Alabama’s pairing of Tua Tagovailoa and his receiver, Devonta Smith, broke the Saturday college football DFS slate, as Smith caught 11 passes for an incredible 274 yards and five touchdowns. It was a great day for quarterbacks in general, as offenses ruled the weekend. I missed hard at other positions, but my gunslinger picks ruled the day on Friday and Saturday.
Cheers (Especially to Quarterbacks)
It surprised me to see Jalen Hurts around 60 percent owned in the guaranteed prize pool contests on DraftKings, as the dynamic Oklahoma quarterback has done nothing but put up monster DFS numbers in the first month of the season. Saturday was no exception, as he passed for 413 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 70 yards and a TD. Here’s an early sneak peek at next week: he’s priced at $9,300 and faces Kansas. Yes, he’s a lock. Again.
What can I say? It was a week for quarterbacks. Sean Clifford of Penn State put up 41.32 DK points on 398 passing yards, 54 rushing yards, and four total TDs. The Nittany Lions rolled over Maryland 59-0 on Friday.
Wake Forest QB Jamie Newman was another solid DFS player in a great spot, facing a weak Boston College defense. He didn’t disappoint, throwing for 243 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 102 yards.
Let’s give kudos to another quarterback, Quentin Harris of Duke. The Blue Devils demolished Virginia Tech on Friday night, thanks largely to the 163 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and three total TDs from Harris.
My pick of Air Force’s Taven Birdow as running back over teammate Kadin Remsberg was spot-on, as the cheaper player Birdow rushed for 124 yards and scored two touchdowns. Remsberg rushed for 75 yards with no end zone appearances, and a fumble.
Jeers
Texas Tech running back Armand Shyne was little-used against Oklahoma on Saturday, only carrying the ball three times for 18 yards and a TD. He also caught a 3-yard pass. The Red Raiders fell behind early, and Shyne disappeared from the football’s view.
Sage Surratt has been Newman’s favorite target this year, but he only caught four balls for 31 yards and a TD on Saturday, hardly making him worth his top-shelf salary. Instead, Scotty Washington was the star, catching five passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. The gap between those two receivers seems to be closing.
Virginia Tech running back Keshawn King only got six carries against Duke on Friday night, after receiving the bulk of the work in recent games. He gained just 16 yards on those rushes, with no TDs.
Brandon Aiyuk is another player who had been a team leader, but who has fallen off. The Arizona State wide receiver caught just two passes for 31 yards Friday as the Sun Devils beat Cal, 24-17.
Meh
Hurts hit wide receiver Charleston Rambo for two long pass plays in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against Texas Tech, and not once again for the rest of the game. After quickly putting up 17.2 points on DraftKings, that was all he got all afternoon, as CeeDee Lamb received most of the attention the rest of the day, and caught three touchdown passes.
TCU stud running back, Darius Anderson, had a decent game against Kansas with 115 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with a reception for three yards. He returned more than 3x value on DK, but, on a day where the Horned Frogs put up 51 points, you’d have expected a spectacular outing from Anderson.
San Jose State’s top receiver, Tre Walker, caught six passes, but only gained 69 yards without a score as Air Force won 41-24.