
Jeudy returned to form last week against Arkansas, scoring twice for the fourth time in six games this season after being held without one in the previous two weeks. Missouri's defense has been lit up by opposing star wideouts in each of the last three games. The Tigers' defense also allows 8.3 passing yards per attempt, trailing only Texas A&M in that category, so Jeudy's deep-play ability should be on full display in the contest.
Secondary pick: Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Texas ($9,400)
Mid-Tier ($7,500-$8,900)
KJ Hamler, Penn State (vs. Michigan State), $8,700
Hamler should serve as a good complementary piece to Trace McSorley on Saturday, having been the target of 10 passes in the team's last game against Ohio State. Penn State coach James Franklin indicated earlier in the week he expects Hamlin to play, though a handcuff should be kept at the ready in the event he's unavailable. Regardless, facing a good rush defense and a porous pass defense should have its benefits for Hamler. The speedster has already reached the end zone four times in five games this season, and another score or two Saturday wouldn't be surprising.
Secondary Pick: Mecole Hardman, Georgia ($8,800)
Bargain Bin (<$7,500)
Jalen Knox, Missouri (at Alabama), $7,000
Taking a player going against Alabama makes little sense, I know, but hear me out. While Knox hauled in just two passes for 50 yards last week against South Carolina, he was targeted a team-high 10 times in the game. Based on the expectation that Missouri will be trailing in the contest, quarterback Drew Lock will likely be forced to toss the ball around early and often. With Emanuel Hall (groin) and Nate Brown (groin) both out again this week, Knox should remain involved in the offensive game plan and could be the target of many of those attempts. He will definitely need a much better catch rate than the 20 percent he posted last week to capitalize on that, however.
Secondary Picks: Cam Chambers ($7,200), Michigan State, Pat Freiermuth, Penn State (vs. Michigan State)
