| Team | Implied Total | TT Rank DK | Game Total |
| UT | 50 | 1 | 61.5 |
| UCF | 38.25 | 2 | 62.5 |
| Miss | 35.25 | 3 | 53 |
| USC | 33.25 | 4 | 50.5 |
| IU | 31.25 | 5 | 55.5 |
| KU | 30.75 | 6 | 59.5 |
| KSU | 29.75 | 7 | 55 |
| NEB | 29.5 | 8 | 49 |
| TCU | 28.75 | 9 | 59.5 |
| TAMU | 27.75 | 10 | 52 |
| ND | 27 | 11 | 48 |
| OKST | 25.25 | 12 | 55 |
| BAY | 24.5 | 13 | 45.5 |
| UMD | 24.25 | 14 | 55.5 |
| ARK | 24.25 | 14 | 52 |
| COL | 24.25 | 14 | 62.5 |
| MICH | 23.75 | 17 | 38 |
| OU | 23.75 | 17 | 46 |
| AUB | 22.25 | 19 | 46 |
| BYU | 21 | 20 | 45.5 |
| UL | 21 | 20 | 48 |
| PUR | 19.5 | 22 | 49 |
| UK | 17.75 | 23 | 53 |
| WISC | 17.25 | 24 | 50.5 |
| MINN | 14.25 | 25 | 38 |
| MST | 11.5 | 26 | 61.5 |
DK Top Plays
QBs: A. Johnson, T. Green, M. Moss, M. Reed (if Weigman Out), Hoover, Vandagriff, Card
RBs: Neal, Harvey, Blue, Dowdell, Marks, Chaney, Richardson, Mellusi
WRs: Pauling, Grimm, Bond, Banks, Grimm, Felton, J. Brown, Klare, T. Harris, Sheppard (GPP)
FD Top Plays
QBs: Johnson, Daniels, Green, Moss, Jefferson, Jennings, M. Reed (if Weigman Out)
RBs: Harvey, Giddens, Marks, Mafah, O. Gordon,, B. Smith, D. Taylor, L. Moss
WRs: Pauling, Branch, T. Hunter, Harris, Hudson, Armstrong, Key, J. Brown, Thompson/Ragins/Sharp/Hester (GPP)
QB
Oklahoma State’s defense has shown some holes early this season, which pushes up Avery Johnson for us this weekend. He’s a PT/$ darling at the QB position, with a huge ceiling, The Cowboys have struggled containing mobile QBs thus far in 2024, which plays well for Johnson who has run for 283 yards this season. This game has a shootout script, with the projected score at 29-25. We believe Johnson is useable in all formats this weekend.
Once again they haven’t priced up Taylen Green. Texas A&M grades awfully against the pass per PFF, and mobile QBs have had success running the rock against them as well. Green grades out as one of the top PT/$ at the QB position, and is a fantastic optimal option this Saturday.
Miller Moss is projecting to be pretty chalky this weekend. He’s a solid option for cash games, as he has a decent floor. Moss has at least 222 yards and 1 TD in every game this season. In their two competitive contests, he put up at least 283 passing yards. Moss won’t hurt you, but his lack of mobility also means he won’t really propel you. He’s a cash option solo for us, but could be stacked in GPPs — playing for a Trojan air raid.
If Conner Weigman is out, Marcel Reed becomes optimal. He has run at least 12 times in his 2 starts, for 83+ in each game. He’s also passed for 4 TD in those games, with a rock solid aDoT of 11.2. He oozes upside, and his Aggies boast a juicy 4-TD implied total here. He’s viable in all formats should Weigman sit.
A couple deep value cuts to mention are Brock Vandagriff and Hudson Card. Vandagriff is near the top in PT/$ at the QB position, though he’s only projected 15 fantasy points. He’s tossed for 551-5 this season, while adding 142 rushing yards. Vandagriff is a deep GPP option that can be stacked with Dane Key.
Card shows up in the top 10 in PT/$ as well, but he really doesn’t have too much in his favor. He’s tossed for just 180 yards and 2 TD his past 2 games. He’s also had 3 interceptions and 31 rushing yards in that span. Card profiles as a punt, but his top pass catching option, Max Klare, does profile as a decent value.
RB
Devin Neal is a horse for Kansas. That’s 72 carries in 4 games thus far. He had 8 in the first blowout, and has gone 14-23-27 in the games following. He projects as the best PT/$ option at the RB position. TCU run D has been mediocre, allowing 216 yards per game. Kansas is implied to win in a close one here, giving excellent upside for Neal. He is a great option in all formats.
Woody Marks is looking like chalk after an ABSURD 10 target outing last week. He’s fairly expensive here, but if those targets are sticky then he’s worth it. We view Marks as a solid cash option, but we’ll monitor his ownership. For GPP we’d like to go elsewhere and grab some of the other upside RBs that aren’t taking on ownership.
Purdue actually has the worst run D we’ve seen in a while. 351.5 yards allowed per game is just absurd. For that reason, we love Dante Dowdell. He projects fairly well in PT/$, but we believe his upside far exceeds that here. Dowdell is the clear first option on the ground for Nebraska, evidenced by his 20 carries last game. Rahmir Johnson has some vulturablity as the change of pace, but he only saw 4 attempts, and 3 targets last game. However, this is an extreme circumstance with how bad the opposition is, and Johnson could see an uptick in carries — maybe closer to the 7-11 he saw in the first two games — with Dowdell still taking on 18+ touches. For this reason, we view Dowdell as a fantastic GPP option here with low ownership projections. Dowdell’s workload and situation had him as a near optimal option for us here, just below the top trio. Johnson can be used in large field GPPs as more of a high leverage play due to his miniscule ownership.
RJ Harvey gets a juicy matchup against the Colorado run-funnel defense here. The Buffs have been decent against the pass, but we’ve seen teams really move it against them on the ground. Harvey projects high points wise, and we believe it is warranted. He’s a solid option in all formats, and our favorite payup RB option.
Jaydon Blue went full on bellcow last week. While we can’t expect him to score 4 times each game, he does seem to have a huge role here. In a blowout last game, Blue saw 25 carries and 7 targets. Blue projects as the top PT/$ at the RB position this Saturday, and he’s on the shortlist for your optimal RBs Saturday.
A pair of value RBs to mention here with Donald Chaney and Dominic Richardson. Chaney is the safer of the two options. Chaney started and took 10 carries for Louisville. They have a tough matchup with ND, but to get a starting RB at 3.2k is a nice value.
Richardson is our more GPP option. He didn’t start but had a team leading 15 carries for Baylor. He’s got some upside here if Baylor can move the ball. Neither of these guys are safe, and they project fairly close in ownership as well.
Chez Mellusi is a GPP option on our radar this slate. USC has gotten tagged by the run this season, and Mellusi is the top dog in Wisconsin. He has multi-TD upside, and we love his potential in this spot.
WR
Will Pauling is near the top in PT/$, and we love him this weekend. USC’s defense hasn’t been too impactful, and just lost a key piece for the rest of the season. In their two competitive games this year, he has 13 and 11 targets. Pauling is a key to this offense, and he’s severely underpriced. Consider him in optimal lineups this weekend.
Luke Grimm is the clear No. 1 for Kansas here. He has 6+ targets in every game, including a 13 spot in a tough game with Illinois. He projects high in ownership, and PT/$ projections this weekend. We like Grimm as a top-level WR option here.
Dane Key projects as the top PT/$, but the issue is can his QB get him the ball? Key had 10 targets last week, catching 7 for 145 yards. The issue is, that was against Ohio. Against UGA the week prior, he led the team with 6 targets – catching 3 for 23 yards. Ole Miss has a solid defense, so likely somewhere in between these stat lines is possible. Key catching a TD could propel him, but that’s a risky thing to bank on with UK only being implied to score 17 points here.
Jahmal Banks is really showing up for Nebraska now. He had 9 targets last game, and was the top option in pressure spots on 3rd downs. Banks is in the top 5 in PT/$ at the WR position, and we believe that is correct. He’s a terrific value option for us this slate.
Jayce Brown saw 9 targets last game, and finds himself in a plus matchup here with OKST. Brown projects well on this slate, and his price is just simply too low. He is a GPP option given his low ownership projections, and he is a solid GPP stack with Johnson.
There is some leverage with high-price WR here. Tre Harris should be relatively low owned, but has one of the highest ceiling on the slate. Harris has 45 targets, with the next closest at just 19. Harris has 628-4 this season, so he could really break the slate. The same general approach can be taken with Travis Hunter though his price is tougher to work.
Tai Felton is priced a bit more reasonably, and we love him this slate. High PT/$ projection, and probably still underpriced at 7.7k. Felton has 599-5 so far, and is a commanding top target here. He projects so well, and we believe he can be used in any format with his safe floor built in from high target totals.
Isaiah Bond’s ownership projections are making him an excellent GPP option here. MSST has a bottom 6 coverage grade PFF, and the worst Prush grade per PFF. The real knock here is Texas’ lack of throwing the ball, but regardless we love Bond’s upside at this price in GPPs.
Max Klare is the top PT/$ option, and he’s got a sturdy floor here. We prefer him in cash due to low upside, but he’s the top target for Purdue. Klare can be counted on for 4-7 targets here, with potential for a TD.
Stacks
A bit different this week as we want to mention a couple big stack options here in Nebraska, Colorado, USC, and TCU.
We’ll start with Dylan Raiola, and Sheduer Sanders. Raiola projects as a decent PT/$ play, while Sanders is near the top in raw fantasy points. Neither of these QBs run much, so stacking makes sense here.
For Raiola, it’s Isaiah Neyor or Jahmal Banks. Banks is one of the top PT/$ at the WR position after his 9 target outing last weekend. There are other Nebrasaka WR in the projections, but those above are the best for stacking. This stack is GPP, but not as much as others since Banks is a great value and Raiola is so cheap.
The Colorado stack is GPP, for sure. Nobody will pay up for Sanders and Travis Hunter. You can also use Jimmy Horn, LaJohntay Wester, or Will Sheppard. Sheppard is definitely the punt of the group, but the volume is there.
For USC we have the aforementioned Miller Moss, along with Zacharian Branch. Branch projects as a decent mid-range value this slate, and saw a whopping 11 targets last game. He has all the makings of a stud WR, and we like the idea of Moss-Marks-Branch as a 3 man GPP looking for a USC onslaught. Not many will use all 3 guys. Another option is Moss-Branch, fading the high-owned Marks for leverage.
TCU is out last stack to hit on. Josh Hoover, Jack Bech, and Savion Williams. You can stack any of the above with Hoover in a GPP lineup. They are priced in a leverage spot for sure, it’s doubtful many will stack here.
Conclusion
This is a tricky slate, with a lot of options to take it. For optimal we like starting the QB position with Avery Johnson or Taylen Green. Both of these guys projects really well, and have excellent floor/ceiling combos. At RB, it starts with Devin Neal for us, along with RJ Harvey as a payup. These two project well, have plus matchups, and bellcow workloads. Jaydon Blue is our other optimal choice here, as he showed last week that he owns the backfield for the Longhorns. The WR position is tough, but we like using one of the mid-range value of Will Pauling or Luke Grimm. Jamahl Banks is our preferred optimal value in the sub 4k range. For GPPs, remember the leverage will be those high priced WRs, so be keep that in mind if building for GPPs.
- Brennan Presley could be out with a concussion, we will update on this news as we hear.
For FanDuel
The QBs are much the same. Ashton Daniels, KJ Jefferson, and Kevin Jennings check in a bit higher. Daniels is a PT/$ play, while Jefferson gets a boost here with a strange QB field on FD. Daniels is wayyy too cheap, and he gets a fair matchup with Clemson. Jefferson has upside in this spot, and funnel targets to Kobe Hudson.
At RB DJ Giddens is workhorse, he’s a bit underpriced. We love him, and the PT/$ backs that up. Phil Mafah and Ollie Gordon have high-TD opportunities. This is huge on the half-PPR of FD. Darius Taylor is in a similar spot, but his matchup is tougher. Still, at his price and workload, he can’t be ignored in GPPs. We don’t love Marks as much here in the half-PPR, but still see his upside in a high-powered offense.
WRs are fairly similar, but the top end WR are projecting for more ownership here. Hunter and Harris are projecting near the top-owned WR, which is worth noting. In the .5 PPR, we like stacks a lot this week on FD, paired the the heavy value options we have at WR. There is a note to be made about Oklahoma. Nearly their whole WR group is out. If you need a punt, we don’t mind Brenen Thompson, Zion Ragins, Bauer Sharp, JJ Hester. All one of these guys would need to do is score to make them viable on FD. We like them in order: Thompson, Sharp, Ragins, Hester – with Hester being more of a punt.