The day slate for Saturday’s opening weekend of college football features what look to be some high-scoring matchups, so you’ll likely need big points to compete for the lucrative tournament prizes. Let’s dive in to some of my choices.
Quarterbacks
Matthew McKay, N.C. State ($6,800 on DraftKings, $8,700 on FanDuel) – Sitting at the top of the salary list are Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa and Ohio State QB Justin Fields. Both are tempting, but both games should be blowouts and they may have a hard time hitting value in perhaps just a half of play. Instead, let’s go mid-tier. McKay won a three-man race to replace Ryan Finley, and the Wolfpack are expected to score about 37 points on the weak East Carolina defense.
Michael Penix, Jr., Indiana ($6,500 on DK, Game not on FD) – It’s a similar story on Penix. He was named the starter shortly before Week 1 and faces a terrible D in Ball State. Indiana is also expected to score around the same as NC State. I’m willing to bet there won’t be many lineups with both of these guys in them so if they both go off you may have something working.
Running backs
Patrick Taylor, Jr., Memphis ($8,500 on DK,$10,000  on FD) – If we’re fading the QBs in what’s expected to be a high-scoring game between Ole Miss and Memphis then we need to play some RBs. Taylor should churn up yards against an anemic Ole Miss running D. You’ll also want to consider the No. 1 RB for Ole Miss, Scottie Phillips, in a RB or flex spot.
Keilan Robinson, Alabama ($3,000 on DK, $4,500 on FD) – A minimum priced starting RB from Alabama? Is this a mirage? No, by pure circumstance the true freshman Robinson is expected to get the start due to a possible first-half suspension for the top two guys on the depth chart – Najee Harris and Brian Robinson, Jr. – and a gimpy knee for No. 3 man Jerome Ford, who may not even play. Sure, Bama now loves to toss the pigskin with its stud QB, but it hasn’t forgotten how to play smashmouth football either.
Wide receivers
Elijah Moore, Ole Miss ($6,400 on DK, $8,000 on FD) – Let’s grab another player from the Rebels-Tigers presumed shootout. Moore, a sophomore, will start in the slot and offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez may call on redshirt freshman QB Matt Corral to hit Moore with short throws to build his confidence in his first start.
Damonte Coxie ($7,200 on DK, $9,100 on FD) – Coxie amasses 72 receptions and 1,174 total yards in 2018, along with seven TDs and should be a focal point for QB Brady White. There should be enough points in this contest to allow both RBs and WRs to get their share, especially in cash games.
