College Football Fantasy Breakdown (Sat. 8/31): Best Values in High Scoring Mississippi-Memphis Affair

Week 1 of the college football season is just hours away, with the first mega DFS slate of the season beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings (10 games) and FanDuel (15 games):

• Toledo at Kentucky (-11.5), Over/Under: 61.5 – noon ET (DraftKings only)
• Mississippi State (-19) vs. Louisiana Lafayette, Over/Under: 60 – noon ET (DraftKings only)
• Ball State vs. Indiana (-18), Over/Under: 60 – noon ET (DraftKings only)
• Southern Alabama at Nebraska (-36), Over/Under: 66 – noon ET (FanDuel only)
• Boise State at Florida State (-7), Over/Under: 54.5 – noon ET (FanDuel only)
• Mississippi at Memphis (-4.5), Over/Under: 65 – noon ET
• Eastern Carolina at North Carolina State (-17), Over/Under: 53 – noon ET
• Florida Atlantic at Ohio State (-27.5), Over/Under: 64.5 – noon ET
• Eastern Washington at Washington (-22.5), Over/Under: 56.5 – 3:30 p.m. ET (FanDuel only)
• Duke at Alabama (-32.5), Over/Under: 56.6 – 3:30 p.m. ET
• South Carolina (-11.5) vs. North Carolina, Over/Under: 63 – 3:30 p.m. ET
• Northwestern at Stanford (-6), Over/Under: 48 – 4:00 p.m. ET
• Virginia Tech (-4.5) at Boston College, Over/Under 58.5 – 4:00 p.m. ET
• Middle Tennessee at Michigan State (-34.5), Over/Under: 54.5 – 7:30 p.m. ET (FanDuel only)
• Georgia (-22) at Vanderbilt , Over/Under: 58 – 7:30 p.m. ET (FanDuel only)
• Virginia (-2.5) at Pittsburgh, Over/Under: 46 –  7:30 p.m. ET (FanDuel only)
• Oregon vs. Auburn (-4), Over/Under: 55.5 – 7:30 p.m. ET (FanDuel only)
• Louisiana Tech at Texas (-20.5), Over/Under: 55 – 8:00 pm. ET (FanDuel only)

Let’s run through a few players to consider at each position as you’re putting together your lineups.

Quarterbacks

Brady White (Memphis): $7,000 DraftKings, $8,400 FanDuel

Memphis and Ole Miss seem poised for a shootout; this is the only matchup on the board with both a single-digit spread and game total higher than 60 points. White ranked 19th (min. 100 attempts) in Independent Quarterback Rating (IQR) last season and has the better matchup, especially in a home game, than his redshirt freshman opponent. The Memphis defense ranked 86th, while the Ole Miss defense ranked 116th in QBR against in 2018. The Rebels allowed an additional half yard per passing attempt and permitted catchable targets 4% more frequently than the Tigers.

Tommy Stevens (Mississippi State): $7,600 DraftKings Only

The Bulldogs are due to report player suspensions prior to Saturday’s kickoff, so be sure to keep an eye out to see if their depth chart at running back or receiver is impacted, as backups would immediately become bargains. A transfer, Stevens played under Joe Moorhead at Penn State, and like Trace McSorley, he has underrated rushing ability, gaining 506 career rushing yards compared with 41 total passing attempts. That ability fits well in this matchup: Louisana Lafayette ranked 97th in total yards allowed and 98th in yards per QB rush or scramble in 2018, allowing 4.63 yards per rush and eight touchdowns. Eerily, Mississippi State was the best defense against QB runs.