DB's Daily Fantasy College Football Picks: Week 12
This is one of those weeks where you MUST have exposure to a certain game. Texas Tech and Baylor has an Over/Under of 85, so this should be filled will tons of fantasy goodness. I did not list any players in this column for the simple reason that EVERYONE is in play. Petty will be expensive but a lock for big numbers. Seastrunk & Martin are banged up for Baylor and if they are out you can load up Shock Linwood as a great play. Tevin Reese is OUT for the season, so Levi Norwood gets the bump to the #2 WR spot and should be rostered where he’s priced like a backup. Goodley is my #1 WR of the week, so roster him with confidence. As for Tech, the QB is in flux and it’s going to be very dangerous to roster anyone even if we get word before kickoff on who is starting. Ward and Amaro are pretty much locks & JaKeem Grant is a nice lower priced WR option in this one.
For more picks and analysis check out College Football After Dark w/ Chop & myself and be sure to tune into GrindersLive on Saturday morning at 10:30 for more analysis from Emac & STLCards.
Quarterbacks
Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville) – This season has been a bit of a disappointment for Bridgewater from a fantasy perspective as he has had very few elite games this year. He has only gone over 40 fantasy points once on Draftstreet and for a guy who usually has a top 10% salary, that is not going to cut it. This week he gets a plus matchup vs. a Houston pass defense ranked 106th in FCS and with a Cougars offense looking to rebound off a lack luster game themselves, I see this potentially being a shootout. I think Bridgewater breaks out with 4 TD’s this weekend which should pay off the lowest salary he has seen all season.
Connor Halliday (Washington State) – Mike Leach has no interest at all in running the football, so that makes Halliday an intriguing play every week. The salary looks awfully reasonable this week for a game vs. Arizona State which could go back and forth. The Sun Devils statistically have a better than average defense, but I think that has more to do with schedule than ability. Halliday will be chucking it around all game and I think he can hit the 35 fantasy point plateau (he has 4 times already this year) and pay off that moderate salary.
Logan Thomas (Virginia Tech) – My man crush returns to the picks column after stepping his game up for the Hokies. He has over 750 yards and 4 touchdowns over the past two games and finally looks to be in a groove. Virginia Tech is in the drivers seat to reach the ACC Championship so I don’t see them slipping up vs a Maryland that is as average as they come.
Other Options: Blake Bortles (UCF), Jared Goff (Cal), Braxton Miller (OSU), Paul Millard (WVU)
Running Backs
Melvin Gordon/“James White (Wisconsin) – I learned a hard lesson last week by not rostering many Illinois players. You absolutely need exposure to whomever is playing the Hoosiers. Wisconsin should run over this Indiana team and that means huge games are coming for White and Gordon. White has been having the monster games the past couple weeks, but I think Gordon is just as good (often times better when you factor in salary) than he is on Saturday. I am thinking they both go over 100 yards and with 4 total TD’s. Tough to know how many each get, so be sure to roster them both if you are playing multiple lineups or across multiple sites.
Stephen Houston (Indiana) – If you are looking for a value play at running back I think you have to consider Houston this week. Wisconsin does have one of the better defenses in the country, but with starter Tevin Coleman injured Houston is going to get all the production on Saturday. He is priced like a back up on a number of sites and even though he does carry some risk based on the matchup, he is probably worth taking so you can have some exposure to the high priced Baylor/Texas Tech players.
Malcolm Brown (Texas) – Brown has been money in the bank over the past month for the Longhorns and that was with Jonathan Gray getting half the carries for Texas. With him out of the season, Brown should be in store for more touches and even greater fantasy goodness on Saturday. I don’t believe Mack Brown has a lot of confidence at the quarterback position, so he should lean heavily on Brown in this big game against Oklahoma State.
Other Options: KaDeem Carey (Arizona), Todd Gurley (Georgia), Tre Mason (Auburn), Dallas Crawford (Miami)
Wide Receivers
Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt) – Matthews is arguably a top five wide out in College Football, but the past two weeks he has been kind of quiet for the Commodores. Last week was not a surprise going against NFL caliber corners in Florida, but his lack of success against A&M two weeks ago worries me a bit. The new QB Robinette has not really been able to get him involved, but that has to change with doormat Kentucky up this week. I am certainly not going to pay to dollar for him, but on Draftstreet in particular he is sitting as a huge value.
Allen Robinson (Penn State) – Penn State gets a date with hopeless Boilermakers and even though I want to like the running backs for Nittany Lions, Robinson is the safest play. He will undoubtedly be the most talented player on the field Saturday and should make plays all day long. The two factors that somewhat scare me is Purdue’s better than average numbers vs the pass & Robinson’s slightly banged up shoulder.
Kenny Lawler (Cal) – If you are looking for a no name wide receiver who is under priced than look no further than Kenny Lawler. He has come out of nowhere the past to weeks to score 32 & 23 fantasy points at near minimum salary for the Cal Bears. This week they get a date with equally hopeless Colorado Buffalos, so this game should be high scoring and close. That is usually a recipe for big fantasy days.
Other Options: Jeremy Johnson (SMU), Jared Abbrederis (Wisconsin), Dres Anderson (Utah), DeVante Parker (Louisville)
Tight Ends
Gerald Christian (Louisville) – He seems underpriced every single week and with how much I love Teddy Bridgewater he should see a good number of those targets and hopefully a touchdown this Saturday vs. Houston.
Connor Hamlett (Oregon State) – The Beavers tight end has been battling injuries all season, but should be back for this one. If he produces like he did pre-injury than he provides tremendous upside as a punt play.
Other Options: Nick O’Leary (FSU), Chris Coyle (Arizona State)