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Our first big Saturday of college football is here! We have a dozen games on the main slate, which runs from Noon to 4 p.m. EDT. We have some of the largest GPPs of the college football season today with the NFL not started yet and most teams done with preseason games. Let's enjoy it! We have three big games to kick this off with Clemson and Georgia in Atlanta, Virginia Tech in Nashville to take on Vandy, and Penn State in Morgantown visiting West Virginia.
We have a couple of other noon kicks with Kent visiting Pitt and UConn heading to College Park. We start the afternoon in Stillwater with South Dakota State in town. The 3:30 games are stacked with Miami in Gainesville, Colorado State in Austin, Akron at the Shoe, Ohio in the Loud House, and UTEP heading to Lincoln. We also have the Redhawks taking on Northwestern on a soccer field, so that should be fun!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/31/24, locking at noon EDT. 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
Cam Ward, Miami ($9K)
Florida allowed a staggering 20 passes of 40 or more yards last season, bad enough for worst in the SEC. Florida is going to be better than last season, but not enough better to shut down Ward. He has a really good deep arm and Miami has track stars running routes (looking at you, Xavier Restrepo).
Cam Ward in 2023 on the road:
-2,072 passing yards (1,663 at home)
-12 TD’s 5 INT’s
-345.3 passing yards PER GAME on the road pic.twitter.com/OV32gk7Cqf— Marsh Cristobal?? (@hurricanesmarsh) August 20, 2024
Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech ($8.3K)
Drones might have the highest ceiling on the slate. He scored 122.27 DraftKings points over the last four games last season. He's capable of a bust game, but that's not going to happen against a team like Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt fans are fun and passionate and they have some nice new stadium renovations, but the team isn't there yet. Expect a big game out of Drones to start 2024.
Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland ($7K)
Replacing Taulia Tagovailoa won't be easy. It's not easy for us DFS players either since Maryland hasn't announced a starter. Per reports, the team knows, but nothing has been released to the public. I don't have any inside information or anything like that, but if I had to guess, I would say that both Edwards and North Carolina State transfer MJ Morris will split time.
This is a game that Maryland should win big, so I'm not opposed to using either of them since they are almost the same price. They are similar players with Edwards being a better runner and Morris being a better passer. Both are legit dual threats, though, and should have their way with UConn. Go with the confirmed starter (if we get one).
Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh ($5.4K)
Here is another quarterback battle that has spilled over to the regular season, but we have a little clarity on this situation. Holstein, the Alabama transfer, will start with last year's backup, Nate Yarnell, backing him. However, it has been announced that both will play.
Think of this like the Ohio State situation last year between Devin Brown and Kyle McCord for the first couple of weeks. The hot hand will get more time until one does well enough to take the job. Since Holstein gets the first crack, I'll roll with him in a nice matchup.
Also consider: Quinn Ewers, Texas ($8.9K); Dylan Raiola, Nebraska ($8.2K); Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt ($7.3K); Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Colorado State ($6.5K)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Running Backs
Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State ($9.1K)
This won't be an easy game for Gordon. The Jackrabbits ran the table last year en route to the FCS Championship. However, Gordon is one of the few workhorses left in college football. He'll notch 30 or more carries here if that's what it takes. It's worth paying for that kind of volume.
Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon is going to be a STAR ⭐️
? 1,732 Rushing Yards
? 22 Touchdowns
? 2023 Doak Walker Award Winner(@Ollie_Gordon2/@OKSTProbs)
pic.twitter.com/VqemaZjU0s— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) June 25, 2024
Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech ($6.5K)
Tuten got the lion's share of the carries down the stretch for the Hokies last year. The job appears to be all his this season. Kyron Drones, being a great runner, will take some of Tuten's workload but not enough to chase me off at this price. Vanderbilt allowed 175.33 yards and 1.9 touchdowns per game on the ground last season.
Jaydon Blue, Texas ($6.2K)
This was supposed to be the era of CJ Baxter at Texas, but Baxter will miss the season due to knee surgery last week. Blue is thrust to the forefront ... and he is every bit as good as Baxter.
Blue is also a good receiver. He hauled in 13 passes in the last four games once he worked his way into the backup role when Jonathon Brooks went down. That should be good for a few extra PPR points.
YOU'RE MY BOY BLUE!!! TOUGH RUNNER GOT ME BARKING OVER HERE
TIED UP 7-7 pic.twitter.com/O5Yj4S3W8q
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) January 2, 2024
Emmett Johnson, Nebraska ($5.5K)
All those backs that Nebraska had on IR last year are back. Johnson is listed atop the depth chart, but it is expected that he will cede some carries to Gabe Ervin Jr. That's okay. Nebraska is breaking in a true freshman quarterback and UTEP allowed 202.25 yards per game on the ground last season and an average of 2.25 rushing touchdowns. Yikes!
Also consider: Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State ($7.9K); Damien Martinez, Miami (FL) ($6.9K); Roman Hemby, Maryland ($6K); CJ Donaldson Jr., West Virginia ($4.8K)
DraftKings CFB DFS Picks - Wide Receivers
Tory Horton, Colorado State ($6.9K)
The Texas defense is good, but it is breaking in two new members of the secondary. Colorado State will likely be behind early in this one, meaning it'll have to throw to keep up. Horton was arguably the best receiver outside of the power conferences last season. He will be again. He has a chance to put himself on NFL draft boards in this one.
Xavier Restrepo, Miami (FL) ($6.7K)
Doing prep work on the 2025 draft class at WR, and Xavier Restrepo from Miami (FL) is someone I really like.
Crafty slot who’s explosive off the snap, a twitchy route runner and tremendous after the catch. Just a 2.0% drop rate last year — he’s legit. pic.twitter.com/Wj4G1iBqW0
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) June 9, 2024
I'm not the only one who is high on Restrepo this year. He closed 2023 with 25 receptions for 409 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the last three games. Cam Ward is better than both quarterbacks that Miami had last year combined. Get in on the ground floor of this one!
Elijhah Badger, Florida ($5.6K)
The Arizona State transfer impressed the coaching staff enough to crack the starting lineup. He gives Graham Mertz a reliable target and was used in toss sweeps and reverses in the Arizona State offense. Badger will have some room to run against Miami. His versatility makes him a nice DFS option.
Tai Felton, Maryland ($4.8K)
The Terps won't throw as much as last year, but the receivers are far too cheap for this matchup. Felton led the team in receptions and yards last season, so I give him a slight edge no matter who is at quarterback.
Also consider: Da'Quan Felton, Virginia Tech ($6.7K); Julian Fleming, Penn State ($6K); Ali Jennings, Virginia Tech ($5.6K); Rashod Owens, Oklahoma State ($5.2K)
DraftKings CFB Stacks
Maryland
Connecticut's defense was bad last year and won't be a lot better this year. I recommend using the quarterback that starts along with Roman Hemby. Using Tai Felton and Kaden Prather gets you all of the important pieces of the offense with enough money left over to stack some big names.
Virginia Tech
Felton, Jaylin Lane, and Ali Jennings were all really good last year and all three weren't healthy at the same time. It makes it tough to decide who to use. If we stack all three, at least one will likely disappoint. Drones and Tuten are the easy picks. The receivers are difficult because they all deserve consideration.
Also consider: Ohio State, Texas
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