We only have a little three-game warmup before another giant Saturday (seriously ... I love this sport!), but it's a bit unfair to call it an undercard. We have a couple of strong defenses, two really fun offenses, an FCS team, and some Mormons. This is going to be fun! We also have Northwestern playing in the best setting in college football ... at least for now. We'll see how it goes once Lake Michigan freezes over.
We kick the night off with BYU in Dallas to take on the Ponies. Indiana gets the Leathernecks of Western Illinois. The nickname is seriously the best part about the team. We end this in the palace by the lake with Northwestern hosting Duke in the Nerd Bowl.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/6/24, locking at 7 p.m. Eastern. I’ll provide multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Quarterbacks
Maalik Murphy, Duke ($7.3K)
QB is an absolute disaster on this slate. SMU is running two QBs. Indiana only needs Kurtis Rourke to be a game manager right now. Both defenses in this game are good, but I view the Texas transfer as perhaps the lesser of two evils. There is less bust potential based on price, but Mike Wright has more running ability.
The caveat here is that we don't need to spend at RB, either. It's going to be hard to resist the urge to put Preston Stone in simply because we can. I'm not opposed to it in large-field GPPs. Stone ceded snaps to Kevin Jennings in Week 0 as well, but he still threw 30 passes for 254 yards.
Jake Retzlaff, BYU ($6K)
It's easy to get lost in SMU's roughing up of Houston Christian last week but keep in mind that it struggled with Nevada -- specifically on defense -- in Week 0. Retzlaff flew the friendly skies for 348 yards (and also carried the ball eight times) in the win over Southern Illinois.
He's too cheap for the upside and is my pick if you are going against the grain and only using one QB.
Also consider: Preston Stone ($9.5K); Mike Wright, Northwestern ($8.1K)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs
Elijah Green, Indiana ($4.9K)
The Hoosiers are going to continue using three backs, but there isn't one backfield on the slate that has a true top back except Northwestern. The Wildcats have a tough matchup with the Duke defense, so I'll go elsewhere. Reading the tea leaves, Indiana gave Ty Son Lawton and Justice Ellison their first crack at carries when the game was close.
Green got more carries when the game was out of hand. In a game that should be out of hand early, Green should see most of the carries after halftime. His price is low enough that even if Indiana trolls us, it shouldn't hurt the bottom line too much.
SIGNIFICANT TO SOME ?
Indiana opened as 18.5-point favorites...
Elijah Green with a 51-yard TD with just over a minute left in the game for the Hoosierspic.twitter.com/IdD32I4Ylu
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) August 31, 2024
Green's long touchdown run in the opener is nothing new. He ripped off several long runs at North Carolina in the last couple of years.
Jaylan Knighton, SMU ($4.7K)
Knighton was expected to be the lead back this year, but questions arose about his role after just four carries in Week 0 and not taking the field last week. It turns out that Knighton had an undisclosed injury, but he is expected to return tonight. If he's anywhere near what he was at Miami two years ago, he's the best bargain on the slate.
SMU got such a steal in the portal. Jaylan Knighton is THAT dude.
Rooster is specialpic.twitter.com/S1ikI25woo
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) July 10, 2023
Also consider: Cam Porter, Northwestern ($5.3K); Hinckley Ropati, BYU ($4.5K)
DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers
Jordan Moore, Duke ($6.1K)
Moore turned some heads when he piled up 24 receptions in the last three games of 2023 (without Riley Leonard, no less). Moore delivered on that promise with an impressive 2024 debut. Moore hauled in seven passes for 112 yards. He didn't find the end zone against Elon and may not against Northwestern, but he's still going to see a huge number of targets.
Maalik Murphy to Jordan Moore will be a fun duo to watch at Duke this year ? pic.twitter.com/mqkRI9JS2E
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) August 31, 2024
RJ Maryland, SMU ($5.8K)
Maryland wasn't a factor last week because they didn't need him. Just look at the Nevada game (eight receptions, 162 yards) to see how he's utilized in close games. BYU has a solid defense, but Maryland is a different animal. He's not an easy guy to cover. The upheaval at QB is a bit concerning, but Maryland's talent should be enough no matter who the QB is.
Chase Roberts, BYU ($5.3K)
Roberts was easily Retzlaff's favorite target in Week 1. If the Cougars threw that much against Southern Illinois, I'm not at all worried about volume in this one. BYU's passing game provides a big upside at a low price, meaning we can (and should) stack them with anyone.
Also consider: Elijah Sarratt, Indiana ($6K); Moochie Dixon, SMU ($5.4K); Bryce Kirtz, Northwestern ($5.1K)
DraftKings CFB Stacks
BYU
It's difficult to take much away from most of the Week 1 games, but what we saw from SMU's defense against Nevada was a bad look. Bad enough that BYU is looking like a great stack, especially considering their Week 1 success and willingness to throw the ball even when up big.
Retzlaff/Roberts will be the most common BYU stack. Add Ropati to differentiate yourself without playing receiver roulette.
Indiana
The Hoosiers want to run the ball, and with the trio of backs they have, who can blame them? Against another overmatched team, expect more of the same. Ellison, Lawton, and Green are all strong plays. I don't know that I would touch any pieces of the passing game.
Also consider: SMU
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