Daily Fantasy CFB Traffic Light Plays: Week 8
Welcome to the Week 8 edition of my weekly college football plays. Week seven was another solid week for the plays, and would have been fantastic if not for the duds by Donte Moncrief, Mike Evans, and Lache Seastrunk. Who knew that those three studs would stink up the joint last weekend… Conference season is now in full swing and there are some more good matchups on the docket for week eight. The offensive production probably won’t be as prevalent as it was last week, but there should still be more than enough guys for us to target.
To make this article different than other daily plays articles, and also different from what Dan will bring to you on Fridays, I decided to do this column in a ìtraffic lightî format. I will dissect the major games of the week by giving you a brief overview of the game and Vegas odds, and then I will put the major players into three categories. They should be self-explanatory, but just to be safe, here they are.
Traffic Light Tiers
| Traffic Light | What It Means | |
|---|---|---|
 | Green Light | All systems go. Target player in your lineups |
 | Yellow Light | Indifferent. Player could go either way |
 | Red Light | Avoid the given player at all costs |
Remember that no daily plays column can factor each site’s pricing into account for each individual player, so it is up to you to decide if a player is over or under-priced on your site. This column just gives you an idea of the ìplayabilityî of the player in general. If you have a site-specific question, feel free to shoot me a message on twitter @stlcardinals84 and I will do my best to get back to you.
As a general note, I will try to pick the most competitive games of the week in this column, and I will avoid games with spreads greater than 20 or 25 points as the plays in those games are relatively obvious. Now let’s get to the week seven edition of traffic light plays!
Indiana at Michigan
Vegas Odds: Michigan -9 1/2 / O/U 65
The traveling road show that is the horrific Indiana defense takes its (lack of) talent to Ann Arbor this weekend for a date with the Michigan Wolverines. That’s music to the ears of fantasy owners, as it will make the Michigan players easy targets this week. Feel free to fire up Devin Gardner, Jeremy Gallon, and emerging TE superstar Devin Funchess this week. I’m a little more cautious on their RB Fitzgerald Toussaint because he just isn’t very good, and Gardner has been running the ball more lately. He’s in play this week because of the good matchup, but temper your expectations. He’s not a 200 yard guy. For Indiana, they are now using two quarterbacks in the mobile Tre Roberson and the pure passer Nate Sudfeld. That gives them both the no-go despite a potential shootout. Their best fantasy play is RB Tevin Coleman, who has stolen the starting job and should get a decent amount of work as the Hoosiers try to keep their offense off the field. Avoid the Indiana wideouts as they are extremely unpredictable. The only target I would consider is TE Ted Bolser, and that’s more of a punt play. He hasn’t done much since week two.
| Traffic Light | Player(s) |
|---|---|
| | Tevin Coleman, Devin Gardner, Jeremy Gallon, Devin Funchess |
| | Ted Bolser, Fitzgerald Toussaint |
| | Tre Roberson, Nate Sudfeld, Indiana WR’s |
Washington at Arizona State
Vegas Odds: Arizona State -3 / O/U 67
After two tough losses to Stanford and Oregon, the schedule does not let up for EMac’s beloved Washington Huskies. The good news is that Arizona State doesn’t present quite the challenge that the last two teams did, especially defensively. This game should be full of fantasy goodness for both teams. Arizona State’s defense has been gouged at times, so feel free to fire up both Keith Price and workhorse back Bishop Sankey. Their receivers haven’t been nearly as consistent, but both Kasen Williams and Jaydon Mickens are capable of posting a solid game. Williams would be the only one I would think about targeting this week as he is the more proven target. Tight end Austin Seferian Jenkins would normally make a great play in a game like this, but use caution as he was forced to block more than normal last week. Arizona State is not light on fantasy weapons either. QB Taylor Kelly and RB Marion Grice are both emerging as stud players, as is WR Jaelen Strong. I’m not as high on Grice this week because his price is pretty high across the industry, but feel free to play either of the other two guys. I also expect a good game from TE Chris Coyle, who is a good pass catcher and has been quiet the last few weeks.
| Traffic Light | Player(s) |
|---|---|
| | Keith Price, Bishop Sankey, Taylor Kelly, Jaelen Strong, Chris Coyle |
| | Kasen Williams, Austin Seferian Jenkins, Marion Grice |
| | Jaydon Mickens |
LSU at Mississippi
Vegas Odds: LSU -10 / O/U 60
Fresh off a tough, hard fought win over Florida, LSU will be excited to see the weak defense of Ole Miss this Saturday. It should also mean increased production for their skill players. Zach Mettenberger is becoming a viable QB2 play on a weekly basis and is certainly worth a go in this good matchup, but his upside is somewhat limited because he doesn’t run and LSU doesn’t have the explosive offense that a Baylor or a Texas A&M has. His top two receivers are thriving in the offense, but it’s hard to figure which will have a bigger game each week. I’ll side with Jarvis Landry this week because his price has dropped a little cheaper than Odell Beckham’s. Running back Jeremy Hill is emerging as an every-week stud and would be a superstar if he didn’t tend to lose some goal line carries to Kenny Hilliard. As for Mississippi, their fantasy situation is significantly more muddled. Barry Brunetti is stealing a lot of snaps as a change of pace from Bo Wallace, running back Jeff Scott was injured last week, and about ten different receivers caught passes. #1 wideout Donte Moncrief caught just one pass for three yards. If there’s anyone I’m playing on Ole Miss, it’s him because he has talent and is cheap, or TE Evan Engram. However, I’m not really excited about that either. LSU’s defense is playing better and I think there are significantly better options this week.
| Traffic Light | Player(s) |
|---|---|
| | Jeremy Hill, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry |
| | Zach Mettenberger, Donte Moncrief, Evan Engram |
| | Bo Wallace, Jeff Scott, other Mississippi receivers |
USC at Notre Dame
Vegas Odds: Notre Dame -3 / O/U 51 1/2
This game doesn’t seem to have the glitz and glamour that it normally does. Part of that is due to the game being played a lot earlier than it usually is, and part of it is due to being overshadowed by the Florida State/Clemson showdown this week. You shouldn’t give it a whole lot of attention from a fantasy perspective, either. Both defenses are solid and the game has an extremely low total for a college game. Both quarterbacks, Cody Kessler and Tommy Rees, are off limits. There might be an angle to take a USC RB as Tre Madden is likely out with an injury this week. If you want to take a GPP flier, Silas Redd or Justin Davis could be worth a look. I’d side with Redd as the better bet for fantasy production. WR Nelson Agholor is also in play after his big game last week. They do expect Marqise Lee to suit up this weekend, but give him a week to prove himself and knock off the rust before rostering him. Notre Dame is totally off limits for me, because they use three running backs and their receivers are unpredictable. I could see taking a shot on TJ Jones, DaVaris Daniels, or Troy Niklas only if they are supremely cheap on a given DFS site.
| Traffic Light | Player(s) |
|---|---|
| | Nelson Agholor |
| | Silas Redd, Justin Davis, TJ Jones, DaVaris Daniels, Troy Niklas |
| | Cody Kessler, Tre Madden (injured), Xavier Grimble, Tommy Rees, Notre Dame RB’s |
Oregon State at California
Vegas Odds: Oregon State -10 / O/U 69
This will be one of the most pass-happy games you will ever see, and I actually was surprised the total wasn’t up in the mid-70’s. Both defenses are atrocious. Both teams love to throw. I don’t see either team getting shut down. This game will be straight forward — light up any passing game options that you can, and avoid the running backs. Outside of Oregon State’s Storm Woods, there isn’t anyone worth ten seconds of consideration. Also, be careful with California QB Jared Goff, who is in danger of losing snaps to Zach Kline. Outside of him, I love the passing game weapons on both sides, and they get the green light. Sean Mannion could hit 500 yards in this one, and who knows what kind of upside Brandin Cooks has in store for us.
| Traffic Light | Player(s) |
|---|---|
| | Sean Mannion, Brandin Cooks, Bryce Treggs, Chris Harper |
| | Storm Woods, Jared Goff |
| | Terron Ward, Connor Hamlett (injured), California RB’s |
Florida State at Clemson
Vegas Odds: Florida State -3 / O/U 64 1/2
I am more excited to watch this game than I have been for any other game so far this season. Talent is abundant on both sides of the ball for each team in this game, and I think it’s going to be a dog fight that comes right down to the end. With a fairly high total of 64 1/2, there is room for fantasy potential on both sides, too. Florida State QB Jameis Winston has shown that no stage will be too big for him, and it doesn’t hurt that he has two fantastic wideouts in Rashad Greene and Kenny Shaw. All three are in play, and the wide receivers seem to be a bit underpriced on most sites. TE Nick O’Leary has a good season going, but he’s too expensive on most sites for me to consider this week. I am also avoiding the FSU run game as they split carries virtually evenly between James Wilder and Devonta Freeman. Clemson’s fantasy outlook is the most intriguing aspect of this weekend. Florida State does have a tough defense, but Clemson’s players have been priced down because of it and they tend to play better at home. Fire up Tajh Boyd without hesitation. Many people will also play Sammy Watkins, but be careful here. FSU has very physical corners and held Watkins to under 30 yards receiving last year. He will be widely owned because of his explosiveness (especially on DS where he’s super cheap), but he’s getting the caution light from me. I am going to target #2 wideout Martavis Bryant as the big play guy this week. Roderick McDowell appears to be the lead horse in the RB race, but he has yet to find the end zone this season. There are better options out there.
| Traffic Light | Player(s) |
|---|---|
| | Jameis Winston, Rashad Greene, Kenny Shaw, Tajh Boyd, Martavis Bryant |
| | Nick O’Leary, Sammy Watkins |
| | James Wilder, Devonta Freeman, Roderick McDowell |
Other Green Light plays from games I did not break down include:
1) Johnny Manziel – Texas A&M QB
2) Taysom Hill – BYU QB
3) Connor Cook (Sleeper) – Michigan State QB
4) Mitch Leidner (Super Sleeper) – Minnesota QB
5) Bishop Sankey – Washington RB
6) KaDeem Carey – Arizona RB
7) Kenneth Farrow (Sleeper) – Houston RB
8) Jordan Matthews – Vanderbilt WR
9) Deontay Greenberry – Houston WR
10) OJ Howard – Alabama TE
Good luck in your games!!