Daily Fantasy College Football Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings for Thursday 8/28/14

Ahhhh. Its back! Finally something to make it worth getting out of bed in the morning.

I, like you, live for football and especially college football. Even more than that, DAILY FANTASY COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!! I'm happily married with 3 kids and would trade every single one of em to force the NFL and NCAA to play football 13 months a year. Love you honey☺

In an ever changing landscape of depth charts, NCAA violations and drinking champagne on an oversized rubber ducky where do you start? Too many players? Too many teams? Overwhelming? Cascarruthers & DFSR have everything you need to dominate the competition.

Quarterbacks

Connor Halliday – FD 8800 DK 6900
Wash State passes to setup the pass and then passes again to rub it in. Halliday was a viable option most weeks last year and now has an even greater command of the offense Mike Leach runs (or passes). He’s 5th year senior with basically the same WR Corp from 2013, playing a home game against a less-than-stellar defensive opponent in Rutgers. Halliday attempted over 50 passes an eye-popping 8 times last year, which includes an 89 attempt game to boot! Pure volume alone makes Halliday about as safe a pick possible for opening week.

P.J. Walker – FD 7500 DK 5100
Dual threat – check! Second year in the same offense – check! Manning Award watch list – check! Walker had some ups and downs last year, as should be expected for a freshman. And he does comes with a few risks for week 1 with playing on the road against an SEC team (Vandy) and some new faces at WR. But the latter doesn’t really scare me and could actually prove to beneficial fantasy wise. The upside at this price is worth the gamble.

Bo Wallace – DK 6300
Bo Wallace is back for another year trying to lead the Rebels to their first, IDK, anything. Stuck playing in the SEC Ole Miss runs into NFL caliber defenses on the regular so Wallace rarely makes my lineups. Boise St is no cupcake, but they aren’t Bama or LSU either. Bo, now in his 3^rd year as a starter, has a superb understanding of the offense and should be the unquestioned leader. Primarily a passer with the ability to sneak in some rushing yards Mr. Wallace has the goods you're looking for to open the fantasy season. The price is a little steep on FD, but he is squarely in my DK lineups across the board. BO KNOWS DFS CFB

Running Backs

Mike Davis – FD 9300 DK 6700
Davis returns as the Gamecocks top tailback and it really isn’t close. He was slow to start last year (dust settles), but really started to crank after a few games. Davis did fizzle a little down the stretch, but running over SEC defenses will do that to most of us, except me of course. The price is kind of high and he may not see the 4th quarter, but if you have the dollars (and with the loose pricing this week you should) it’s IN DAVIS WE TRUST. *Currently listed as questionable. Be sure to check injury status. If Davis is out Wilds is a must start.

Paul James – FD 8200 DK 5500
Paul James opened last year on fire starting with 191 yds on opening day. A broken leg sidelined James and opened the door for Goodwin, who also had some bright moments. Goodwin has been moved to DB, which means less competition for carries. The Knights will utilize James to control the clock and eat up yards. Hopefully the game stays close. I think it does, or at least enough to get James his looks.

DJ Foster – DK 7300
Foster is a tremendously dynamic playmaker with exceptional hands. He's certainly not the biggest guy on the field, but don’t let that fool you – He plays BIG. Last year the Sun Devils had a guy by the name of Marion Grice, you may have heard of him. Well, Grice is gone and he took his 20 TD's with him. Foster was no slouch in his own right finishing with almost 1200 total yards and 10 TD's. He also finished as the second leading WR behind only Jaelen Strong with 63 grabs. PPR format say hello to the now starting, wonderful, Mr. Foster. Blowout risk is real, but Foster is more real.

Jerron Seymour – FD 7000 DK 4600
He’s the returning starter and led the team in rushing last season. Jordan Matthews now plays on Sundays leaving more opportunity for the run in this home game against Temple. I could have started and stopped at Temple really. The Commodores will likely rely on Seymour to carry the load, especially early on as they figure out their passing game. He’s safe and reasonably priced. Seymour will likely be in all of my lineups on a short Thursday night slate. Update: Looks like Seymour will miss the game with Ralph Webb possibly getting the starting reps. Could be a sneaky punt play.

Jay Ajayi – FD 8700 DK 6400
He’s a beast plain and simple. I’m not loving the fact he’s on the road in the SEC, but Mississippi is not Bama and Boise seems to play these types of games really tough. This may be coach speak, but supposedly during the offseason Boise prepared JA to tote the rock 30 times a game. Me likey. If a coach says his RB might get the ball 30x sign me up!

Wide Receivers

Jaelen Strong – DK 6500
Jaelen is a big STRONG receiver. That was really catchy wasn’t it? Haha I did it again with "catchy"! Okay enough terrible jokes. Actually I don’t really need to get into this one. NFL caliber receiver and a man amongst boys. If you're considering passing on this guy do me a favor, just give me your $$$.

Matt Miller – FD 7500 DK 4600
41 catches and 10 touchdowns over his final five games. The Rebels will be forced to play Boise honest because of AJ in the backfield and Miller out wide. He finished with 88 grabs last year and 12 TD’s, but look at his last 5 games – whoa. That’s like someone else exercising, but you get to lose the weight (pro analogy for you newbies) It’s clear he is the GO TO guy in the passing game. The WR options on Thursday are bleak at best. I don’t see many scenarios where Miller isn’t in my lineups

Gabe Marks - FD 7800 DK 6100
Vince Mayle - FD 5100 DK 4300
River Cracraft - FD 5000
Did I mention the Air Raid offense Mike Leach runs at Wash St? Did I mention Halliday is a 5th yr senior and understands the offense very well? Did I mention WSU returns most of its WR Corp? In case I didn’t, Wash St passes to setup the pass and then they pass again. Someone has to catch those passes. Your guess is as good as mine, but I’ll play the odds. Mayle is the big play guy, feast or famine if you will. Marks is the best and most consistent (except towards the end of the yr), but has some off field issues (more on that later). Cracraft has a funny name and doubles as a return guy. Given the other options at WR for Thursday I don’t see any possible way one of these guys isn’t in every single one of my lineups and possibly all 3. ***Marks may face disciplinary actions for off field issues. If he is suspended and/or benched for any portion of game 1 you can safely consider Mayle a must start and Cracraft pretty close to the same.

Jordan Cunningham – FD 4700 DK 3800
Mehhh. I’m not overly excited, but someone has to catch the ball at Vandy with Matthews & Krause gone. Only time will tell what you have in Cunningham, but he is the #1 and they do play Temple at home. WR is really tough for Thursday and Cunningham might be a nice cheap sneaky play.

Leonte Carroo – FD 6500 DK 4300
Rutgers prefers to run the ball, but they’re not afraid to stretch the field and air it out. Gary Nova returns at QB (I think he is 43yrs old) and Carroo was the big play threat last year, albeit inconsistent. Im not in love with his price (FD), but you could certainly do worse. He presents a difficult matchup due to his size and Wash St presents little defense. A potentially high scoring game where there may be over 200 offensive snaps and I’ll take my chances on Rutgers WR1. I won’t have him everywhere, but I will have him (more so on DK).

Rashon Ceaser – FD 5400 DK 4800
I don’t know what he looks like and I don’t know how tall or fast he is, but if you want to be different Mr. Rome himself is your guy. An unheralded matchup between two high school teams in college uniforms, Ceaser is the Warhawks best WR and they run 3 wide out sets a bunch. He saves you some $$$ and I wouldn’t be shocked in the least if paid handsomely on this price.

Tight Ends

Tyler Kroft – FD 4400 DK 3600
Look no further. Kroft was a viable TE option last year and is only better this year. Nova looks his way when he’s in trouble and Rutgers runs a balanced offense while also stretching the field with Carroo. All this leaves plenty of space for Kroft to work the middle. A fabulous Red Zone target. A Strong connection with Nova. A Lack of star power on the Knights roster and Kroft is my TE.

Evan Engram – FD 4100 DK 3400
Best option not named Kroft. I’m only rolling Engram if I need to save a few hundge.

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