Daily Fantasy College Football Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings Early Games 8/30/14

Welcome back to the College Football season. It’s such a great time of year with Saturdays and Sundays fully occupied with football. We’ve got you covered with some of the biggest player pools DFS has to offer.

Be sure to check out our picks for Thursday’s CFB slate as well.

Also, we will have full NFL picks coming early next week along with our full NFL projections for all your Sunday DFS needs.

And finally, there’s still time to get a free 3-day trial to our baseball projections. On to the picks.

Quarterbacks

We are going to site-specific for a couple of these postions today.

J.T. Barrett - FD 4500
Braxton Miller was a stay away for me anyway, but now he's done for the year. Barrett assumes the starting role for the Buckeyes and for your lineups. I don’t know a damn thing about him (or her for all I know). What I do know is programs like theee Ohio St. are littered with premium athletes and programs like Navy are not. This move has a ripple effect as well. It allows money allocation to other premium positions (see Todd Gurley for example). I only wish he was available on DraftKings.

Rakeem Cato - FD 9800
Not available on DraftKings, but my top big money play of the day. If you are choosing to spend on QB instead of Barrett then this is a way to go on FanDuel. Cato is a video game, literally. The stats he puts up on the regular are lip smacking. Five touchdown days are not out of the norm for this cat. He's pricey and I will likely choose to allocate my dollars elsewhere, but if you can fit him in he provides extreme safety.

C.J. Brown - DK 6400
This will be CJ's 6th year at College Park, the Crash Davis of college football if you will. Health has been a subject of concern, but there's no denying what this dude brings to the table. Brown rushed for almost 600yds and had 12 rushing TD's in 11 games last season. Really 10 games if you consider the 80 total yard, 63-0, ol fashion ass whoopin, by FSU, where Brown got hurt in the 2nd qtr. CJ struggles against the big boys, but crushes weaker competition. He's the duel threat guy we like to target and has an amazing weapon on the outside in Stefon Diggs. Check this, last year the Terps opened with FIU (that's Florida International for you newbies) and Brown finished with almost 400 total yards and 5 TD's. Maryland hosts JMU (that's James Madison University for you newbies). IDK, similar game in store? Brown is a great play across all league styles.

Brett Hundley - DK 7900
It's easy to go here, oh it's soooo easy. Look, Hundley is a legit Heisman candidate. He does it through the air and on the ground. This game will likely be over at halftime and Hundley may not see a full run, but with DK's forgiving pricing and how high his floor is, he makes a real strong play. Since Hundley may need to do all his damage in 3 quarters, the upside probably isn't huge. Regardless he is still a great play. Im pairing both of these guys (CJ Brown) a bunch.

Nick Marshall - FD 7300 DK 7800
Loves me some Marshal. He would be my top Saturday play if it weren’t for him getting temporarily benched. I'm leaving him on here because the price is too good to pass up on this fantasy freak. Coach said he will not start, but will play. Check the pregame to see if they let us know how much time he will miss. It’s a conference game so I don’t think the coach will hold him back too long. Marshall is a dual threat QB, who finished last season on fire. Crazy athletic and more a complete passer than last yr. His top wide out in Sammie Coates returns and I fully expect he picks up where he left off - burning defenses with his arm and feet. Triple digit yds and multiple TD's is on the menu!

Everett Golson - FD 8300 DK 5800
Interesting gut pick here. I have no idea what to expect from the Irish offense this year and Golson hasn't stepped on the field in over a year. But he’s another dual threat QB (notice the trend here?) who is possibly more amped up for the season than I am. It's like getting out of prison and getting ready for your first date. This dude may pass the ball to himself he's so excited to play. One of Notre Dame's top wide outs will likely miss week one due to, yet again, another academic snafu. No worries! That only gives him an excuse to keep the ball even more. Risky since he hasn't played in a while, but tremendous upside too.

Note on Nick Marshall: Absolutely love him, but without news on how much he’s going to play, it’s tough to recommend him in such a big field. If you find out he’s playing the whole game, or only missing one series he vaults toward the top of the list.

 

Running Backs

Treyvon Green - FD 5500 DK 4700
Green burst onto the scene last year when Venric Mark went down with ouchy head. Green has game-breaking speed and don’t look now, but Mark was suspended for the first two games and has announced he is transferring. Goodbye Venric and hello Green. He’s a starter at backup prices against a terrible Cal defense. Green + everywhere = $$$

Todd Gurley - FD 9500 DK 6900
Easily the top big money play as he’ll be playing on Sundays next year. Georgia is starting over with their passing game, but no worries Gurley will get the ball early and often. It's a big game against Clemson (who may stink this year) and I don't really see the Dogs taking the foot off the gas too early. I'm not sure he will find his way into all of my lineups due to price, but he is for sure your best big money option.

Corey Grant - FD 6900 DK 4500
Cameron Artis-Payne - FD 7000 DK 5700
Tre Mason is gone, but Auburn is still a run first, second and third team. Everything goes through Marshall (see above), but they hand to their backs quite a bit. Artis-Payne may vulture goal line work, but Grant can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. Arkansas is about as scary on defense as a pink marshmallow (another pro analogy). Check pregame to see who is starting - play accordingly.

Akeem Hunt - FD 4600 DK 3000
Kind of a sneaky play here. He's not a prolific rusher and doesn’t seem to have NFL skills, but he is fairly dynamic among college players. He led the Boilermakers in rushing last year (for what it's worth) and also hauled in close to 40 passes. Hunt has actually been moved to the slot and my guess is Etling will look to get Hunt in space so he can use his athleticism in the open field. A RB playing WR in a PPR format and dirt cheap. This is a separation play as I don’t think he’s on too many radars

**Buyers beware. T.J. Yeldon and Ameer Abdullah are fine options and pretty safe, but blowout risk has me looking elsewhere. Don't be afraid to play them, but when its 60-0 and the 3rd string is playing don't get mad at me.

 

Wide Receivers

Going to go site-specific here as there are major differences even in who’s available between DraftKings and FanDuel.

Tommy Shuler - FD 7300
216 receptions over the past two years and Video Game Cato throwing him the ball. With WR being a difficult position to figure out in the first few weeks take the little know Welker-esque WR from Marshall. Tommy will be in all of my FanDuel lineups without exception.

Jamarcus Nelson - FD 7000
Another guy whom I couldn’t pick out of a crowd of one. This dude is total feast or famine, but sometimes these guys really go off as they get more mature. Seemingly a harmless defense in Troy and the he’s WR1 for UAB. Not much else to say. It’s a play the odds kind of move.

Jamison Crowder - DK 6600
Crowder is WR1 in Blue Devil land. As awkward as it feels to recommend a Dukie for anything other than Hoops, Jamison is a true talent. He's not a sure fire NFL guy, but he will get his chance at the next level. Boone is back under center so its a familiar connection. Duke hosts, wait for it, waiiittt, Elon! Yup, the Phoenix come marching to town this weekend. Ill be honest, I didn't actually verify what im about to say, Elon doesn't have an athlete in the entire school that can hang with Crowder. The blowout will probably keep him from totally crushing his price, but the $$$ is just too easy. Shot of Jamison please, make it a double!!

Stefon Diggs - DK 5000
Like his co-conspirator, CJ Brown, Diggs dominates weaker competition and sometimes struggle with the big boys. Since they play on the same team they get to the play the same opponent at the same time. Pretty cool stuff right there. Stefon was considered the 2nd bestWR recruit by a few agencies coming out of high school. Big time athlete playing at average program playing against weaker competition is a recipe for success. He has shown the potential to under perform, but i like my chances week 1.

Tyler Boyd - DK 6400
Another insane athlete playing at an average program going up against an inferior opponent. Delaware is a solid squad amongst their own level and Pitt is far from a juggernaut. The point is Tyler is a premium athlete that for whatever reason plays at Pitt instead of LSU. Diggs and Boyd are both match ups we tend to favor. Average FBS programs playing against crap FBSteams or any FCS team. The chances of these guys being the best athletes on the field are good. Athletism has a way of dominating at the college level. Only moderate blowout risk. Uno, dos, tres - got these 3 basically everywhere

Bryce Treggs - FD 5700 DK 5000
Chris Harper - FD 6400 DK 6200
Only a lack of TD's keeps these guys out of elite status. Cal airs it out quite a bit and their defense is horrendous so they play catch up a lot. Goff is back under center and has quite a rapport with both receivers. The most difficult part is deciding between the two who you want to play. Both guys are safe, but probably limited upside since Cal spreads the ball.

Devin Funchess - FD 6500 DK 4400
Funchess is an interesting case and I may hold off a week before safely putting him in my lineups. Outside of Jeremy Gallon (who is gone) Funchess was Michigan's best pass catcher, as a TE. Now they will be lining him up outside and he should see not only an increase in targets, but also more looks down the field for big plays. Don’t let Appalachian St. fool you with their FCS status, they can ball. I’m betting Michigan wants to see how Funchess does in his new role and seasoned QB Gardner will get his best wide out the ball. A total matchup nightmare! Big enough to play TE and fast enough to play WR

Tony Jones - FD 4500 DK 3500
Last minute add on. Northwestern is super thin at WR. Jones is in line to take on the expanded role due to Christian Jones' season ending injury. I have no problem closing my eyes and putting Tony in there against a terrible Cal D in what should be a high scoring affair.

 

Tight Ends

Dan Vitale - FD 4500 DK 2800
He is a big strong pass catching TE. This game should be a wild shootout much like last year and NW doesn't have a plethora of options at WR (Christian Jones out for the year). Vitale will chew up the middle of the field and pose as a great Red Zone target. Don't expect Jace Amaro numbers, but you could do worse.

O.J. Howard - FD 4200 DK 3100
If I need to save a few hunge Howard will probably see many of my lineups. Bama runs a pro style balanced offense (a little run heavy) and Howard started to pick up some momentum towards the end of last year. He's fast for his size and presents some matchup issues for opposing defenses. Bama will pound it when they can, but Howard is a steady outlet option and is possibly their best pass catcher outside of Cooper.