DB's Daily Fantasy College Football Picks: Week 13
We are down to the final couple of week in college football, but unfortunately a lot of major conference teams felt the need to take a quasi bye week vs. Our Lady of the Worthless. I absolutely hate it because not only do they make for bad games, but it is impossible to know how much action the starters will see. Florida State is favored by 8 touchdowns, but I can’t tell you I have a lick of confidence in rostering anyone from that game. Despite the couple of blowouts, there are still some really good games, so lets take a look at some of my top plays this week.
If you are looking for more analysis, check out College Football After Dark with Chop and myself or tune into GrindersLive on Saturday morning at 10:30 EST with STLCardinals84 and EMac.
Quarterbacks
Braxton Miller (Ohio State) – Not really going out on a limb with this pick, but if salary is no object for you, than get Miller in your lineup but because there is zero downside for him in this matchup. Indiana is terrible on defense and Vegas has this game with a total over 80. He is finally starting to play like the Heisman candidate we expected him to be.
Zach Mettenberger (LSU) – For as great as Johnny Football is on offense, the Texas A&M defense is equally as bad. They have given up huge fantasy games all season long including their last matchup vs. Mississippi State. Mettenberger is still priced down on a number of sites and should be in position to reach to value this week and it wouldn’t surprise me if he goes for a monster day.
Sean Mannion (Oregon State) – It seems like everyone has forgotten about how great Mannion was to start the season. Things haven’t been great lately, but I think he should be able to get back on track after the bye week. Washington doesn’t have a bad defense, but I fully expect to see a lot of Mannion to Cooks in this one.
Other Options: Trevor Knight (Oklahoma), B.J. Denker (Arizona), Clint Chelf (Oklahoma State)
Running Backs
De’Anthony Thomas (Oregon) – I am a sucker for value and Thomas is as low priced as I have ever seen. His role in the offense has definitely changed since he has come back from injury, but the talent and speed that made him great didn’t suddenly disappear. The upside on him is tremendous for the low price tag which makes him the top risk/reward play on the board this week.
Tyler Gaffney (Stanford) – The Cardinal get a date with the pathetic Cal defense, so it’s time to fire up all their big offensive options. Gaffney looks like all they have these days as he has been shouldering the load all season. His streak of games with 145 yards or should reach five after this weekend and considering he has a TD in 10 of the 11 games on the season, he should be good to reach value.
James Sims (Kansas) – The Jayhawks are terrible, but get to face the equally terrible Cyclones of Iowa State, so trotting Sims out might be a smart move. He is coming off a game against West Virginia where he ran for over 200 yards and 3 TD’s. That kind of day is not out of the question especially with Pierson out for the season for KU. The Vegas total on this game is very low so that does scare me a bit, but Sims should still get his numbers.
Other Options: Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin), Brennan Clay (Oklahoma), Akeem Hunt (Purdue)
Wide Receivers
Jarvis Landry & Odell Beckham (LSU) – I have already talked about how much I love Mettenberger, so you have to figure I would think his top two wide receivers would make terrific options. Texas A&M has proven time and again they don’t care about defense and have given up big games to average offenses. LSU is better than average in my eyes and both these wideouts should see a lot of work on Saturday.
Antwan Goodley (Baylor) – Hard not to like Goodley and all the Baylor players every week as they do nothing but score points possession after possession. I think they will be tested against a very solid Oklahoma State defense, so I’m not loading up nearly as much as I did last week. Goodley had a solid game last time out but did drop a few passes that likely would have added a few scores to his total. He is probably the player I am most excited about in this offense this week.
Jamison Crowder (Duke) – As crazy as it might seem, Duke is in the drivers seat to take make it to the ACC Championship, so I doubt they don’t come ready to play this weekend. Crowder is a stud with 73 receptions on the season, but the touchdown numbers seem a little bit low at 3. This might be the week he hits pay dirt a couple times for the Blue Devils as he is a far superior athlete to what he will be facing in Wake.
Other Options: Tracy Moore (Oklahoma State), Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt), Allen Robinson (Penn State)
Tight Ends
Chris Coyle (Arizona State) – His production has been soft recently, but near impossible to pass on him with a bargain basement price tag. He will extremely highly owned this week, so a fade in GPP’s might not be a bad play because outside of Amaro there are no sure things at TE. In my cash games though, you will see a lot of Chris Coyle.
Jake McGee (Virginia) – Miami’s defense has been exposed as a fraud the past couple weeks, so McGee might have a chance to put together a solid day.
Other Options: E.J. Bibbs (Iowa State), Justin Sinz (Purdue)