We’re heading into Week 2 of the college football slate with unbridled excitement. Saturday features a slew of enticing matchups, including a high-profile battle between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns, intra-state matchups in Iowa and Texas, two top-25 battles, and an underrated after-hours contest between the Oregon State Beavers and Fresno State Bulldogs.
As usual, we’ve got you covered with our favorite DFS plays from Saturday’s slate, highlighting our preferred fantasy options at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver.
College football is new to FantasyLabs this season. Inside our Player Models, you’ll be able to utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups for your DFS contests.
Or if cash games are more your speed, you can build your lineups alongside our projections with our Lineup Builder. From there, you can hand-build your lineup or lock in a few guys and let the builder optimize the rest based on our projections.
Let’s dive into this week’s slate!
CFB DFS Quarterback Picks
Bryce Young (Alabama Crimson Tide): $10,200 DraftKings
As if there was ever any doubt, the Alabama Crimson Tide are still good at football. The Crimson Tide trounced Utah State in Week 1, thanks largely to the play of quarterback Bryce Young. A repeat performance is expected against the Longhorns, who struggled to contain the ULM Warhawks in Week 1.
Young had the Crimson Tide moving down the field without reservation. The junior signal-caller completed 18-of-28 passes for 195 yards and five touchdowns. However, Young also added fantasy value with his legs, rushing for 100 yards and one score on five carries.
According to our projections, Young is the highest-rated quarterback on the main slate at DraftKings. The Heisman hopeful has three or more touchdown passes in five of his past seven games while surpassing 300 passing yards in nine of 13.
Bama’s offense is in capable hands, and Young will continue to deliver.
Sam Hartman (Wake Forest Demon Deacons): $8,000 DraftKings
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons wasted no time getting their offense going, putting up 44 points on 506 yards in their season-opening win over the VMI Keydets. With the return of Sam Hartman, we could see the Demon Deacons climb to new heights against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Hartman was forced to sit out Week 1 due to a blood clot issue but was cleared to play against Vandy after diagnostics confirmed the issue has been resolved. He’ll be looking to improve on his breakout sophomore campaign in which Hartman threw for 4,228 yards and 39 touchdowns.
Although they are 2-0 on the season, the Commodores looked out of sorts against FCS opponent Elon Phoenix last week. Vanderbilt gave up 495 yards of offense, 343 of which came through the air, allowing the Phoenix to put up 31 points. That’s a great indicator of what to expect from a Hartman-led Wake Forest squad, which has emerged as a top offensive team in the nation.
Hartman should reach, if not surpass, his fantasy ceiling on Saturday.
Hendon Hooker (Tennessee Volunteers): $7,800 DraftKings
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Tennessee Volunteers ranked in the top 25, but that’s the position they find themselves in heading into Saturday’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Vols are playing their game and forcing opponents to stop them, something the Panthers won’t be able to do.
Last week, dual-threat pivot Hendon Hooker torched Ball State to the tune of 221 passing yards on 18-for-25 passing and two touchdowns, finding paydirt with his legs two more times. Although his passing metrics may appear somewhat pedestrian, Hooker played just over half of the game, getting replaced midway through the third quarter.
Pitt was outgained by a less talented West Virginia Mountaineers team in Week 1, with almost half their 404 yards coming on the ground. That gives Hooker an unneeded advantage, as he uses his read-options to beat the Panthers with the passing game or finding holes to run the ball as the defense collapses.
CFB DFS Running Back Picks
Chase Brown (Illinois Fighting Illini): $6,400 DraftKings
Though he has two weeks of exceptional play, illustrating his assertiveness in the running game, Chase Brown is still coming into Week 2 as an undervalued fantasy option. The Illinois Fighting Illini running back should continue his dominant start to the season against the Virginia Cavaliers.
Brown has surpassed 150 rushing yards in each of the season’s first two games, including 199 in the Fighting Illini’s Big Ten opener last week against the Indiana Hoosiers. Brown would have gotten closer to that number in the season-opener against the Wyoming Cowboys in Week 0; however, Illinois was running away with it and deferred carries to secondary players later in the game.
We got a taste of how prominently Brown will be featured on offense last week when he toted the ball 39 times. The junior running back is averaging 6.4 yards per carry and should rip through a Cavaliers defense that allowed 170 rushing yards against the Richmond Spiders.
Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State Wildcats): $7,600 DraftKings
One touchdown and 126 rushing yards are just the tip of the iceberg for Deuce Vaughn, who leads the Kansas State Wildcats’ running backs into the 2022 season. Dating back to last season, he has seven straight 100-yard rushing games, and Vaughn is poised to extend that streak Saturday.
The junior breaks things off in big chunks, with game-long rushes longer than 37 yards in six of his past seven contests. Over that stretch, Vaughn is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and 2.0 touchdowns per game. Although it wasn’t evident in Week 1’s win over South Dakota, the Wildcats like to get Vaughn involved in the passing game, amplifying his fantasy ceiling against the Missouri Tigers.
These programs meet for the first time since 2011. Vaughn and the Wildcats’ offense will welcome them with a heavy dose of the rushing attack, helping the lead back reach his fantasy ceiling.
Braelon Allen (Wisconsin Badgers): $7,000 DraftKings
Over the past decade, the Wisconsin Badgers have an excellent track record of developing NFL-caliber running backs. Braelon Allen hopes to follow in those footsteps and should continue his hot start against the Washington State Cougars.
Granted, it was against an FCS team, but Allen still managed a noteworthy 148 rushing yards in Week 1’s shellacking of the Illinois State Redbirds. More impressively, the feat came on just 14 carries, meaning Allen averaged 10.8 yards every time he touched the ball. Inevitably his yards per carry will work back down towards average, but Allen’s volume will increase, and his total yards could go even higher against the Cougars.
Last year, the Cougars ranked in the bottom half of the Pac-12, allowing 161.7 rushing yards per game. The odds will be stacked against them at Camp Randall, where Allen has averaged 8.1 yards per carry through the first seven home games of his college career.
CFB DFS Wide Receiver Picks
Nathaniel Dell (Houston Cougars): $6,000 DraftKings
An underwhelming performance against the UTSA Roadrunners is contributing to Nathaniel Dell’s decreased salary in Week 2. Nevertheless, now is the time to buy low as the Houston Cougars’ wide receiver as Dell remains an integral part of the offense and is our preferred fantasy option on the main slate.
At first glance, Dell’s 50 receiving yards in Week 1 appears insignificant; however, the junior led the team in receptions, targets, and yards, highlighting his importance to their offensive success. Additionally, Dell was a focus in the red zone, grabbing two touchdown passes from quarterback Clayton Tune.
Teams can throw freely against the Texas Tech Red Raiders defense, and the Cougars will take advantage. Dell is the go-to option on offense, and we’re expecting a breakout performance on Saturday.
Traeshon Holden (Alabama Crimson Tide): $6,800 DraftKings
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include a correlated play for our top-rated quarterback. After one game, Crimson Tide wideout Traeshon Holden leads the team in receiving yards and is developing chemistry with Young early in the season.
Holden’s 70 receiving yards and 14.0 yards per reception were both team highs in Week 1, while his five receptions and two touchdowns tied for the lead. Moreover, he was only one target shy of Jermaine Burton for the team lead against Utah State. Part of the appeal with Holden is that he comes at a discounted salary relative to Burton with comparable projections, making him a bargain hunter’s dream.
Alabama always has a surplus of talent, but Holden will get the lion’s share of looks on offense. Becoming a safety blanket for Young will profoundly impact Holden’s fantasy ceiling, and that to grow after Saturday’s contest against the Longhorns.
Myles Price (Texas Tech Red Raiders): $7,000 DraftKings
Texas Tech came out of the gates swinging, putting up 605 yards of total offense in Week 1, including two 100-yard receivers. Although Myles Price wasn’t heavily involved against Murray State, we’re expecting him to take on a more prominent role in Week 2.
Price rates highly in the FantasyLabs projections, leading median and ceiling forecasts on the main slate. The junior wideout hauled in three of four targets last week for 39 yards but was outshone by Loic Fouonji and Jerand Bradley, who went off for 110 and 108 yards, respectively.
Still, towards the end of last season, we saw Price become a focal point on offense, and the spotlight of the Red Raiders offense should be re-directed his way against Houston.
